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Austrian Taxonomic Facility (AT-TAF)

Collections | Analytical facilities | Strengths of collections | Staff expertise

AT-TAFconsists of the Natural History Museum Vienna and the Department of Botany, the Institute of Botany of the University of Vienna.

PLEASE NOTE: Users will not be able to visit AT TAF during June 2008.

AT-TAF Partner Institutions

INSTITUTE	LOCATION
Natural History Museum Vienna (NHMW)	Vienna, Austria
Institute of Botany (WU)	Vienna. Austria

Collections & expertise
NHMW includes departments of Zoology, Botany, Geology-Palaeontology, Mineralogy, Anthropology, Karst and Caves. Most departments are organised in ‘collections’ of taxonomic units with responsible scientific curators (e.g. ‘Collection of birds’, ‘Collection of Coleoptera’). General information of the core infrastructure is given in

Table 2. The collections of AT-TAF contain more than 30 million specimens including 450,000 types. They are especially important for taxonomic work for the Central and South-East European area, the Balkan Peninsula (especially Albania, Bulgaria, Greece), Crete, the Iranian area north to the Caucausus, Australia and New Zealand. In some other geographical areas the collections also have high importance for single taxonomic groups: Brazil, Chile, South Africa, China and the Philippines.

More detailed information of the unique collections is given in Table 3. The Institute of Botany (WU) has, since its inception, been closely connected with NHMW's collections. During their history these collections have been united and then divided again. In the field of botany NHMW concentrates on the collections; modern techniques are concentrated in WU, which also offers possibilities for culturing plants in the keeping of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. DNA investigations of botanical specimens are also possible in the WU.

Full time scientists, plus many part-time researchers, students and retired staff members are available for discussions and support. The special expertise of AT-TAF's staff is given in Table 4. The staff members work with old and very valuable specimens (e.g. the oldest, non-scientific, herbarium is from 1690). They are highly qualified specialists in the taxonomic group for which they curate the collections.

Additionally, a library with many historically important volumes is offered to Users. The library with c. 6,000 scientific journals and c. 200,000 books (including more than 50,000 historically valuable books) complement the National Library of Austria and the universities’ libraries nearby. Therefore, many old and rare books are available for taxonomic work.

Supporting analytical features
A DNA laboratory for zoological investigations (NHMW).

List of TAF facilities (EXCEL)

AT-TAF Core infrastructure

· More than 30 million specimens, including more than 450,000 types
· General areas of importance: central and south-east Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, Greece and Crete, the Iranian area north to the Caucasus, Australia and New Zealand
· Other geographical areas where part of the collections have highest importance for taxonomic work: Mediterranean; Botany: Brazil, Chile, South Africa, China; water beetles: China; Heteroptera: Philippines; Formicidae: SE Asia, Australia etc.
· Facilities for traditional taxonomic work, but also for state-of-the-art optical instruments (microscopes and spectroscope), molecular laboratories, SEM, TEM, analytical electron scanning microscope, electron microprobe, X-ray diffraction and cathodoluminescence
· Libraries with more than 6,000 journals, c. 200,000 monographs, more than 50,000 of these historical books published before 1900
· Several databases covering part of the collections, but partly also other records: e.g. the Austrian Herpetofauna Database, the Catalogue of Palaeontological Types in Austrian Collections (http://www.oeaw.ac.at/oetyp/palhome.htm); the databases of the Documented Chromosome Number Checklist of Austrian Vascular Plants, Amphibians of Austria and Mammals of Austria.

Some particular strengths of AT-TAF collections.

Botany 4,000,000 specimens, more than 150,000 types. Important collections include Algae; Fungi; Lichens; Hepaticae; Musci; Gramincae; Juncaceae; Orchidaceae.

The collections are most important for the following regions: central Europe, Balkan Peninsula, esp. Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, South-west Asia (basic material for Flora Iranica), South Africa, tropical America, Central America and Brazil, Australia (the first 60 years of exploration nearly complete), and New Zealand.

