The Invertebrate Collections
The University Museum of Bergen houses one of the largest and most active collections of marine invertebrates in Norway, of paramount importance for the national and international research community
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The collection contains about 145000 catalogued samples (as per 2021), mostly of marine species, including approximately 1300 type specimens and houses samples from historically important expeditions such as "The Norwegian North Sea Expedition" (1876-78) and "Michael Sars Expedition 1910", which revolutionized the technology for exploring the marine fauna, resulting in the description of hundreds of species; material from the Appelløf's surveys of the fjords around Bergen (ca. 1890-1900), and the "Fjord surveys" in Hardanger in the 1960s.
The collection has experienced a strong growth in recent years, benefiting from collaborative work with programmes such as MAR-ECO focused on the Mid-Atlantic ridge between the Azores and Iceland, MIWA – Marine Invertebrates from West Africa between Morocco and Angola, MAREANO focused on the Norwegian coast, multiple projects funded by the Norwegian Taxonomic Initiative through Artsdatabanken (local projects can be found here (in Norwegian)), and BioTropic – Biodiversity of marine tropical regions. An additional important source of specimens results from collaborations with private companies working in biomonitoring. More information about a selection of the material can be found here (in Norwegian).
Visit the Invertebrate Collection's blog for regular updates on research and collection activities.
