Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology
The majority of global biodiversity is insufficiently known. However, we need comprehensive and reliable data so that we can protect biodiversity in a targeted and comprehensive manner. Discovering, describing, distinguishing and characterising species is a prerequisite for understanding the evolution of life on Earth and recognising ecological relationships. Our researchers at the Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology (ztm) pursue these core tasks.
Collections as a store of knowledge
Using taxonomic-systematic, morphological and molecular analyses, they generate knowledge about biological diversity, which they interpret using objects from the collections. The scientific collections form the heart of the ztm and provide the information basis for understanding changes and formulating forecasts.
Digitised data accessible to all
The staff at the ztm are continuously developing this "library of life" and making it accessible to researchers from all over the world and to the public. At the ztm, scientists develop strategies for the expansion and digitisation of the collections. They pass on their knowledge of the species to schoolchildren, students, the interested public and members of international co-operation projects.
Sections | of 24
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesMammalogy - Hamburg
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesOrnithology - Hamburg
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesHerpetologie - Hamburg
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesIchthyology - Hamburg
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesMammalogy - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesOrnithology - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesHerpetology - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesIchthyology - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesLeibniz Junior Research Group Minnows - Conversation Genomics - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesAnimal husbandry - Bonn
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgInvertebrates - Hamburg
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgMollusca - Hamburg
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgAnnelida - Hamburg
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgCrustacea - Hamburg
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgArachnida & Myriapoda - Hamburg
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgLepidoptera & Trichoptera - Hamburg
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnArachnida - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnMyriapoda - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnHymenoptera - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnLepidoptera & Trichoptera - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnColeoptera - Bonn
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnDiptera - Bonn
HamburgCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Central unitsMorphology laboratory - Hamburg
BonnCenter for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Central unitsMorphology laboratory - Bonn
Contact for enquiries in Hamburg
Contact for enquiries in Bonn

Publications
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2025/3
The big, the small and the weird: A phylogenomic analysis of extant Priapulida
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 204
2025/3
An annotated catalog of Annelida types at the Museum of Nature Hamburg, Zoology. Part I: Annelida: Errantia: Aciculata: Eunicida, Myzostomida, Aciculata incertae sedis, and Errantia: Protodriliformia
Evolutionary Systematics, 1, 9
2025/3
A review of Anobothrus Levinsen, 1884, restricted, with reinstatement of Anobothrella Hartman, 1967 and Melythasides Desbruyères, 1978, and redescription of seven species (Annelida, Ampharetidae)
Zootaxa, 2, 5601
2025/3
Taxonomic notes on the genus Himantopterus Wesmael (Lepidoptera, Zygaenoidea, Himantopteridae) with descriptions of three new taxa
Zootaxa, 2, 5601
2025/3
Nutzen Würfelnattern, Natrix tessellata (Laurenti, 1768), ihre Zungen zu aggressiver Anlockmimikry? Do dice snakes, Natrix tessellata (Laurenti, 1768), use their tongues for aggressive lingual luring?
SAURIA – Zeitschrift für Terraristik & Herpetologie, 1, 47
2025/3
Soft anatomy and morphological variation in Daptomys peruviensis (Rodentia, Cricetidae), a rare ichthyomyine from the northwestern Amazonian forests
PeerJ, 13
2025/3
Species Delimitation Using Genomic Data: Options and Limitations
Molecular Ecology
2025/3
First record of Trimerodytes praemaxillaris (Angel, 1929) from Xaisomboun Province, Laos, with additional comments on morphology, natural history, and the type locality
Herpetology Notes, 18
2025/3
Increased phenotypic diversity as a consequence of ecological opportunity in the island radiation of Sulawesi ricefishes (Teleostei: Adrianichthyidae)
BMC Ecology and Evolution, 1, 25
2025/3
Protosiphonorhinus patrickmuelleri gen. et sp. nov., the first fossil member of the sucking millipede family Siphonorhinidae (Colobognatha, Siphonophorida) described from Cretaceous Myanmar amber
Evolutionary Systematics, 1, 9
2025/3
Fundamental questions in meiofauna research highlight how small but ubiquitous animals can improve our understanding of Nature
Communications Biology, 1, 8
2025/2
Sulawesi stream fish communities depend on connectivity and habitat diversity
Journal of Fish Biology, 106
2025/2
Distinct management units for the Critically Endangered angelshark (Squatina squatina) revealed in the Canary Islands
Conservation Genetics, 26
2025/2
The millipede genus Sphaerobelum Verhoeff, 1924, in Thailand, with descriptions of three new species (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Zephroniidae)
Zoosystematics and Evolution, 1, 101
2025/2
Ichthyosaura as a generic nomen for the Alpine Newt (Caudata: Salamandridae): a doubtful case of literarian archeology
Salamandra, 1, 61
2025/2
Sperm Transfer Under Behavioral and Morphological Constraints in the Orb‐Web Spider Genus Argiope
Integrative Zoology
2025/2
New Species and a New Combination in Stenopholea Herman with the First Description of Dolicaonina Larva (Staphylinidae: Paederinae: Paederini)
Neotropical Entomology, 1, 54
2025/2
Disentangling the Taxonomy of Parides burchellanus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) and Related Taxa
Neotropical Entomology, 1, 54
2025/2
Rediscovery of a rare and endangered Apostolepis (Serpentes: Dipsadidae): reassessing species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships using integrative approaches
Salamandra, 1, 61
2025/2
A New and Unique Species of Ricefish (Teleostei: Adrianichthyidae: Oryzias) from the Lariang River Basin, Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the First Known Sympatric Ricefish Species Pair from Sulawesi Rivers
Ichthyology & Herpetology, 1, 113
2025/2
Phylogeny and species delimitation in Albinaria from western Crete (Gastropoda: Clausiliidae)
Zoological journal of the Linnean Society, 2, 203
2025/2
Biogeographic Patterns of Iranian Lepidoptera: A Framework for Conservation
Diversity and Distributions
2025/2
Systematics of the Little Red Tree Frog, Litoria rubella (Anura: Pelodryadidae), with the description of two new species from eastern Australia and arid Western Australia
Zootaxa, 2, 5594
2025/2
The Influence of the Collective Effect of Tooth–tooth Interaction on the Feeding Efficiency of Gastropods: A Biomimetic Approach
Journal of bionic engineering/Journal of Bionics Engineering
2025/2
Large scale monitoring of terrestrial small mammals using noninvasive sampling and COI barcoding
Mammal Research
2025/1
A chromosome-level, haplotype-resolved genome assembly and annotation for the Eurasian minnow (Leuciscidae: Phoxinus phoxinus) provide evidence of haplotype diversity
Gigascience, 14
2025/1
Toxicity of the Herbicide Roundup Original DI® in Tadpoles of Physalaemus erikae and Physalaemus cicada (Anura: Leptodactylidae)
Toxics, 1, 13
2025/1
Speciation and historical invasions of the Asian black-spined toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)
Nature communications, 1, 16
2025/1
Rampant Dispersal Without Gene‐Flow: Reproductively and Geographically Isolated Lineages of the Supertramp Lizard Permeate the Lesser Sunda Archipelago
Journal of Biogeography
2025/1
FOGS: A SNPSTR Marker Database to Combat Wildlife Trafficking and a Cell Culture Bank for Ex‐Situ Conservation
Molecular Ecology resources