Institute of Botany: 1,500,000 specimens, including more than 100,000 types. Note collection of Bromeliaceae (more than 9,000 specimens).

1^st Zoological Department, Vertebrate Collections, more than 900,000 specimens:

Fish Collection (500,000 alcohol specimens, 1,500 skeletons, 2,000 mounted specimens). Type collection ca. 2,000 taxa, with strengths in South American taxa, 70% of all specimens are catalogued.

Herpetological Collection (200,000 alcohol specimens, 6,000 skeletons and mounted specimens). Collection of type specimens: ca. 200 amphibian & 600 reptilian taxa. Herpetological slides collection (10,000 slides).

Bird Collection (90,000 skins, 10,000 mounted specimens, 7,000 skeletons, 10,000 clutches, 1,000 nests). Skins: western Palaearctic, Brazil, New Zealand, parts of Africa, Near East, New Zealand (one of the biggest collections in Europe); Mounts: many of them representing valuable historic records.

Mammological Collection (about 70,000 objects). Scientific collection: mainly study skins, hides and furs, skulls, skeletons. Geographic focal points: South America, Turkey, Middle Europe, and Austria. Oldest specimens from 1806.

Archaeozoological Collection (about 350 archaeological finding complexes. 350 skeletons and 1,300 skulls for osteological comparison). Scientific focal points: early history and pre-history of domestic animals and stock-farming. Adametz-Collection: skulls of old cattle races (1,300 skulls). Collection of archaeological complexes (mainly from Austria): over 500,000 dated objects.

The Chemosystematic Laboratory (DNA Lab) holds about 9,000 tissue or blood samples preserved in alcohol or frozen (-80°C).

2^ndZoological Department, Insecta, more than 10,000,000 specimens:

Lepidoptera: ca. 40,000 types; Special collections: Koenig (neotropical Lepidoptera), Holzinger (neotropical Heliconius), Vartian (southwest-palaearctic Macrolepidoptera, esp. Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan).

Coleoptera: ca. 70,000 types; important historical collections:

Terrestrial Coleoptera: Staphylinidae – ca. 500,000 specimens, (+ 100,000 Inserenda); Scolytidae; Carabidae; Anthicidae

Aquatic Coleoptera: ca. 7,000,000 water beetle specimens (alcohol) and ca. 300,000 mounted, many holotypes. 50,000 specimens added annually, mostly from China, South-East Asia, South America and the Australian Region. Recent water beetle accession: coll. containing more than 40,000 Dytiscidae.

Hymenoptera and Zoocecidia: ca. 10,000 types; special collections of Natterer in Brazil; material from the voyage of the frigate Novara; Sphecidae; Chalcidoidea, Cynipidae Zoocecidia; Apoidea; Formicidae; Sphecidae; Mutillidae; Pompilidae-types; Ichneumonidae; Chrysididae; Mymaridae; Ichneumonidae; Evanioidea; Braconidae; Sphecidae.

Diptera: ca. 6,000 types; types including from travels of frigate Novara; Oestridae.

Hemiptera: several thousand types; especially Belostomatidae; Phymatidae; Auchenorrhyncha; american Heteroptera; Heteroptera.

Heteroptera (aquatic and semiaquatic): over 50% of the Gerromorpha described all over the world, well represented Nepomorpha (waterbugs) (ca. 70% of the Aphelocheiridae), more than 80% of the Helotrephidae. Numerous types from recent revisions.

Neuropteroidea & remaining insect orders: ca. 10,000 types (Worldwide). Neuroptera; Orthoptera.

3^rd Zoological Department, Invertebrates excluding insects

Ca. 900,000 lots with over 7500 types: corals, Polychaeta, Echinodermata; Turbellaria; parasitic worms; Oligochaeta; Kinorrhyncha; Mollusca; Crustacea; Arachnoidea; Myriapoda.; Protozoa, Mesozoa, Porifera, Coelenteratra, Nemertinea, Echiurida, Priapulida, Sipunculida, Enteropneusta, Tentakulata, Tunicata.

