From massive whale skeletons to the tiniest shrew teeth, our mammals collection preserves a wide variety of specimens from Florida and around the world. Each specimen in a scientific collection provides a snapshot in time that researchers use to ask questions and gather data. As technology advances, the type and amount of data we can glean from museum specimens both old and new increases, providing even more insight into the natural world.
Collections are also laboratories and training grounds for the next generation of scientists. At the Florida Museum, we provide hands-on experience to students learning the ins and outs of fieldwork, DNA sequencing and analysis, ecological theory, and the strenuous process by which scientific discoveries are made, reviewed and published. We and other museums make our data widely and freely accessible so that scientists can use the combined knowledge of Earth’s natural history to conduct research on the most pressing questions and problems of our time.
Supporting the Florida Museum’s mammalogy collection empowers everything we do, including the daily tasks of specimen curation, mentoring early career scientists, community outreach and education, and contributing to active research across a variety of specialty fields.
Make a giftThis Mammalogy Special Projects 6319 endowment supports teaching and research activities that promote and enhance study of mammalogy, including fieldwork, travel, scientific and popular publications, curation and collections care.
Check out more of the digitized mammals specimens on our Sketchfab page.