| Name | Collection of continental molluscs from Cuba |
| Alternative name | MCNB. Col. continental molluscs Cuba |
| Cite as | Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB). Collection of continental molluscs from Cuba MCNB. Col. continental molluscs Cuba |
| Description | Collection of continental molluscs from Cuba consisting of dry shells. In all, there are 4,600 specimens grouped in 1,245 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 Cepolidae, Cerionidae, Helicinidae, Helminthoglyptidae, Orthalicidae and Urocoptidae, amongst others). 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). Also of interest are the terrestrial molluscs collected by Marià Ferrer Bravo and donated to the Museum in 1932. One of the collection's main points of interest, which it shares in general with the fauna from Cuba, is the large number of endemic taxa, with a number of species only found on this island, some of which are characterized by their chromatic polymorphism (e.g. genera Polymita, Liguus and 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 Cuba has been displayed in the Museum's permanent exhibition with a long series corresponding to the genus Polymita, which illustrates the concept of polymorphism. Currently there are 48 specimens on display 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 Cuba 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 (on permanent loan to the Museum since 1925), Manuel de Chía (1923), Baltasar Serradell (1931) and the Jaume Balmes Institute (1936). Also of interest are terrestrial molluscs collected by Marià Ferrer Bravo and donated to the Museum in 1932, as well as other donations by Ramon de Bolòs and Alejandro Torres Mínguez. 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. |
