Museum Of Zoology Of The University Of São Paulo
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The Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (, abbreviated MZUSP) is a public
natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...
located in the historic Ipiranga district of São Paulo, Brazil. The MZUSP is an
educational Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...
and research institution that is part of the
University of São Paulo The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil. The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...
. The museum began at the end of the 19th century as part of the
Museu Paulista The Museu Paulista of the University of São Paulo, commonly known as Museu do Ipiranga, is a Brazilian history museum located near the place where Emperor Pedro I proclaimed Brazil's independence on the banks of Ipiranga brook in the Southeast ...
; in 1941, it moved into a dedicated building. In 1969 the museum became a part of the University of São Paulo, receiving its current name. The MZUSP has one of the largest natural-history collections in Latin America, with over 8.5 million preserved specimens of
vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
s (
amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
s,
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s, birds, fish and reptiles) and
invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...
s (
cnidarian Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...
s, insects,
crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
s,
arachnid Arachnids are arthropods in the Class (biology), class Arachnida () of the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, opiliones, harvestmen, Solifugae, camel spiders, Amblypygi, wh ...
s,
myriapod Myriapods () are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial. Although molecular evidence and similar fossils suggests a diversifi ...
s,
annelid The annelids (), also known as the segmented worms, are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida (; ). The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to vario ...
s,
mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
s and other marine groups). Each collection is curated independently, and organized according to specific needs. Other facilities in the museum include a library specializing in
zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
and laboratories dedicated to research in
chronobiology Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines timing processes, including periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms, such as their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms. These cycles are known as biological rhythms. Chron ...
,
electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...
,
molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
,
histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...
and
CT scans A computed tomography scan (CT scan), formerly called computed axial tomography scan (CAT scan), is a medical imaging technique used to obtain detailed internal images of the body. The personnel that perform CT scans are called radiographers or ...
. MZUSP also operates the Boracéia Biological Station in the forest near
Salesópolis Salesópolis is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 17,252 (2020 est.) in an area of 424.997 km². Salesópolis sits at an elevation of . It is noted for b ...
for
field research Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fi ...
.


History

The Museum of Zoology began during the 1890s as an aggregation of several collections previously belonging to the Museu Paulista. In 1890 the Museu Paulista's director, Francisco Mayrink, donated to the
São Paulo state SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...
government a natural history collection compiled during the 1870s. This collection was subsequently organized by the São Paulo state's Geographical and Geological Commission. In 1895 the collections were moved into the Museu Paulista's new building in the neighborhood of Ipiranga in São Paulo. During the next 40 years, new research was undertaken based on the growing zoological,
botanical Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
,
ethnographic Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
and historical collections housed in the Museu Paulista. By the 1930s, the Museum of Zoology was not yet an independent institution; it was still the Zoology Section of the Museu Paulista. On 11 January 1939 the Secretariat of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce of São Paulo state established a Department of Zoology, replacing the Museu Paulista's Zoology Section. With the department's creation, a new building for the zoological collection was designed. Construction was completed in 1940–1941; the zoological collection was transferred to the new building, where it remains. In 1969 the museum became part of the University of São Paulo, and received its current name. The Zoology Museum has one of the largest zoological collections in Latin America and plays a role in developing an understanding of
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
, local and worldwide. The museum was the first Brazilian institution recognized as a trustee by the Genetic Heritage Management Board of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment.


Collections

The Museum of Zoology is home to several significant zoological collections. Each is curated independently and organized for each animal group. It is one of Latin America's largest biological collections, with nearly 8.5 million specimens. Several sub-collections are among the largest in the Americas and the world, with a large number of
type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...
s and specimens of species now
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
. The preparation of specimens intended for public exhibition is separate from that of research specimens.


Fish

In 2000, the
ichthyological Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...
collection was considered one of the largest
neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...
fish collections and one of the 10 largest overall worldwide. It contained nearly 1.3 million specimens, primarily preserved in
ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...
. By 2013 it had 100,000 lots (each lot may contain several specimens) stored in bottles, barrels and plastic boxes, occupying an area of . Most of the fish were collected in Brazil, and the number of freshwater specimens is seven times greater than saltwater specimens. The collection began at the end of the 19th century, in common with the other MZUSP collections, and by 1940 it comprised 3,000 lots. During the 1960s several experts were hired; the collection expanded considerably due to research expeditions and prospecting off the southern coast of Brazil by the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo. With the establishment of graduate programs and Brazilian research, the collection continues to grow.


