BREMEN: Geosciences Collection of the University of Bremen: The Recent Mollusk Compilation

Abstract

The Geosciences Collection of the University of Bremen is a midsize collection of estimated about 800,000 specimens that are housed at the Faculty of Geosciences of Bremen University, focused on the field of paleontology. Nevertheless, the collections include more than 300,000 individual neontological specimens; most of these are gastropods, a focal point that fits well into the mollusk focus of the paleontology collection. Among the recent gastropods, the most important part are species of the unranked clade Stylommatophora, terrestrial gastropods comprising about one third of the total number of specimens in the collection. The gastropod collection contains originals to the nineteenth-century collections of Borcherding, Gerhard von dem Busch, Hartmann, Jantzen, and Schmacker among others, including important historical collections of achatinellids from Hawaii and clausilids from China. A few hundred types or potential types are registered in the database; to illustrate the research potencies, some type material is presented exemplarily. Technically, the material and the collection are in an excellent condition, and thus preconditions for scientific revisions are excellent. A permanent preservation and curation are ensured by a contract between the Ubersee-Museum, the institution formerly holding these city-owned collections, and the University of Bremen. As a consequence the collection has a good staffing today, including one technical assistant and one scientist handling collection affairs. The lively exhibition projects include major exceptional exhibits on inland water vessel and shopping centers, with the conceptional focus to present zoological specimens in comparison with fossil representatives with respect to constructional morphology, evolution, and diversity.