Scientists aboard the HMS Challenger expedition (1872-76)
collected a vast amount of natural history material and
oceanographic data from around the globe, and the Natural
History Museum holds most of the specimens. The onboard
naturalist, John Murray, described it as the ‘greatest advance
in the knowledge of our planet…’. Considering the precise
recording of locality and collection date, and the extensive
taxonomic and summary reports available, some Challenger
collections are potentially useful as a baseline for research on
the biotic effects of ocean acidification. The expedition
visited 362 observation stations around the globe.See chart and
station information on the University of Kansas Natural History
Museum website Foram specimens are stored in the Palaeontology
Department of the Natural History Museum, London. Other
specimens are stored in the Zoology Department. Discover how to
link Challenger benthic invertebrates curated within separate
taxonomic collections with their source residues and bulk sam