As coleccións de briozoos do Museo de Historia Natural da USC

Abstract

The study of the Bryozoan material preserved in the Museum of Natural History of the University of Santiago de Compostela is addressed. The Museum houses four different collections that contain Bryozoan samples: The collection of the "Santander Marine Biology Station", the "Marine Fauna of Galicia", the Types Collection, and the General Collection of Bryozoa, which is by far the most extensive. In total, these collections contain 1065 samples of Bryozoa, preserved dry, in alcohol or even formaldehyde, corresponding to 241 species. A small part is exposed to the public, while most is deposited in the Museum's collection room. The 98% of the samples come from Iberian waters, and more specifically 92% come from Galicia or Portugal. The 84% of the material has been cited in various scientific publications and the 13% has also been figured, making the collection an important reference material. A quarter of the samples are also particularly relevant for different reasons: The collections house four holotypes and ten paratypes of six species; in addition, another 59 species are generally uncommon, or their material is the only Iberian or Spanish material currently preserved.