Reptiles and amphibians

In 2000 the museum's
herpetological Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (incl ...
collection was considered the sixth-largest of its kind, and it is recognized as the largest assemblage of South American reptiles and
amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
s. In 2013 it comprised 260,000 specimens (an increase of nearly 12 percent over 230,000 specimens 13 years earlier), including nearly 120,000 reptiles and 140,000
amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...
s (primarily preserved in wet media). The collection also features a large number of tissue samples (about 6,850 items) and almost 1,000 skeletons, preserved dry. The herpetological collection began as material from sporadic expeditions by the end of the 19th century, which was still housed in the Museu Paulista. Most specimens were identified by researchers during the early 20th century. In 1946,
zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
Paulo Emílio Vanzolini Paulo Emilio Vanzolini (; April 25, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Brazilian scientist and music composer. He was best known for his samba compositions, including the famous ''"Ronda", "Volta por Cima"'', and ''"Boca da Noite"'', and for his sci ...
became the curator of herpetology. Vanzolini was primarily responsible for the collection's expansion from about 1,200 specimens to its current size. In March 2002, he was succeeded by zoologist
Hussam El Dine Zaher Hossam or Hussam or Hosam or Husam (; ) is an Arabic/Semitic male given name and surname. It means the sharp sword or a cutting blade. In some traditions it translates to "sword of justice" or "sword that divides justice and injustice". Notable peop ...
.


Birds

The
ornithological Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
collection is the world's largest and most-complete assembly of Brazilian birds. In 2013 this collection included 85,000 taxidermized specimens of 150
types Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...
, kept in storage cabinets (a 12-percent increase over the 75,000 specimens the collection had 13 years earlier). The ornithological collection also contains tissue samples (about 4,000 items), 2,000 nests, 3,000 eggs, with over 2,000 specimens preserved in wet media. There are also recorded vocalizations from over 800 species. The ornithology collection dates to the first collections in the Museu Paulista, with its first known specimens collected during the late 19th century. During this first phase, the collection was curated by zoologist Hermann von Ihering and expeditions were conducted which generated knowledge of the Brazilian
avifauna Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...
's diversity. Traveling naturalists associated with the museum explored remote areas (including Juruá in 1902 and other regions of Brazil) and collected specimens. After Ihering's departure in 1916, field activity associated with the ornithological collection decreased. After 1929, under the curatorship of zoologist
Olivério Pinto Olivério Mário de Oliveira Pinto (11 March 1896 – 13 June 1981) was a Brazilian zoologist and physician. Life Born in 1896 in the city of Jaú, state of São Paulo, Brazil, Olivério Pinto was the son of Estevam de Oliveira Pinto and Eudóxia ...
, activity increased; surveys were conducted in all
biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...
s, in a number of locations. Benefiting from the activity of Ecuadorian collector A. Martins Olalla, the ornithology collection became the largest and most-complete Brazilian collection of its kind. Under Pinto's many scientific works were published, including Brazilian bird catalogs and the unfinished '' Ornithologia brasiliense''. Pinto was succeeded by Eurico Camargo and Helio Camargo, who continued the tradition of describing and documenting the diversity of Brazilian birds at MZUSP. After Camargo's 1981 retirement, the collection stagnated until sampling and cataloging activities were resumed in 2003. The ornithology collection is curated by zoologist Luis Fábio Silveira.


Mammals

In 2013, the
mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
collection comprised 50,000 specimens (an increase of almost 80 percent over the 28,000 specimens recorded in 2000) collected in Brazilian territory, especially from the southeast and the
Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...
. In 2000, the museum's mammal collection was considered the second-largest in the Americas. Its first known specimens were catalogued in 1895. In 1930 zoologist Carlos Octaviano da Cunha Vieira became the mammal collection's first curator, remaining in the position until his death in 1958. During his tenure Vieira expanded the collection from about 3,000 to more than 15,000 specimens, publishing catalogues and
monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
s on Brazilian mammals. Vieira was succeeded by zoologist Cory Carvalho, who was curator of the mammal collection from 1960 to 1961. After Carvalho's departure the collection did not have an exclusive curator until 1999, when zoologist Mario de Vivo assumed the position.


