The Zoological Collection Rostock (ZSRO, German: Zoologische Sammlung Rostock) is a scientific university collection and associated with the

zoological 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 ...

department of the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...

, Germany. The collection was founded in 1775 by

Oluf Gerhard Tychsen Oluf (Olaus) Gerhard Tychsen (14 December 1734, Tønder, then Schleswig, now Denmark – 30 December 1815, Rostock, then Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now Germany) was a German Orientalist and Hebrew scholar. He is known today as one of the founding fath ...

and is used both for teaching and research. Parts of the collection are open to the public.

History

The zoological collection was founded in 1775 by Oluf Gerhard Tychsen, an orientalist and head librarian of the University of Rostock. In 1789, the collection became part of the “Academic Museum”. It was relocated to the Universitätsplatz in 1844 after the adoption of parts of the collection of the grand duke in

Ludwigslust Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...

. The zoological collection is still located at the Universitätsplatz. Since 2002, it features a public exhibition room with changing special exhibitions.

Holdings

The collection holds about 140.000 series of

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

from all over the world.Homepage of the zoological collection
(German) The collection focus includes mollusca (ca. 14.000), Polychaeta (ca. 2.500), fish (ca. 2.500), birds (ca. 2.400), and scorpions (ca. 1.000). Furthermore, the collection owns important historical teaching models, including models by the

Blaschka Leopold Blaschka (27 May 1822 – 3 July 1895) and his son Rudolf Blaschka (17 June 1857 – 1 May 1939) were glass artists from Dresden, Germany. They were known for their production of biological and botanical models, including glass sea crea ...

family and Ziegler wax models. It is also home to the ''Rostocker Pfeilstorch'', which provided early evidence for long-distance migration by storks.

References

External links

Homepage der zoologischen Sammlung
(German) {{authority control Science museums in Germany University of Rostock Museums in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania University museums in Germany Tourist attractions in Rostock