INHS Collections Data

The INHS Amphibian and Reptile Collection contains approximately 40,000 catalogued specimens, representing 55 families and over 550 species (51% Amphibia, 49% Reptilia). The geographical emphasis is Illinois (75%). This is the result of the efforts of Phil W. Smith, who collected specimens from 1935 to 1949 for his comprehensive study “The Amphibians and Reptiles of Illinois,” published in 1961. In addition to the Illinois material, the INHS collection also houses specimens from 45 other U.S. states, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Most notable among these are specimens collected by P.W. Smith from California (1943-1952) and Mexico (1957-1965), specimens of S.A. Minton from Pakistan, Mexico and Texas and specimens from Thailand collected by R.W. Larimore (1963).

The collection contains primary types of nine species and secondary types of 5 species. The collection contains over 91,000 specimens and 12,100 lots of approximately 350 species in 30 families. Almost all are from North America. About 50% of the collection is from Illinois; the remainder is mostly from the southeastern United States. The best represented groups are crayfishes, shrimps, scuds, slaters, and pill bugs. A few lots of marine crustaceans found along the North American coastline are also present in the collection.

A large part of the Illinois Natural History Fish Collection comes from specimens collected from 1880 to 1905 for S.A. Forbes and R.E. Richardson's "The Fishes of Illinois" published in 1908 and from specimens collected from 1950 to 1978 for P.W. Smith's "The Fishes of Illinois" published in 1979. Thousands of specimens have been added from other areas of North and South America in the past few decades. The collection contains representatives from 48 of the 50 states and many countries including: Angola, Antigua, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, Guyana, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Thailand, Trinidad Venezuela, and Yugoslavia. The geographic scope of the collection is about 58% from Illinois, 28% from elsewhere in North America, 13% from South America, and 1% from the rest of the world, including Antarctica.

The Illinois Natural History Survey (ILLS) Fungarium contains over 70,000 specimens including approximately 12,000 basidiomycetes, 25,000 ascomycetes, 15,000 imperfect fungi, 11,000 lichens, 1,200 zygomycetes and oomycetes, and 1,500 myxomycetes. The collection also possesses 995 type specimens, mostly ascomycetes and imperfect fungi, including 235 holotypes and 555 isotypes and/or paratypes. The fungi are mostly collected from throughout North America with a large plant pathological collection from Illinois, a large aquatic ascomycete collection from the United States and Canada, and a smaller ascomycete collection from the neotropics. As of July 2011, the University of Illinois (ILL) Fungarium is now housed at the same location as the ILLS specimens. This collection contains over 95,000 specimens of mostly ascomycetes and imperfect fungi and includes 4009 type specimens and 43,394 exsiccati. All fungal specimens at Southern Illinois University (SIU) were acquired in 2011. This collection contains over 8000 specimens of mostly basidiomycetes, but also includes 600 myxomycetes from G.W. Martin. All fungal specimens at Eastern Illinois University (EIU) were acquired in 2013. This collection contains over 15,000 specimens of mostly basidiomycetes and over 5000 lichens. In total, there are over 183,000 fungal specimens housed at the Illinois Natural History Survey ranking it within the top ten largest fungaria in the United States.

The Illinois Natural History Survey Mammal Collection contains over 30,000 lots of specimens, from over 39,000 individuals, with over 58,000 preparations. Specimens are from over 170 species from 35 families, and preparations include skins, skulls, skeletons, frozen tissue, hair, fluid, and photos. These specimens are primarily used for research and as comparative material to identify specimens brought to the Survey. Most of the specimens are from Illinois and surrounding Midwestern states.

The Illinois Natural History Survey Mollusk Collection is global in scope with over 135 countries represented and contains over 509,000 catalogued specimens in over 90,000 lots.

The collection is strong in freshwater mussels (Unionoida), freshwater and terrestrial snails from the Midwestern U.S. and cone shells (Conoidea). We also have strong holdings of freshwater bivalves and gastropods from the Southeastern U.S., Central, and South America. The collection is 57% bivalves, 41% gastropods, 2% other; 67% freshwater; 20% marine or brackish; 13% terrestrial.

Many of the specimens were collected as a result of various faunal surveys conducted by INHS biologists from the late 1800s until the present. The early collections were made by such naturalists as John Wesley Powell, Robert Kennicott, Frank C. Baker, Richard E. Call, Anson A. Hinkley, Max Matteson, and William Starrett. The largest and best documented collection of land snails at the INHS was compiled by Thural D. Foster and organized by Frank C. Baker as part of his study on the “Fieldbook of Illinois Land Snails” published in 1939. The Baker snail collection numbers 1632 lots containing 11,970 specimens.

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There are three plant herbaria housed at the Evers Laboratory: Illinois Natural History Survey Herbarium (ILLS), the University of Illinois Plant Biology Herbarium (ILL), and the University of Illinois Crop Evolution Laboratory Herbarium (CEL). Together, these collections contain over 1,400,000 specimens making this the second largest herbarium in Illinois and one of the 10th largest in the United States.

With nearly 100,000 catalogued specimens, the UIMNH Amphibian and Reptile Collection is among the largest in North America. The geographic emphasis is Mexico, but there are large holdings from the United States, Canada, Ecuador, Cuba, the Philippines, and Venezuela. There are approximately 2,000 type specimens; including over 170 primary types.