Guide to collections


Collection of continental molluscs from Philippines

Name Collection of continental molluscs from Philippines
Alternative name MCNB. Col. continental molluscs Philippines
Cite as Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB). Collection of continental molluscs from Philippines
MCNB. Col. continental molluscs Philippines
Description Collection of continental molluscs from the Philippine archipelago consisting of dry shells. In all, there are 3,450 specimens grouped in 1,330 lots. The collection includes bivalves and terrestrial (the principal group represented) and freshwater gastropods. Wide range of taxa including a quantitatively important representation of Pulmonadae (families Bradybaenidae and Camaenidae). One of the collection's main points of interest, which it shares with the rest of the archipelago's fauna, is the large number of endemic taxa, with a number of species represented in this collection that are only found in this archipelago or on some of its islands. Most of the material belongs to the Museum's historical collection (original collection of Francesc Martorell and collections of Artur Bofill, Joan Baptista d'Aguilar-Amat, Joan Rosals, Barcelona Royal Academy of Science and the Arts, Manuel de Chía, Baltasar Serradell and the Jaume Bofill Institute, amongst others). The whole collection has been registered, documented and digitalized to specimen-lot level. Data from a part of the collection can be consulted on-line on the website of the Barcelona Natural History Museum and the portal GBIF. A sample of the terrestrial molluscs from the Philippines has been displayed in the Museum's permanent exhibition. Eleven specimens of the genus Helicostyla currently illustrate the concept of inter-island variation in the permanent exhibition in the Museum Blau.
Provenance The first specimens came from the shell collection of Francesc Martorell i Peña and were part of the original collection of the Martorell Museum (1879). The addition of the collections of Artur Bofill, Joan Baptista d'Aguilar-Amat and Joan Rosals in 1917-1920 increased the Museum's collection of continental gastropods from the Philippine islands significantly. Further material came from other historical collections that were added subsequently, including specimens from the collections of Barcelona Royal Academy of Science and the Arts (loaned to the Museum in 1925), Manuel de Chía (1923), Baltasar Serradell (1931) and the Jaume Balmes Institute (1936). Also represented in the collection are occasional specimens collected by the malacologist Joaquín González Hidalgo. Under the direction of Artur Bofill i Poch (1892-1929) and then J. B. d’Aguilar-Amat (1929-1936), the malacological section began to be reorganized and all the different collections were united and the nomenclature revised (all the original labels have been preserved). Francesc Uribe has been curator of the Museum's non-Arthropod Invertebrate collection since 1997. During his time in charge, the registration, documentation and computerization to specimen-lot level has been completed.
Kingdom coverage Animalia
Taxon coverage Bivalvia, Gastropoda (strength)
Common name coverage freshwater clams, freshwater snails, land snails
Collectors [desconeguts]
Collection type Preserved
Primary purpose Research
Include types No
Grouping principle Spatial
Formations periods ca. 1882-
Development statuses Passive growth
Collection extents 1330 lots, 3450 specimens
Documentation state Documentary control of all the lots (registration, inventory and computerization). Most material still needs to be revised: identification to species level based on documentation and original labels (nomenclature updated for the samples documented with MuseumPlus).
Specimen preservation methods No Treatment
Preparation and conservation Dried material boxed or wrapped up in protective material in individual containers. Control of the environmental conditions in storage areas.
McGinley conservation statuses Level 8
Conservation status date 12-07-2013 (dd-mm-yyyy)
Institution Natural Science Museum of Barcelona - Non-Arthropod Invertebrates Department
Parent collection Collection of continental molluscs
Collection of molluscs from Philippines
Associated person Miguel Prieto (Documentalist), Francesc Uribe (Curator),
Item level access MCNB Mollusca GBIF online database (date when consulted) (accessed through GBIF data portal, http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/9125, 2013-09-04)
Col·leccions en línia de Zoologia (MCNB) / Online Zoological Collections (MCNB)
Related material Bofill i Poch, A., 1917. La colecció Rosals. Anuari de la Junta de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, 2: 193-196.

Martorell, M. & Bofill, A., 1888. Catálogo de la colección conchiológica que fué de D. Francisco Martorell y Peña legada por dicho señor á la ciudad de Barcelona y existente en el Museo Martorell de la propia ciudad. Barcelona. 94 pp.