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The Collection of Type Fossils of the Natural Science Museum of the University of Zaragoza (Spain)

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Abstract

The Natural Science Museum of the University of Zaragoza houses one of the most important collections in Spain of fossils published in scientific journals. It is a new museum, which has brought together the fossil collections of the Palaeontological Museum of the University of Zaragoza with the university’s historical collections. It harbours 33,561 fossils, which have been studied in 524 scientific publications (dissertations, books and journals), and of which 243 are holotypes. All the material is inventoried in a FileMaker database and is available for consultation by any researcher who applies to do so. The type fossil collection is mainly from the Autonomous Region of Aragón in Spain (comprising the provinces of Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel), with a small proportion from other Spanish regions (less than 10%) and from other countries (less than 1%). The collection is diverse on what concerns taxonomic groups, with arthropods, brachiopods, echinoderms and vertebrates standing out in terms of the number of specimens and of holotypes. The fossils date from the Upper Proterozoic to the Pleistocene, the Carboniferous-Triassic being the least-represented period. Particularly noteworthy are the collections of invertebrates from the Cambrian and of mammals from the Aragonian (Tertiary).

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Acknowledgements

Management of the collection is subsidized by the Government of Aragón by means of financial support from the government office and by the University of Zaragoza by means of the Vice-Rector’s Office for Cultural Projection. Special gratitude goes to the Eladio Liñán, who was the first instigator of the museum. Thanks also go to everyone who has contributed to managing the collection of type fossils of the museum (Beatriz Azanza, José Ántonio Gámez, Luis Miguel Sender, José Manuel Gasca, Ester Díaz). Rupert Glasgow translated the text.

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  1. Natural Science Museum of the University of Zaragoza, Plaza Basilio Paraíso 4, 50005, Zaragoza, Spain

    José Ignacio Canudo

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  1. José Ignacio Canudo
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Correspondence to José Ignacio Canudo.

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Canudo, J.I. The Collection of Type Fossils of the Natural Science Museum of the University of Zaragoza (Spain). Geoheritage 10, 385–392 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-017-0228-1

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