The Cole Museum of Zoology is a
university museum, part of the School of Biological Sciences at the
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...
. It is located on the ground floor of the Health and Life Sciences building on the university's
Whiteknights Campus in the town of
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
,
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
The collection was established in the early 20th century by
Francis J. Cole (
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
Zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
),
Dr Nellie B. Eales (who catalogued the collection), and Mr Stoneman, from 1907 to 1939 when Cole retired.
Cole Museum of Zoology, Reading
Culture24, UK. On Cole's death in 1959, the University also purchased his library of books, which are kept as a special collection in the main library.
The museum has recently been moved to the new Health and Life Sciences building. It contains about 4,000 specimens of which about 400 are on display at any one time. Specimens are arranged in 14 cases in taxonomic sequence, thus enabling a complete tour of the diversity of the animal kingdom. Specimens include a male Indian circus elephant
Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...
, a 5-metre reticulated python
The reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus'') is a Pythonidae, python species native to South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of largest snakes, longest snake, and the list of largest snakes, third heaviest snake. I ...
skeleton containing 400 vertebrae, a fossil of the largest spider to ever have lived, and a false killer whale
The false killer whale (''Pseudorca crassidens'') is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus ''Pseudorca''. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly in tropical regions. It was first species descriptio ...
skeleton.
See also
*University of Reading
The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...
References
External links
Cole Museum of Zoology website
Museums with year of establishment missing
Natural history museums in England
Museums of the University of Reading
Zoology museums in the United Kingdom
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