Royal BC Museum - Invertebrates Collection

The Invertebrate Zoology collection of the Royal BC Museum comprises over 65, 000 lots of specimens, including more than 400 type specimens that have been referenced in original species descriptions. A lot may contain a single specimen, or it may consist of multiple individuals from a single sampling event. The collection has been acquired from various sources including research acquisitions, donations, and geographic/ecological surveys. The collection is phylogenetically broad in scope, containing representatives of at least 24 of the approximately 34 phyla of living invertebrate animals (excluding insects and most terrestrial arthropods), with a geographical focus on British Columbia, but which does not exclude comparative specimens from all continents and all oceans. The collection includes wet (fluid preserved) and dry specimens, whole mounted and histologically sectioned specimens on microscope slides, as well as frozen tissue samples. Geographical strengths include Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands), and southern mainland areas. Marine environments, particularly coastal habitats, are also well represented, and the collection’s rich diversity of marine fauna largely reflects the biological diversity of BC’s marine ecosystems. British Columbia’s invertebrate zoology collection is significant collection as it is the only province in Canada which intersects the Pacific Ocean. Taxonomically, the collection is relatively diverse, although there remain areas of opportunity to increase this diversity. Molluscs (chitons, clams, snails, octopods and squid), arthropods (crabs, shrimps, and micro-crustaceans), annelids (worms), and echinoderms (sea stars, brittle stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers) are well-represented. Collectively, these groups make up more than 90% of the collection. Other less-dominant groups, such as cnidarians and bryozoans, are also relatively well represented but would benefit from increased study.