Ichthyology, Hamburg

The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) is home to Germany's largest fish collection, a world-class collection. More than 8,000 fish species are represented here - this corresponds to around a quarter of all known fish species. The collection comprises more than 260,000 specimens: Over 1,300 type series, 42 per cent of which are primary types, are kept in the collection.Valuable specimens of fish species that became extinct in Europe and North America in the 20th century that cannot be retrieved are in the collection.Precious specimens from the 19th century, for example from collections by Godeffroy and Bleeker, are also part of the collection. The oldest specimen in the collection dates back to 1838.

The objects in the collection come from all oceans and all continents. Extensive and internationally sought-after material of freshwater fish comes from Europe, Asia, Africa, South and Central America. The marine collection focuses on the Atlantic Ocean and neighbouring marine areas, in particular the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Two thirds of all Atlantic fish species are represented in the collection. There is also extensive material from the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The extensive collection of sharks and rays, which is one of the most important in Europe and is therefore frequently consulted by systematists, deserves special mention.