| Name | Terrestrial oligochaetes collection of Oleguer Escolà |
| Alternative name | MCNB. Col. terrestrial oligochaetes Escolà |
| Cite as | Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB). Terrestrial Oligochaetes collection of Oleguer Escolà MCNB. Col. terrestrial oligochaetes Escolà |
| Description | Collection consisting of terrestrial Oligochaeta (phylum Annelida) collected by Oleguer Escolà (former curator of the Museum’s arthropod collection) and Museum collaborators in the years 1964–2001. It includes 552 specimens preserved in 70% ethanol and grouped into 322 lots, most belonging to the family Lumbricidae (almost 70 % of the identified lots). The collection also includes specimens from the families Glossoscolecidae, Megascolecidae, Haplotaxidae and Enchytraeidae. An important part of the collection has been revised and identified to species level by DarÃo J. DÃaz CosÃn and Dolores Trigo Aza, specialists from the Zoology Department of the Complutense University in Madrid. The geographical range of the collection covers above all the Iberian Peninsula, with many specimens from Catalonia (about 60% of the lots) and the Aragonese Pyrenees. Finally, there are a number of specimens from other parts of Spain, Morocco, Peru and central Europe. One of the most interesting aspects of the collection is that most of the specimens were collected in subterranean environments during biospeleological campaigns conducted by Escolà and co-workers (in all, almost 75% of lots). The whole of the collection has been registered, documented and digitalized to specimen lot level. Data from the collection can be consulted on-line at the website of the Barcelona Natural History Museum. |
| Provenance | The collection of Oligochaeta created by Oleguer Escolà is the result of his work whilst curator of the Department of Arthropods of the Natural History Museum of Barcelona. A large part of the specimens were collected in subterranean environments during numerous biospeleological campaigns conducted from 1960 to 2000 (period in which the collection was established), mainly in Catalonia but also in the rest of Spain and the Moroccan Atlas mountains. Aside from Escolà ’s specimens (almost 90% of the collection), there are contributions from other biospeleologists and Museum collaborators such as LluÃs Auroux, Jordi Comas, Agustà Meseguer, Carme Picañol and Montserrat Ubach. The material was reviewed in the 1980s by DarÃo J. DÃaz CosÃn and Dolores Trigo Aza, specialists from the Zoology Department of the Complutense University in Madrid. The publication of the results of the revision adds scientific interest to this collection given the scarcity of studies of the subterranean members of this group. In 2004 the work to order the collection and to document and digitalize it to specimen lot level was completed. |
| Kingdom coverage | Animalia |
| Taxon coverage | Enchytraeidae, Glossoscolecidae, Haplotaxidae, Lumbricidae (strength), Megascolecidae, Oligochaeta |
| Common name coverage | earthworms, potworms, terrestrial worms |
| Geospatial coverage | Aragonese Pyrenees, Catalan Pyrenees, Catalonia (strength), Morocco, Peru, Spain |
| Collectors | Amat, Jordi Auroux Poblador, Lluis Badia, P. Bley, J. Chapman, Philip Comas Navarro, Jordi Escolà Boada, Oleguer Inglés, A. Macià , R. Meseguer, Agustà Miravitlles, Antoni Picañol, Carme Ubach, Montserrat [altres] |
| Collection type | Preserved |
| Primary purpose | Research |
| Include types | No |
| Grouping principle | Taxonomic |
| Formations periods | 1964-2001 |
| Development statuses | Closed |
| Collection extents | 322 lots, 552 specimens |
| Documentation state | Documentary control of 100% of lots (register, inventory and digitalization in Museum Plus). Most lots identified to species level by D. J. DÃaz CosÃn and D. Trigo Aza (Complutense University in Madrid). |
| Object class | whole organisms |
| Specimen preservation methods | Fluid-preserved |
| Preparation and conservation | All the material is conserved in 70% ethanol. Improvements in the conservation conditions of the original specimens (replacement of containers and preserving fluid, and resituating of the specimens in the storage space). |
| McGinley conservation statuses |
Level 8
Conservation status date 16-10-2014 (dd-mm-yyyy) |
| Institution | Natural Science Museum of Barcelona - Non-Arthropod Invertebrates Department |
| Associated person | Miguel Prieto (Documentalist), Francesc Uribe (Curator), |
| Item level access | Col·leccions en lÃnia de Zoologia (MCNB) / Online Zoological Collections (MCNB) |
| Related collections | Oleguer Escolà terrestrial mollusc collection. |
| Related material | Trigo, D., Souto, B. F. & DÃaz CosÃn, D. J., 1989. Lombrices de tierra de la colección del Museu de Zoologia de Barcelona. Miscel·là nia Zoològica, 13: 27-35. |
