Collections

Inquiry information
Consultations:
All the EEZA collections are available to all those interested in its study.
Consultation hours are from 9:00 to 14:00 hours from Monday to Friday, still must contact the curator of the collection previously to consult.
Loans:
Also, collections are likely to provide specimens for their study to institutions upon request by interested parties.
By default, the duration of loans is three months, being necessary to previously contact the appropriate curator.
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EEZA, throughout its history has been collecting a large collection of specimens of Natural History (plants, fungi, animals and fossils), result of the work carried out by different researchers, both from the Centre and outside of it, and that over time has become a true reference collection.

Currently the EEZA collections constitute a service unit of the Experimental Station of arid zones, whose mission is the keep, guard, order and manage the Natural Heritage permanently from the acquisition of each of the copies that constitute it. The routine processes for the management of the collection (admission, preparation, labeling, sorting, cataloging, location, conservation, etc) are multiple and variable according to the type specimen that question, as well as the mode of preparation, preservation and storage that requires each one of them.

Face users collections service is responsible for, in addition to prepare and keep updated the catalog of funds that constitute each of the collections, making it visible to potential users (both from the Center and external to it) and to facilitate consultation and/or the loan of specimens for their study scientists from around the world.

The EEZA collection consists mostly of specimens prepared, naturalized and preserved for his scientific study, both (Herbarium) flora and fauna (zoology collection), as well as a small representation of marine fossils. Each of the collections themselves has accompanied all (included in the catalog) information associated with each sample (order, family, genus, species, author, location, date, collector, etc.), without which would lose much of its scientific value.

Parte de la catalogación y gestión de ejemplares de flora y fauna de las colecciones se ha llevado a cabo con la colaboración de un Titulado Superior de Actividades Técnicas y Profesionales dentro del programa JAETécnicos cofinanciado por el Fondo Social Europeo (2009/2011).

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Collections

The arid zones Experimental Station collections service funds are home to approximately 140,000 specimens of natural history included in any of the following collections:

Collection of fossils

It consists of a total of 94 specimens of mollusks and fish from mostly the province of Almeria. + info

Collection of invertebrates

It consists of 133 copies of various molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms from in its entirety in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. + info

Collection of insects

Which gives a special importance to this collection is the existence of 1.333 copies the typical series that were used in the description of a total of 178 Taxonomic categories of new insects for science. + info

Collection of Herpeteologia

The herpetology collection is made up of a total of 532 entries and a total of 1,015 specimens of taxa 146 different. + info

Collection of birds

It consists of 2072 records and a total of specimens from 241 different species of the Southeast peninsula. + info

Collection of mammals

Constituted by 790 specimens belong mostly to the Iberian Peninsula. + info

Collection of ungulates

This collection, like the rest of the vertebrates, is fully inventoried, catalogued and available on public servers of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) through the following link: EEZA-Mamif. + info

Herbarium collection

This collection consists, essentially, of higher plants (phanerogams) and lesser extent, ferns and lichens. It contains more than 15,000 sheets with 5,000 different species. + info

Collection of fossils

This collection is a small representation of exemplary fossils mostly from the province of Almería, both molluscs and marine fish. Consists of a total of 94 specimens of mollusks and fish.

Collection of invertebrates

The invertebrate collection consists of 133 copies of various molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms from in its entirety in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. There are both marine molluscs as land.

Collection of insects

In the EEZA Entomological collections are a direct result of intense research work developed by various affiliated specialists, in greater or lesser extent to the Institute since its inception in 1947. Among them which could be noted by D. Manuel Mendizábal Villalba, D. Eugenio Morales Agacino, D. Antonio Cobos Sánchez, D. Joaquín Mateu Sempere and D. Javier Suárez Egea.

These collections are mainly integrated by a wide representation of the fauna of insects in the Mediterranean-Macaronesian area. They are particularly well represented in the distribution of the Iberian Southeast, North Africa and Macaronesia species. With respect to this last subregion, the EEZA has specific collections of the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira and Azores, all of them gathered during expeditions carried out by its personnel.

Funds from this collection consist of some 120,000 copies of which 84.058 are catalogued in its entirety, some 8,000 identified and awaiting cataloguing and the rest (37.942) pending of taxonomic allocation and cataloging.

The catalogued part of this collection contains copies of 192 families, bringing together a total of 1,800 genera, 4.155 species and 392 distinct subspecies. The best represented groups are, in order of importance the Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, although there is a good representation of the rest of orders of insects.

