Catalog of the type material deposited in the collections of the Zoology Museum of the University of Concepción (MZUC-UCCC), between September 2015 and March 2024

Abstract

The Zoology Museum of the Universidad de Concepción contains the most important zoological heritage of Chile, represented by 20 collections in total. From September 2015 to March 2024, a total of 216 type specimens were admitted, corresponding mostly to paratypes (158 specimens). This material was mainly represented by Insects (Lepidoptera and Coleoptera) and Chelicerates (arachnids) with 97 and 51 specimens respectively, collected in a wide temporal range (between the years 1942 and 2017). Being the period between 2010 and 2014 where the largest number of specimens were collected (75), however, most of the material was entered until the years 2014 and 2019. On the other hand, public health emergencies worldwide, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may have negatively affected the entry of type material from 2020 onwards, where sampling in general was drastically reduced. The type material recorded in this work was obtained between 21 °S and 51 °S, being the municipalities of Concepción (Biobío Region) and Pinto (Ñuble Region) the most represented with 30 and 25 paratypes of insects, respectively. In addition, some specimens from Uruguay, Argentina and Ecuador, belonging to the order Scorpiones, entered the Museum. This reflected the relevance of advancing taxonomic and research work in the different collections of the Zoology Museum, given the discovery of  reference specimens that broaden knowledge of Chile’s natural heritage, promoting the development of integrative research based on biological collections.