Crustaceans

In 2013 the
crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...
collection comprised over 500,000 specimens (an increase of 2,381 percent over the 21,000 specimens catalogued in 2000), and was considered one of the largest in Latin America. It includes 600 type specimens. The marine lots primarily comprise species from the Western Atlantic (especially the region between
French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
and Argentina), and includes extensive material of the
order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...
Decapoda The Decapoda or decapods, from Ancient Greek δεκάς (''dekás''), meaning "ten", and πούς (''poús''), meaning "foot", is a large order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, and includes crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, a ...
from other
oceanic basin In hydrology, an oceanic basin (or ocean basin) is anywhere on Earth that is covered by seawater. Geologically, most of the ocean basins are large Structural basin, geologic basins that are below sea level. Most commonly the ocea ...
s (including the
Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
and
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
). The terrestrial and freshwater specimens are primarily from the
Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...
, including nearly all regions of Brazil. The collection began in 1894 (then at the Museu Paulista) with the work of Hermann von Ihering and his colleagues, including Ernest Garbe and Hermann von Lüderwaldt. In 1939 the collection was transferred to the Department of Zoology, where it remained until 1969 (when it was incorporated into the University of São Paulo). In 1961 the Department of Zoology hired Gustavo Augusto Schmidt de Melo, who has participated in a number of expeditions emphasizing the collection of decapod crustaceans in marine and continental waters. Since 2003, the collection has been curated by zoologist Marcos Domingos Siqueira Tavares.


Insects

In 2000 the insect collection was the largest collection at MZUSP, with over 4.8 million specimens preserved dry ( pinned) or in ethanol. The collection is an aggregation of smaller collections focused on individual insect
orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...
, such as
Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
(beetles),
Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...
(true flies),
Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...
(true bugs),
Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...
(sawflies, wasps, bees and ants),
Isoptera Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bo ...
(termites) and
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
(moths and butterflies). Each collection is curated independently. ;Coleoptera The
Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
collection is the second-largest insect collection at MZUSP, with nearly a million specimens from 257
families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...
(106 of which occur in Brazil). The collection consists primarily of neotropical species (from Brazil), and includes nearly 1,300 primary types. Coleopteran
larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...
are kept in metallic cabinets as a distinct collection. All its 40,000 specimens were raised in the laboratory, including 18,000 adults, 19,000 larvae and 3,200
pupae A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...
from about 90 families. Most adult specimens are stored with the immature specimens (preserved in ethanol), but a small number are kept dry in separate cabinets. The collection consists primarily of species collected in Brazilian states such as
Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...
, Mato Grosso
Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...
, Mato Grosso do Sul,
Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...
, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo,
Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...
and
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
. ;Diptera The
Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...
collection is the largest insect collection at the MZUSP. It consists of 550,000 specimens preserved dry and more than 500,000 individuals preserved in ethanol, totalling over 1,050,000 specimens. It is considered the largest collection in Latin America and one of the most important in the world because of its large number of types. The Diptera collection began in the former Zoology Section of the Museu Paulista. During the 20th century, it was amassed and curated with the aid of several researchers: Messias Carrera and Maria Aparecida Vulcano d'Andretta during the 1940s, José Henrique Guimarães and Nelson Papavero during the 1960s, and Nelson Bernardi and Francisca do Val during the early 1970s. ;Hymenoptera The
Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...
collection comprises
wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
,
ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
and
bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...
from acquisitions and exchanges with other institutions and expeditions. The first catalogued specimens were collected by Hermann von Lüderwaldt and Hermann von Ihering during the early 20th century. The museum's bee collection was primarily acquired in São Paulo state, and is considered among the three largest collections of its kind in the country. The collection of
aculeate Aculeata is an infraorder of Hymenoptera containing ants, bees, and stinging wasps. The name is a reference to the defining feature of the group, which is the modification of the ovipositor into a stinger. However, many members of the group canno ...
wasps is notable for its representation of groups such as
Chrysididae Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors ...
(cuckoo wasps),
Mutillidae Velvet ants (Mutillidae) are a family of more than 7,000 species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their resemblance to an ant, and their dense pile of hair, which most often is br ...
(ant-witches),
Vespidae The Vespidae are a large (nearly 5000 species), diverse, cosmopolitan family of wasps, including nearly all the known eusocial wasps (such as '' Polistes fuscatus'', '' Vespa orientalis'', and ''Vespula germanica'') and many solitary wasps. Eac ...
and, in particular,
Pompilidae Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group-ne ...
(spider wasps),
Sphecidae The Sphecidae are a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family of wasps of the suborder Apocrita that includes Ammophilinae, sand wasps, mud daubers, and other thread-waisted wasps. The name Sphecidae was formerly given to a much larger g ...
(thread-waisted wasps) and
Crabronidae The Crabronidae is a large family of wasps within the superfamily Apoidea. Taxonomy and phylogeny This family has historically been treated as a subfamily in the now-defunct Spheciformes group under the family Sphecidae. The Spheciformes inclu ...
. The Formicidae (ant) collection is considered the most representative of the neotropical region for its number of type specimens,
species diversity Species diversity is the number of different species that are represented in a given community (a dataset). The effective number of species refers to the number of equally abundant species needed to obtain the same mean proportional species abundan ...
and geographical coverage. ;Isoptera The
Isoptera Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bo ...
collection consists of nearly 18,000 specimens from all Brazilian
biomes A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community (ecology), community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Art ...
. It includes specimens of all known
genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
in the neotropical region, most of the
palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...
and
nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...
, Asia, Australia and
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. ;Lepidoptera The
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
collection contains nearly 290,000 specimens of butterflies and moths, and is considered second-largest public collection in the country. The largest number of types are Lepidoptera collected in southeastern Brazil. The specimens, overall, are primarily from the neotropics. The collection began in the late 19th century (including material collected by Ernst Garbe, Hermann von Lüderwaldt and R. Spitz during the early 20th century), and was curated by zoologist Lauro Travassos from the 1940s to 1969. Since 2006, the collection has been curated by zoologist Marcelo Duarte da Silva.


