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Museum Collection Records

Research collections of the National Museum of Natural History are available to the public via a standard web interface for the following nine museum collection units: Department of Anthropology, Department of Botany, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Department of Mineral Sciences, Department of Paleobiology, and Department of Vertebrate Zoology Divisions of Fishes, Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals.

A total of 4,883,714 specimen records are currently available from this facility. Of these 333,950 are type specimen records. 195,638 represent more than 55% of the museum’s extant biological type specimens. 137,754 are paleobiological type specimen records, and 558 are mineral type specimen records. Individual research collection databases can be searched from these links:

• Department of Anthropology: 421,670
• Department of Botany: 769,451 (95,140 types)
• Department of Invertebrate Zoology: 895,740 (62,472 types)
• Department of Mineral Sciences: 371,228 (558 types)
• Department of Paleobiology: 585,493 (137,754 types)
• Department of Vertebrate Zoology
  • Division of Fishes: 313,424 (17,874 types)
  • Division of Amphibians and Reptiles: 553,246 (12,835 types)
  • Division of Birds: 396,943 (3,966 types)
  • Division of Mammals: 577,172 (3,351 types)

Please note: these electronic data do not represent the museum's full collection or all electronic or currently digitized specimen records. We constantly add new data and correct information in records. If you see an error in these data please contact us with appropriate details.

These data are made available through a custom online facility that is a part of the museum's Research and Collections Information System (RCIS), known as EMu. Additional NMNH collecting units will be adding data to these in the future.

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