Explore the Collection

The type collection contains all ranks of type specimens, including about 250 holotypes and numerous topotype, paratype, and hypotype specimens. One of the divisional goals is to develop stratigraphic collections of Late Paleozoic and Cretaceous fossils of the midcontinent. Type specimens have been placed in the collection by University of Nebraska researchers or other researchers who have selected Nebraska as a repository.

The systematic collection is curated according to the higher taxa recognized mostly in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. It contains representative fossils of all of the major extinct and extant taxa spanning geologic time from Precambrian through Pleistocene. A part of this collection has been used for teaching purposes in the Geology Department .

Much of the systematic collection was collected before 1960 by Museum staff and members of the NU Conservation and Survey Division (Nebraska Geological Survey).  Deceased curator, Roger Pabian added extensive collections of crinoids and trilobites to the collections until his death in in 2010.  Many of Professor Pabian’s papers on these two major groups and others are available on-line.