The arachnological collection at the Natural History Museum of Bern (NMBE), Switzerland: scope, history, and significance

By

Kranz-Baltensperger, Yvonne
Kropf, Christian
Sann, Manuela

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-11-3

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1258

Pages

1--8

Subjects

Arachnida , Digitization , museum collection , museum collection , museum collection , type material

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1258.167351

 

Abstract

The arachnological collection at the Natural History Museum Bern (NMBE) comprises approximately 120,000 vials containing around 500,000 specimens of spiders (Araneae), harvestmen (Opiliones), and scorpions (Scorpiones). While the material originated from around the globe, most of the specimens were collected in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The collection is organized into five main sections. It encompasses the collections of Konrad Thaler, Peter “Otto” Horak, Peter Sacher, and Ambros Hänggi, along with a general collection that features rare specimens, including material collected from caves. The material is stored in 80% pure ethanol. Since 1996, a total of 60,000 vials with 235,000 specimens of Araneae, representing 2080 different species, have been digitized and electronically catalogued. The collection also holds type material, including 25 holotypes and 453 paratypes of Araneae, three holotypes and paratypes of Opiliones, and one holotype and two paratypes of Scorpiones. A detailed list of the type material is provided in Suppl. material 1.