The Natural History Musuem’s extensive Porifera collections are of international importance, containing an estimated 50-70% of the world’s type material.
Collection strengths
- Antarctic and Australian material.
- Deep sea material.
Dry specimens
35,000
Wet specimens
66,000
Slide preparations
45,000
Important historical collections
- James Scott Bowerbank collection
- Maurice Burton collection
- Henry John Carter collection
- L.R. Crawshay collection
- Cyril Crossland collection
- Arthur Dendy collection
- Duschaissaing and Michellotti type series
- J.D. Gilchrist collection
- Robert von Lendenfeld collection
- Alfred Merle Norman collection
- Edward Potts collection (freshwater sponges)
- Charles Darwin's Beagle sponges
Expedition material
- HMS Challenger (global oceanographic mission 1872-1876)
- HMS Discovery (Antarctic Investigations 1925-1928)
- HMS Porcupine (UK waters 186-1870)
- HMS Beagle (global expedition 1831-1836)
- Terra Nova Expedition (Antarctica 1910-1913)
- Terra Nova non-Antarctic expeditions
- HMS Sealark Expedition (1905)
- Siboga Expedition (1899-1900)
- RRS Shackleton (Antarctic 1955-1952)
- RV Sarsia
- Cook Bicentenary Expedition
- Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (B.A.N.Z.A.R.E. 1929-1931)
- John Murray Arabian Sea Expedition (1933-1934)
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
Specialist reference library
Porifera section library
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.