| Name | Collection of marine molluscs from Cuba |
| Alternative name | MCNB. Col. marine molluscs Cuba |
| Cite as | Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB). Collection of marine molluscs from Cuba MCNB. Col. marine molluscs Cuba |
| Description | Collection of marine molluscs from Cuba consisting of dry shells. In all, there are 9,000 specimens grouped in 1,230 lots. Most of the collection consists of gastropods and bivalves, along with a number of Polyplacophora and Cephalopoda. Wide range of gastropod and bivalve taxa. 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 collection also includes specimens donated by Adolfo de Reynoso and subsequently by Marià Ferrer Bravo. The most recent additions are the occasional donations from the Joan Rosal i Sagalés collection. The whole collection has been registered, documented and digitalized to specimen-lot level. Data from a part (less than half) 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 marine fauna from Cuba has been displayed in the Museum's permanent exhibition. |
| 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). Also of interest are the lots donated a few years later by Adolfo de Reynoso (1882). 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 marine molluscs 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), of Manuel de Chía (1923), Baltasar Serradell (1931), José Giner (1932) and the Jaume Balmes Institute (1936). The Royal Academy's collection includes specimens collected by José María Salvañá and Rafael Resalt, amongst others. Also represented are the molluscs donated to the Museum by Marià Ferrer Bravo in 1932. 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). The most recent additions are the donations made from the collection of Joan Rosal i Sagalés in 2000. 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. |
