The Tel Aviv Zoological Museum invertebrate collection is one of the largest and most diverse collections in our region. It comprises over 100,000 samples from Israel and abroad, including representatives of over 50 classes of invertebrates (excluding the insect collection, which is represented separately on this site). Some of the more prominent collections are the Ascidians, Echinodermata, Crustacea, Mollusca, Bryozoa, Vermes, Coelenterata and Porifera (sponges). The majority of these collections have been computerized (apart from most of the insect collection) and their data-bases provide species names, names of collectors and identifiers, date and place of collection, depth of collection site (for marine species) and method of preservation. For the past few years we have put much effort into collecting samples for molecular phylogenetic analysis, and generally preserving samples in ways that facilitate this type of study.
The collections were established with the foundation of TelAvivUniversity in the early 1950s. They include specimens collected by scientists and students in the framework of their research as well as donations of private collections or collections from various institutions. For some time now the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Plant Protection & Inspection Services of the Ministry of Agricultureroutinely forward to the museum samples of confiscated material for identification and permanent storage. The collections are used for state-of-the-art research in Israel and abroad. In addition, many samples are sent to our collection staff for identification and, in turn, samples are sent abroad for a similar service.
In addition to the tens of thousands of samples, representing thousands of species, the collection contains a great number of type material specimens, some of which are endemic species to Israel.