The Mammalogy collections include more than 98,000 terrestrial
and marine mammal specimens prepared as study skins, skulls,
skeletons, tanned pelts, and fluid preserved bodies. Ancillary
collections such as frozen tissues, bacula, and parasites are
also maintained. Every taxonomic order of Mammalia and most
families are represented in the collections. The breadth and
scope of our research collections make them important for the
study of the origins and evolution of all the major groups of
mammals. Our collections also document historical changes in
marine and terrestrial biodiversity, both local and global.
Among these documented changes are the effects of urbanization
on mammal distribution. The assemblage of marine mammal
specimens is the second largest in the world, with a particular
emphasis on cetaceans from the eastern North Pacific and the
Arctic Oceans. As a government designated repository for marine
mammals, the collections document the changes in marine mammal
distribution and the causes of those c