Which gives a special importance to this collection is the existence of 1.333 copies the typical series that were used in the description of a total of 178 Taxonomic categories of new insects for science, framed in three orders and 23 families. Beetles (18 families, 155 species, 1,214 copies and 63 types) along with the Hymenoptera (5 families, 22 species, 117 individuals and 9 types) are to be highlighted because of its importance to this level.

Collection of birds

The collection of birds is the result of the activity carried out by various ornithologists from the Centre, among them Don Antonio Cano Gea and Don Lorenzo García, who collected most of poultry prepared in skin of the collection since the sixties of the last century. Recently, in 2010 collection has increased significantly with the addition of 738 new specimens (695 skeletons and 43 specimens preserved in ethanol to 70 per cent) donated by Dr. Eulalia Moreno.

At present, this collection consists of 2072 records and a total of 241 different species specimens. The geographic scope of the specimens is the Southeast peninsula (Almería and Jaén mostly), Madrid, Castilla - La Mancha and Castilla y León a small representation of specimens of Canary Islands and Africa.

The collection is cataloged and inventoried as a whole and the inventory data available on the servers of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) in the following link EEZA-birds

Collection of mammals

Like the rest of the collections this also has its origin in the activity developed by the personnel attached to the EEZA, as well as recent donations from wild boars made by T. Abaigar and bats by J. Benzal.

The collection comprises of 790 specimens belonging to 19 families, 37 genera and 58 species. The origin of the specimens is mainly the Iberian Peninsula, with a predominance of those coming from the OS Peninsular. There is also a representation of the North African fauna whose origin is mostly Western Sahara.

This collection, like the rest of the vertebrates, is fully inventoried, catalogued and available on public servers of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) through the following link: EEZA-Mamif[.]

Collection of ungulates

The EEZA maintains a collection of specimens of four species of African ungulates in danger of extinction independent of the collection of the rest of the mammals because of their relevance and uniqueness.

This singularity is that for a high percentage of the preserved specimens, is known both his age and the level of kinship there between them for more than four decades. This peculiarity makes this collection a reference unique in the world for the development of genetic, demographic, environmental and morphological studies, etc., wishing to establish relations between the biological effectiveness of small captive populations in danger of extinction and environment over time.

This collection, like the rest of the vertebrates, is fully inventoried, catalogued and available on public servers of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) through the following link: Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) through the following link: EEZA-ungulates[.]

Complementing this collection the EEZA also has data on kinship of each of the copies which are included therein and which are part of the corresponding studbooks of the species involved.

Collection of Herpeteologia

The herpetology collection is made up of a total of 532 entries and a total of 1,015 specimens of taxa 146 different. The Group of amphibians contains 45 copies, while the reptiles of 970. Most of the specimens are preserved in ethanol to 70 per cent, although there is also a small series of naturalized specimens. The geographical origin of the specimens in this collection is the Iberian Peninsula (are mostly) and Canary Islands, to which are added the donated recently by Dr. Jesus Mellado from Morocco, Chile and Venezuela.

Herbarium

The Herbarium of the station Experimental de Zonas Áridas, registered as "ALME" in the Index Herbariorum, is part of the Association of herbal Ibero-Macaronesian and collaborated regularly and actively in the development of the Project Flora Iberica[.]

Its funds consist, essentially, higher plants (phanerogams) and for historical reasons, it is organized into two separate parts in regards to ordination and information related to the different copies. The oldest (1930's-1960) has 6.147 sheets of plants, representing a total of 3,217 taxa of 818 genres included in 141 different families. The modern part (since 1980), as well as vascular plants, also has ferns and lichens and contains 9.143 individuals belonging to a total of 1,600 different species. This modern part contains samples mainly from the province of Almería and the surrounding area, including almost complete flora of the mountains of Maria Orce, and outliers yesíferos more important in the province of Almería. It contains some 7,800 specifications, of which there are mounted and computerized 4.108, being the 3,692 copies remaining tidy and accessible for consultation.

The origin of the whole of the herbarium specimens are as follows:

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Address

Ctra. de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120, Almería (Spain)

Tel: (+34) 950951120 Tel: (+34) 950281045 Fax: (+34) 950277100 ISN: 0*1592 sip: 120000@eeza.csic.es Skype: voip.eeza

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