Brachypelma smithi, Mexican red-knee tarantula
Our wide-ranging, global collection of Arachnida (spiders and scorpions) is rich in type specimens. We also hold important collections of Myriapoda (centipedes and millipedes), Pycnogonida (sea spiders) and Xiphosura (horseshoe crabs).
Collectors of note for Arachnida and Myriapods are Carl Ludwin Koch, William Elford Leach, Eugen von Keyserling, Reginald Innes Pocock and also Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff (for Myriapods). The collection includes whole organisms (wet and dry) along with a nest and egg sac.
Important Acari collections are those from: K. K. Hyatt, C. D. Radford, J. E Hull, C. F. George, C. D. Soar, W. Williamson, S. Mahunka, G. O. Evans, J. N. Halbert, C. Warburton, A. Fain, R. Husband, W. Till, F. A. Turk and M. Hammer.
The Pycnogonid collection includes the material from the HMS Challenger. The collection expanded greatly from the contributions of Roger Bamber.
A modest collection of Xiphosura dates from the late 1800s.
Specimens
2,300,000
Breakdown of major groupings
- Acari: 700,000 (wet, slides)
- Araneae: 610,000 (wet)
- Chilopoda: 12,000 (wet)
- Diplopoda: 24,000 (wet)
- Myriapoda: 3,000 (wet, dry)
- Opiliones: 20,000 (wet)
- Scorpiones: 118,000 (wet)
- Pycnogonida: 3,000 (wet, slides)
- Xiphosura: 130 (wet, slide)
Important historical collections
- C.L. Koch
- William Elford Leach
- Keyserling
Looking for a specimen?
This collection is being digitised
Principal Curator in Charge, Invertebrates (non-insects)
If you would like to use any specimens for research, please get in touch
Collections on the move
Access to some collections will be affected as we prepare for the move to our new collections, science and digitisation centre.
Accessing the collections
Scientists and collections management specialists can visit the collections and borrow specimens for research.
Collections management
Our duty is to provide a safe and secure environment for all of our collections.