Molluscs

The museum's malacological collection is probably the largest in Latin America; in 2000, there were nearly 40,000 catalogued lots. By 2013 the collection more than doubled, reaching over 100,000 lots and about 1,000,000 specimens preserved dry (
mollusc shell The mollusc (or mollusk) shell is typically a calcareous exoskeleton which encloses, supports and protects the soft parts of an animal in the phylum Mollusca, which includes snails, clams, tusk shells, and several other classes. Not all shelled ...
s) or in ethanol (whole animals with the shell and soft parts, or soft parts alone). The collection has over 1,000
type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...
s:
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...
or secondary (
paratype In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype (biology), isotype ...
s and
paralectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...
s). It comprises specimens from many global regions, with an emphasis on the neotropics and
western Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
coast. The collection's earliest specimens predate the Museu Paulista; nearly 2,000 specimens date to the 1880s, originating in Hermann von Ihering's collection which he brought to Brazil. Several researchers curated the collection during the 20th century, including Frederico Lange de Morretes (the 1930s), Eveline and Ernst Marcus (the 1950s) and José Luiz Moreira Leme (from the 1960s to the early 2000s). The collection is curated by zoologist Luiz Ricardo Lopes de Simone.


Arachnids

The
arachnid Arachnids are arthropods in the Class (biology), class Arachnida () of the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, opiliones, harvestmen, Solifugae, camel spiders, Amblypygi, wh ...
collection is considered the third-largest in Brazil (the second-largest in the number of type-specimens), with nearly 32,000 lots (an increase of more than 56 percent over the 18,000 lots catalogued in 2000) primarily preserved in ethanol. Three-quarters of the lots are spiders and one-fifth are
harvestmen The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an Order (biology), order of arachnids, Common name, colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs (see below). , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered w ...
from Brazil. There are nearly 600 primary type specimens, of which 60 percent are spiders and 28 percent are harvestmen. The collection began with specimens collected by researchers and travelling naturalists during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection is curated by zoologist Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha.


