Museum of Zoology | U-M LSA Museum of Zoology

Division of Mammals The Mammal Division of the Museum of Zoology was established in 1837, and has grown steadily to its current size, with over 150,000 specimens. An important feature of the mammal collection at the Museum of Zoology is our emphasis on non-traditional specimens; that is, preparations that go beyond or replace the traditional skin and skull.

Division of Fishes The Division of Fishes of the Museum of Zoology is a research resource and teaching center dedicated to the study of fish evolution, phylogeny, distribution, ecology, and behavior. We have about 3.5 million catalogued specimens available for study. The collections are rich in specimens from the U.S., Mexico, Asia, Japan, the Neotropics, and Africa.

Division of Mollusks The Mollusk Division of the Museum of Zoology is a collection of resources for people who conduct research on, or need information about, mollusks. The division contains one of the largest collections of freshwater mollusks in the world. It also has a respectable marine collection, and one of the top collections of land snails in the United States.

Division of Birds The Bird Division is a collection of resources for people who conduct research on or need information about birds. The research collections, with 215,000 bird specimens, is one of the largest in the world. The Bird Division also houses the expansive library of the Wilson Ornithological Society. The faculty, staff, and students conduct research on the evolutionary histories, behavior, ecology and conservation of a wide variety of birds using museum collections, molecular techniques, and field studies.

Division of Reptiles & Amphibians The Division of Reptiles & Amphibians maintains a collection that is worldwide in scope and presently, contains over 200,000 catalogued lots representing 435,000 individual specimens.

Division of Insects The Insect Division houses a world-class collection with over 4.5 million specimens from all over the globe. An emphasis on specific taxonomic groups has produced outstanding collections of the Acari, Orthoptera, and Odonata, and to a lesser extent, the Homoptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera.

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Research Feature

RMC Prairie Pre-Restoration Site Cleanup

Help restore the front RMC grounds to native prairie land!

Come join us at the Research Museum Complex (RMC) Saturday, March 16th & 23rd, from 10am-2pm, and help us cleanup and prepare the RMC Prairie restoration site for planting.

The RMC is in the process of restoring the front lawn into native prairie grounds. This process includes site cleanup and preparation (March 2019), planting a cover crop (May 2019), and then finally, planting the native pollinator friendly prairie (November 2019)! But first – site cleanup!

Plan on wearing clothes you don’t mind getting dirty and bring a rake and gloves if you have them. If you have extra rakes or gloves to share, please bring those as well. Come for part or all of the day. We need as much help as we can get!

Please RSVP if you can make it and whether you can bring a rake or gloves. Send RSVP and any questions to: Sasha Bishop - sashagdb@umich.edu

The event is located at the RMC, 3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor, MI. Rain dates scheduled for: Sunday, March 17th and/or 24th

Throughout the restoration process scientists will be conducting research to examine the impact of restoring native habitat areas and prairie succession on the flora and fauna of associated with this site. Come learn about the restoration project and be part of a community wide restoration effort!

The Digitizing begins...

The Museum of Zoology got a massive equipment upgrade!!! A new microCT system has delivered to the Research Museums Center (RMC) and will reside adjacent to the #UMMZ collections. The microCT will allow museum researchers the ability to digitize the nearly 15 million zoological specimens, as well as other University of Michigan collections housed at the RMC. Currently, Alison Davis Rabosky, Dan Rabosky, Cody Thompson, and Priscilla Tucker are working on a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, which will digitize ALL vertebrate genera. More projects are to come...

NEW: Shuttle schedule: Central Campus to/from RMC on LSA Gateway (login only)

Please Note: The Museum of Zoology is a research facility. It is not usually open to the public. Please refer to the Museum of Natural History website if you wish to visit.

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