The Fabricius Collection

Historically, the collections date back to the end of the 18th century. The most important old collection is that of I.C. Fabricius (1745-1808). Fabricius described about 10,000 species of insects and a smaller number of other arthropods. The majority of Fabrician type specimens are housed in ZMUC, including those deriving from Fabricius' personal collection, which formally belongs to the Zoological Museum in Germany, but which is on permanent loan to ZMUC. The Fabrician collection, in addition to the type specimens, also includes many other specimens of historical interest. Very many of the Fabrician insect specimens are in an excellent state of preservation despite their high age, but only very few Fabrician arachnid specimens, and no myriapods, have survived.