Marine invertebrates

The marine invertebrate collection is composed of specimens from
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
other than crustaceans and molluscs. It includes
Annelida The annelids (), also known as the segmented worms, are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida (; ). The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to variou ...
,
Brachiopoda Brachiopods (), phylum (biology), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear e ...
,
Bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a spe ...
,
Cestoda Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, commonly known as tapeworms. Their bodies co ...
,
Cephalochordata The lancelets ( ), also known as amphioxi (: amphioxus ), consist of 32 described species of somewhat fish-like benthic filter feeding chordates in the subphylum Cephalochordata, class Leptocardii, and family Branchiostomatidae. Lancelets div ...
,
Hemichordata Hemichordata ( ) is a phylum which consists of triploblastic, eucoelomate, and bilaterally symmetrical marine deuterostome animals, generally considered the sister group of the echinoderms. They appear in the Lower or Middle Cambrian and incl ...
,
Cnidaria Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...
,
Ctenophora Ctenophora (; : ctenophore ) is a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming (commonly referred to as "combs"), and they are ...
,
Echinodermata An echinoderm () is any animal of the phylum Echinodermata (), which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as larvae, ...
,
Echiura The Echiura, or spoon worms, are a small group of ocean, marine animals. Once treated as a separate phylum, they are now considered to belong to Annelida. Annelids typically have their bodies divided into Segmentation (biology), segments, but e ...
,
Entoprocta Entoprocta (), or Kamptozoa , is a phylum (biology), phylum of mostly Sessility (zoology), sessile aquatic animals, ranging from long. Mature individuals are goblet-shaped, on relatively long stalks. They have a "crown" of solid tentacles whos ...
,
Nematoda The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitism, parasitic. Parasitic ...
,
Foraminifera Foraminifera ( ; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are unicellular organism, single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class (biology), class of Rhizarian protists characterized by streaming granular Ectoplasm (cell bio ...
,
Phoronida Phoronids ( taxonomic name Phoronida, sometimes called horseshoe worms) are a small phylum of marine animals that filter-feed with a lophophore (a "crown" of tentacles), and build upright tubes of chitin to support and protect their soft bodies ...
,
Rotifera The rotifers (, from Latin 'wheel' and 'bearing'), sometimes called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris ...
,
Turbellaria The Turbellaria are one of the traditional sub-divisions of the phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms), and include all the sub-groups that are not exclusively parasitic. There are about 4,500 species, which range from to large freshwater forms mo ...
,
Trematoda Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as trematodes, and commonly as flukes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is a mol ...
,
Urochordata Tunicates are marine invertebrates belonging to the subphylum Tunicata ( ). This grouping is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...
,
Porifera Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a Basal (phylogenetics) , basal clade and a sister taxon of the Eumetazoa , diploblasts. They are sessility (motility) , sessile ...
,
Priapulida Priapulida (priapulid worms, from Gr. πριάπος, ''priāpos'' ' Priapus' + Lat. ''-ul-'', diminutive), sometimes referred to as penis worms, is a phylum of unsegmented marine worms. The name of the phylum relates to the Greek god of fertilit ...
and
Sipuncula The Sipuncula or Sipunculida (common names sipunculid worms or peanut worms) is a class containing about 162 species of marine annelid worms, that have secondarily lost their segmentation. Sipuncula was once considered a phylum of unsegmented ...
. Specimens are mostly marine (
Western Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
and
Antarctic Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...
), but some are neotropical freshwater and terrestrial. Containing nearly 200,000 lots and 200 type specimens, the collection was built with the efforts of late-19th-century researchers including Ernst and Eveline Marcus, Gilberto Righi,
Luis Roberto Tommasi Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
, Antonio Sérgio Ferreira Ditadi, Jeanete Maron Ramos, Gertrude Rita Kloss and Sérgio de Almeida Rodrigues.


Other collections

In 2000, the
Acari Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods) of two large orders, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as ea ...
(mites) collection of MZUSP was considered the second-largest in Brazil with 1,500 lots. The
paleontological Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
collection harbors fossils extracted from Brazilian
sedimentary basin Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock They form when long-term subsidence ...
s, including
Bauru Bauru () is a Brazilian municipality located in the interior of São Paulo state, recognized as the most populous city in the Central-West region of São Paulo. It is one of the 19 municipalities comprising the Bauru Immediate Geographic Region ...
, São Francisco and Araripe. In 2000, the
Myriapod Myriapods () are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial. Although molecular evidence and similar fossils suggests a diversifi ...
(millipedes and centipedes) collection was considered the largest of its kind in Brazil with nearly 8,800 lots.


