Founded in the eighteenth century alongside the university collections of paleontology and mineralogy, with which it shares its origin, the Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy aims to preserve faunal specimens of particular interest to the local area. Following bequests from Modenese citizens and acquisitions made repeatedly between 1830 and 1845, the museum’s collection quickly grew, especially in the ornithological sector, also thanks to frequent donations from Duke Francesco IV, both of exotic specimens bred at court and deceased in captivity, and of local fauna. Recently, the zoological collections have further expanded thanks to material donated by private individuals or public bodies, or originating from seizures carried out at taxidermists or confiscated from hunters or the result of study collections. Housed within the University Department of Animal Biology, it currently holds approximately 3000-3500 taxidermied vertebrates (birds, mammals, fish, reptiles), about one hundred of which belong to the “vertebrate fauna of Modena,” mounted as small dioramas; about 1000 specimens of vertebrates (mainly fish and reptiles) preserved in liquids; about 250 skeletons and anatomical parts of vertebrates; several hundred invertebrates preserved in alcohol or formalin. The collection also includes an important malacological collection consisting of a few thousand boxes, each containing one or more specimens; about one hundred entomological boxes with an unspecified number of specimens; about ten display cases containing a rich collection of parasitic and poisonous animals (Franchini Collection).
Information about the University Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy
Via Università, 4,
41121 Modena (Modena)
0592055555
museozoologia@unimore.it
https://museozoologia.unimore.it
Source: MIBACT
