Reptiles and Amphibians

Reptiles and amphibians belong to the cold-blooded quadrupeds. These groups can be divided into several taxonomic groups such as among the reptiles the snakes, turtles, lizards, worm lizards and crocodiles. Amphibians include frogs, toads, salamanders and worm salamanders. The collection is arranged taxonomically and contains more than 100,000 recorded reptiles and amphibians. Most are kept in glass jars or large containers in formaldehyde but there are also a large number of dry mounted skeletons and skins in the collection. Geographic focuses of this collection are the Netherlands, Europe, Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Japan, Suriname and the Amazon.

Oldest
collection

The collection of the National Museum of Natural History was created by merging several collections and cabinets at the time of the museum's foundation in 1820 by King William I. These cabinets, containing natural history objects, arose because, from the 15th and 16th centuries onward, voyages of discovery brought people into contact with animals and plants never before seen in Europe. Later, many large natural history cabinets were built in the Netherlands due to our position and participation in global trade. One of the most famous natural history cabinets was that of Albertus Seba; some objects from this cabinet ended up in the Naturalis collection via the stadtholder's cabinet.

The reptile and amphibian collection of Naturalis has its origins in these cabinets and was expanded after the museum was founded with objects collected during journeys such as those of the then newly established Natural History Commission. Director Temminck wanted to promote natural history research in the Dutch East Indies with this commission and sent members to collect for the museum. Important members of the commission who collected a great deal of herpetological material included H. Kuhl, J.C. van Hasselt, H. Boie, H, Macklot and S. Muller. Later members included Schwaner, P. Diard and Forsten.

Collection
Hoogmoed

The collection of Marinus Hoogmoed consists of reptiles and amphibians that he collected between 1968 and 1999 during a large number of expeditions, mainly in South America. He collected deep in the jungles of countries such as Suriname, Brazil, Venezuela and French Guiana, thereby mapping all the reptiles and amphibians living in these remote areas. This collection of approximately 10,000 specimens is preserved at Naturalis and is still frequently consulted by scientists all over the world.

Expeditions

The reptile and amphibian collection grew further in the 19th and twentieth centuries through the many expeditions organised by the museum or of which the museum took part. Important expeditions for this collection include the two expeditions to Dutch New Guinea, Wisselmeren in 1939 and the Sterrengebergte in 1959. This was followed by several expeditions to Suriname, including the Brokopondo research project in 1969, followed by many collecting trips led by M.S. Hoogmoed to the Amazon region.

Centerpieces

The material of the Physics Committee has been collected in Java, New Guinea, Sumatra, Moluccas and Borneo, among other places. This collection has been a very valuable source for the descriptions of new species, contains many type specimens and is still of great scientific and cultural-historical value.