Library and laboratories

In addition to its natural-history collections, the Museum of Zoology has a library and laboratories dedicated to
chronobiology Chronobiology is a field of biology that examines timing processes, including periodic (cyclic) phenomena in living organisms, such as their adaptation to solar- and lunar-related rhythms. These cycles are known as biological rhythms. Chron ...
,
electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...
,
molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
,
histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...
and CT-scans. Its library has one of the most complete zoological collections in South America: over 248,000 volumes (including books, theses and dissertations),
scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...
s, specialized magazines, maps, and electronic information-storage media.


Chronobiology Laboratory

The Chronobiology Laboratory studies the
biological rhythm Biological rhythms are repetitive biological processes. Some types of biological rhythms have been described as biological clocks. They can range in frequency from microseconds to less than one repetitive event per decade. Biological rhythms are st ...
s of insects. It was established in 1987, when researcher-in-charge Mirian David Marques finished her internship in chronobiology at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
. Research methods used in the laboratory include automated (or visual) records of insect behavior. When rhythms are detected the
neuroanatomy Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defi ...
and
neurophysiology Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience concerned with the functions of the nervous system and their mechanisms. The term ''neurophysiology'' originates from the Greek word ''νεῦρον'' ("nerve") and ''physiology'' (whic ...
of specimens are studied, searching for rhythm-generating centers using
histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...
,
histochemistry Immunohistochemistry is a form of immunostaining. It involves the process of selectively identifying antigens in cells and tissue, by exploiting the principle of antibodies binding specifically to antigens in biological tissues. Albert Hewett ...
and
molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...
. Groups studied include springtails (
Isotomidae Isotomidae is a family of elongate-bodied springtails in the order Entomobryomorpha. Genera These 109 genera belong to the family Isotomidae: * ''Aackia'' Yosii, 1966 * ''Acanthomurus'' Womersley, 1934 * ''Aggressopygus'' Potapov & Babenko, 201 ...
), mosquitoes (
Culicidae Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
), crickets ( Phalangopsinae), ants ( Formicidae) and bees (
Apidae Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including bumblebees and honey bees, but also includes stingless bees (also used for ...
).


Electron Microscopy Laboratory

The Electron Microscopy Laboratory has been in operation since 1998. A multi-user space, it meets the needs of researchers and students from MZUSP and other institutions. The laboratory has a
scanning electron microscope A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that ...
, allowing detailed surface analysis of specimen structure. Samples for analysis are treated in-house to ensure preservation when subjected to an
electron beam Since the mid-20th century, electron-beam technology has provided the basis for a variety of novel and specialized applications in semiconductor manufacturing, microelectromechanical systems, nanoelectromechanical systems, and microscopy. Mechani ...
.


Molecular Biology Laboratory

In the basement of the MZUSP, the Laboratory of Molecular Biology assists researchers and students in research projects and aims to meet the teaching, research and extension demands of the MZUSP graduate program and associated programs.


Boracéia Biological Station

The Boracéia Biological Station was established by statute on 16 March 1954. It covers about 40 acres (96 ha) in a 6,800-acre (16,450-ha)
primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...
reserve protecting a watershed about from the city of São Paulo, in the municipality of
Salesópolis Salesópolis is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 17,252 (2020 est.) in an area of 424.997 km². Salesópolis sits at an elevation of . It is noted for b ...
. Because of its location in the Atlantic Forest, the area attracted the attention of zoologists and
botanists This is a list of botanists who have Wikipedia articles, in alphabetical order by surname. The List of botanists by author abbreviation is mostly a list of plant taxonomists because an author receives a standard abbreviation only when that aut ...
before the station was created. The station began in 1938 as an experimental station of the Agronomical Institute of Campinas. Zoological excursions to the area began in 1941, primarily by researchers from the former Department of Zoology. In 1952, the Agronomy Institute had finished its activities in the area; in 1954 the station was transferred to the Department of Zoology, becoming the Boracéia Biological Station for general research.


Staff and student body

In 2016, the Museum of Zoology had a staff of 87, including 13
professors Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...
and researchers and 74 administrators and technicians. The student body consisted of 68 graduate students and 25
post-doctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...
fellows.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Museum of Zoology of the University of Sao Paulo Museums in São Paulo Natural history museums in Brazil University of São Paulo Tourist attractions in São Paulo Museums established in 1890