Department of Geology and Palaeontology: The beginnings of the collection date back to the early eighteenth century. An important part (about 10,000 specimens) was bought from Constantin von Ettingshausen in 1879. It comprised plant fossils from different sites of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. Since then the collection has increased and comprises fossil plant material from all periods. The major part derives from the Carboniferous, Triassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary. The scientific collection is arranged stratigraphically according to regions. The palaeobotanical collection contains type material of numerous publications. The types are included in the Catalogue of Palaeontological Types in Austrian Collections (http://www.oeaw.ac.at/oetyp/palhome.htm).

Department of Mineralogy: ca. 150,000 items. Multiplicities of items come from occurrences on the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and its alpine regions. Specimens from many of the "classical" deposits in Germany, Russia, England, Italy and other countries are also represented. Newer acquisitions have concentrated on worldwide alpine paragenesis, selected pegmatite paragenesis (e. g. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal), new gems and ornamental and synthesised material, new meteorite finds and meteorite falls.

Department of Karst and Caves concentrates on Speleology (Karstology and cave research), Karst morphology, Karsthydrogeology, mineral and thermal waters, Speleometerology – Speleoclimatology, Radonmonitoring in caves and karst areas.

Department of Anthropology: c. 60,000 objects of skeletons, photos, x-ray photos, casts of palaeontological objects etc.

Examples of unique / rare expertise represented by AT-TAF staff

Zoology: Trematoda; Cestoda; Nematoda, (animal, parasitic); Arachnida, Opiliones; Insecta, Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Gerromorpha & Nepomorpha; Insecta, Lepidoptera, Noctuidae; Insecta, Coleoptera aquatica; Insecta, Diptera, Chironomidae; Insecta, Hymenoptera, Formicoidea; Aves, SE-Asia and Neotropics; Mammalia, Chiroptera; Mammalia from archaeological sites.

BOTANY: Phanerogamae: Hyacinthaceae, Palmae, Annonaceae; Bromeliaceae; Scrophulariaceae, Veronica, Hebe, Euphrasia; Asteraceae, Carlina, Achillea, Hypochaeris; Cruciferae, Erysimum; Gesneriaceae; Rubiaceae, Galium, Asperula; Styracaceae; Ebenaceae, Diospyros; Kryptogamae: Basidiomycetes, Aphyllophorales; Lichens, Verrucariaceae; cave, fungi.

MINERALOGY: meteoritics, geochemistry and cosmochemistry, igneous and metamorphic petrology, gemology, speleology and cave mineralogy, economic mineralogy and even in the science of dusts from near (terrestrial) and far (cosmic).

PALEONTOLOGY: Mollusca general; Bivalvia; Gastropoda; Scaphopoda; Cephalopoda; Mollusca, Tertiary; Mollusca, Cretaceous; Echinoidea; Pisces general; Pisces, Tertiary; Mammalia general; Mammalia, ‘micromammals’; Mammalia, Mesozoic, Tertiary, Quaternary; Mammalia, Rodentia; Mammalia, Hominidae; Plants general; Plants, Cretaceous and Tertiary; Palaeoecology; Palaeogeography; Palaeobiogeography.

KARSTOLOGY and CAVE RESEARCH: Karst morphology; Karst hydrogeology; mineral and thermal waters; Speleometerology; Speleoclimatology; Radonmonitoring in caves and karstareas; Monitoring for Speleotherapy (caves and mines); Speleohistory general; Speleohistory, especially in the Alps, Carpartians and Dinarids.

ANTHROPOLOGY: evolution of Hominids (Transition H. neanderthalensis/H. sapiens); evolution of human skeleton based on morphology and function, demography of human populations in context with geography, climate, economy; reconstruction on living conditions of prehistoric human populations.