Герпетологическая коллекция Михаила Дмитриевича Рузского в музейном фонде Томского государственного университета

Abstract

New methods and approaches to the study of historical zoological collections make it possible to identify their new value for science. In this regard, it is relevant to analyze the diversity of specimens presented in various zoological collections and publish current information about their composition and history of formation. We analyzed the collection of amphibians and reptiles by a famous Russian zoologist M.D. Ruzsky, stored in the holdings of the Zoological Museum of Tomsk State University. This collection was formed in the period from 1892 to 1916 during his expeditions to the Caucasus, the Volga basin and the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, and Mongolia. It includes 31 museum objects - fluid preserved specimens (See Fig. 1): 3 specimens of 1 species of salamanders, 23 specimens of 8 species of anurans, 19 specimens of 7 species of lizards, and 6 specimens of 4 species of snakes. In this collection, there are specimens of 2 species of amphibians and 3 species of reptiles from territories where they are included in the regional Red Data Books: Triturus cristatus from Ulyanovsk Oblast, Dryophytes japonica from Buryatia, Anguis fragilis and Vipera (Pelias) renardi from Bashkortostan, V. (P.) berus from Krasnoyarsk Krai. This collection, formed more than a hundred years ago by an outstanding research scientist, is of historical and cultural significance. The article contains 1 Figure, 23 References. The authors sincerely thank S.N. Litvinchuk (St. Petersburg) for consultations, also I.V. Doronin (St. Petersburg) and L.F. Mazanaeva (Makhachkala, Dagestan) for help in identifying rock lizards. The Authors declare no conflict of interest.