Sector of Ichthyology
The Sector of Ichthyology was organized in 1932. Its main task is gathering and storage of collections of fish and fish-like vertebrates, represented mainly by wet preparations (alcohol or formalin fixation), and providing the possibility of research of these collections. The sector staff includes specialists in certain fish taxa, so they conduct research on them — mainly on their taxonomy, faunal composition, morphology, and evolution.
Currently, the ichthyological collection of the Zoological Museum is among the top ten of the corresponding collections in the World in respect both to representation of species diversity and the number of specimens. It is second only to the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences among similar collections in Russia.
The Sector keeps more than 245,000 specimens of fish and fish-like species that have been scientifically identified and catalogued. The type collection includes holotypes, paratypes, lecto-, neo- and synthypes of 470 taxa, in total more than 1100 specimens of nomenclatorial types. The electronic databases of the Sector contains 6,200 records of specimens.
The Sector is located on the first floor in the part of the Museum building along Nikitsky Lane. The research collections are located in rooms 24-29 in the lobby leading to the Hall of Comparative Anatomy. The office is located in room No. 21 behind that Hall. If you plan to visit the Sector, you should contact its staff in advance by phone +7 (495) 629-49-06.