| Name | Permanent exhibition of molluscs |
| Alternative name | MCNB. Col. permanent exhibition molluscs |
| Cite as | Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (MCNB). Permanent exhibition of molluscs MCNB. Col. permanent exhibition molluscs |
| Description | This group of specimens consists of the molluscs that form part of the permanent exhibition Planeta Vida in the Museu Blau. The selected specimens illustrate themes such as diversity, adaptation to the environment, evolution, nomenclature and classification, both in the main exhibition and in the small associated exhibitions known as Science Islands. The collection consists of whole organisms, shells and eggs, preserved in ethyl alcohol 70o or as dry material. In all, there are 390 specimens corresponding to 144 lots and 91 species, most of which are Gastropodea (almost 90% of lots). The classes Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Polyplacophora and Scaphopoda (in descending numerical order) complete the molluscs contained in this exhibition. Of note amongst the Gastropodea are the series of continental snails that illustrate the concepts of inter- and intra-specific variability (i.e. Xerocrassa from the Balearic Islands, Achatinella from Hawaii and Helicostyla from the Philippines) and chromatic polymorphism (Cepaea nemoralis from the Iberian Peninsula and Polymita picta from Cuba). Other Iberian elements have been chosen to form part of the Science Island devoted to nomenclature and classification. Also included are specimens from historical collections (founder collection of Francesc Martorell and collections of Artur Bofill, Joan Baptista d'Aguilar-Amat, Joan Rosals, Manuel de Chía, Baltasar Serradell, Naples Zoological Station, amongst others), as well as more recent objects from the collections of Luis Gasull, Joan Rosal and Miquel Bech. Despite a wide geographical range to the collection amongst both the continental and marine molluscs, samples from the Iberian Peninsula (mainly Catalonia), the Balearic Islands and the rest of the Mediterranean, along with Philippines and Hawaii, predominate. The whole collection is registered, documented and computerized to specimen level. Data from part of the collection can be consulted on-line at the website of the Barcelona Natural History Museum and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility website. |
| Provenance | The current exhibition in the Museu Blau (opened in 2011) consists of a selection of molluscs from the Museum’s former permanent collection (housed in the building of the Three Dragons), as well as other specimens from its collection that have never previously been put on show. Of the former, of interest are the series of Xerocrassa from the Balearic Islands, Cepaea nemoralis from the Iberian Peninsula and Polymita picta from Cuba, complemented for the new exhibition by more Achatinella from Hawaii and Helicostyla from the Philippines, to illustrate the concepts of variability and polymorphism. Other new elements from the Museum’s collections have been incorporated into the Science Island devoted to nomenclature and classification. The oldest samples correspond to Francesc Martorell’s shell collection that was part of the Museum’s founding collection (1879). There is also material from other historical collections such as those of Joan Baptista d'Aguilar-Amat, Artur Bofill, Joan Rosals, Manuel de Chía, Baltasar Serradell and the Jaume Balmes Institute, amongst others. The oldest wet specimens originate from the Oceanographic Section’s collection that was set up at the beginning of 1917, and which includes specimens from the Naples Zoological Station. A number of specimens originate from collecting trips carried out by collectors that collaborated with the Museum and from other sources. The most recent additions include specimens from the collections of Luis Gasull (donated in 1983), Joan Rosal (2000) and Miquel Bech (2009). Francesc Uribe has been the curator of the Department of Non-Arthropod Invertebrates since 1997 and since then the inventory and computerization of the Museum’s whole collection has been carried out to lot level. |
