Cnidaria Collection

The extensive cnidarian collection of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology dates from the early years of the MCZ. Both Louis Agassiz, the founder of the MCZ, and his son, Alexander, had a deep interest in corals and jellyfish, collecting, purchasing, and exchanging specimens, and naming many new species.

The geographic breadth of the collections is world-wide, and there are more than 1,400 cnidarian type specimens. There are 333 Verrill types, 243 Pourtalès types, 131 Deichmann types, and 168 Dana types. The type collection also includes many lots of Allman, Fewkes, the Agassizs, Bigelow, and others. The non-type collections are estimated to have about 150,000 specimens, and are a rich resource for research and study.