Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology (ztm)
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 25
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/8d1db1bf7f12230b649cfb639e3814e4.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Mammalogie_HH/170227-CeNak-Labor_62A4684-30Mp-Foto-UHH__RRZ_MCC__Mentz_EA52.jpg%3F1731483652)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesMammalogy - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/6bd10a3efc2772d5009424edf4284012.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/home/Bilder/LIB/Sammlungen/Feder.JPG%3F1730454658)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesOrnithology - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/e211296c4d956aff7f2a31fa9ae072d7.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Herpetologie_HH/-_R_Haas_Malaysia_DSC2560.jpg%3F1731656543)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesHerpetologie - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/216e1037fa37800b0d6eae25ae29c214.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Ichthyologie_HH/sarah-page-Pitb97HIn6Ya-unsplash.jpg%3F1731657103)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesIchthyology - Hamburg
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Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesMammalogy - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Ornithologie_BN/geococcyx_californianus_antonioquezon_0.jpg%3F1731397372)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesOrnithology - Bonn
Bonn/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Herpetologie_BN/Herpetologie_Bonn/Polychrus_peruvianus_M_Bagua_Grande_41.jpg%3F1729775142)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesHerpetology - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Tierhaltung_BN/dsc_0168_0_0.jpg%3F1730288148)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesIchthyology - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Leibniz_Junior_Research_Group_Minnows_Conversation_Genomics_BN/me02_elritzen_6_gallerie_0.jpg%3F1731652583)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesLeibniz Junior Research Group Minnows - Conversation Genomics - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Tierhaltung_BN/dsc_1188_0.jpg%3F1730887434)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
VertebratesAnimal husbandry - Bonn
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/e4c25a4e689781dea96809fc153ea915.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sammlungen/Hamburg/sml_Wirbellose/20200625_215842.jpg%3F1731395327)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgInvertebrates - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/8d1db1bf7f12230b649cfb639e3814e4.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Mollusca_HH/150717-Malakologie_61D3101-22Mp_Foto-UHH__RRZ___MCC__Mentz.jpg%3F1731653814)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgMollusca - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/41960e6f711444a94ba156c5132cf140.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/home/Bilder/LIB/Sammlungen/christimastreeworm.jpg%3F1728298466)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgAnnelida - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/d068ae4ba937b60bb1843b3e56b9ae70.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Crustacea_HH/Copepoda_Euryte_Photo_Nancy_Mercado.jpg%3F1730889143)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgCrustacea - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/2eda47af47f4917d31b69f02859e1c38.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Arachnida_Myriapoda_HH/Spinne1.jpg%3F1730888327)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgArachnida & Myriapoda - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/f446d6636004604082d1e7d047bcf0e1.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Coleoptera_HH/Schwarzfl.Trapezruessler.C.melonogrannum-k-Hempelmann.jpg%3F1731661537)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgColeoptera - Hamburg
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/51164c49f7a73ddb585b9f0de82436ff.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Lepidoptera_Trichoptera_HH/Sechsfleck-Widderchen_TorstenDemuth.jpg%3F1731396372)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates HamburgLepidoptera & Trichoptera - Hamburg
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Arachnida_BN/dscn2010_0.jpg%3F1730287466)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnArachnida - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Myriapoda_BN/dsc_1427_0.jpg%3F1730287210)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnMyriapoda - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Hymenoptera_BN/bees_collecting_pollen_2004-08-14_1_0.jpg%3F1730279846)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnHymenoptera - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Lepidoptera_Trichoptera_BN/FotoSchmetterling-2048x1365.jpg%3F1731394777)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnLepidoptera & Trichoptera - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Coleoptera_BN/cicindela_2_0.jpg%3F1730280033)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnColeoptera - Bonn
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/b8df8d8c0b83f15485bbc8be03895b63.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Sektionen/ZTM/Diptera_BN/allograpta_rhinoprosopa_monteverde_cr_3654_0.jpg%3F1730287069)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Invertebrates BonnDiptera - Bonn
Hamburg:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/389ed7d8f57b246ae8afab591799dc2d.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/home/Bilder/LIB/Infrastruktur/2G3A1223.JPG%3F1737701883)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Central unitsMorphology laboratory - Hamburg
Bonn:watermark(leibniz-lib.de/typo3temp/assets/images/watermark-copyright/44f8ae59e1803225927a51183d3e7bc1.png,3,10,0)/leibniz-lib.de/fileadmin/user_upload/home/Bilder/LIB/Infrastruktur/2G3A8140.JPG%3F1729704374)
Center for Taxonomy & Morphology (ztm)
Central unitsMorphology laboratory - Bonn
- Head of Centre for Taxonomy & Morphology
- Deputy Director General LIB at the Hamburg location
Phone: +49 40 238317 630
E-Mail: m.herberstein@leibniz-lib.de
Contact for enquiries in Hamburg
Contact for enquiries in Bonn
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Publications
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2026/02
Provenance, Science & Profit: Natural History Museums and the Global Network of the Umlauff Natural History Trading Houses
Research Ideas and Outcomes, 12
2026/02
First record of Melanoides tuberculata in Rhodes, Greece: a new invader or a failed introduction?
Journal of Conchology, 5, 45
2026/02
Danube Dragon Action Plan. Action Plan for the Danube Crested Newt (Triturus dobrogicus). Societas Europaea Herpetologica (SEH), Bonn, Germany. 22 pp.
2026/02
Provenance, Science & Profit: Natural History Museums and the Global Network of the Umlauff Natural History Trading Houses
Research Ideas and Outcomes, 12
2026/02
Genome and transcriptome‐based identification and expression profiling of chemosensory gene families across developmental stages and tissues in Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae)
Insect Molecular Biology
2026/02
A photographic guide to the embryonic development of the garfish Belone belone
Bulletin of Fish Biology, 21
2026/02
Diversification and historical biogeography of the Himalayan toad (Duttaphrynus himalayanus)
Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 113473, 683
2026/01
Synopsis of the myrmecophilous genus Ecitonides Wasmann (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Paederinae), with description of two new species from Brazil
ZooKeys, 1267
2026/01
Human-Wildlife Coexistence in Nepal: Evolution of Relief Policies and Practices
Banko Janakari, 1, 36
2026/01
The Case of the Missing Green Iguana Predators: Reviews of Ecological Literature Should Go Beyond Google Scholar
Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
2026/01
Results of the research cruises of FRV Walther Herwig to South America. LXXVIII. Records of some dragon-, hatchet-, and viperfishes (Stomiiformes) from waters off Argentina and Uruguay
Bulletin of Fish Biology, 21
2026/01
Snakes on Trains: Railways May Sway Goa's King Cobra Distribution
Biotropica, 1, 58
2026/01
Convergent evolution of failure- and wear-prevention in radulae of rock-scraping land snails (Chondrinidae, Gastropoda)
Royal Society Open Science, 1, 13
2026/01
Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of the termitophilous rove beetle genus Xenogaster Wasmann, 1891 (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Corotocini)
Zoological journal of the Linnean Society, 1, 206
2026/01
Two new species of Parobisium (Pseudoscorpiones: Neobisiidae) Chamberlin, 1930 from South Korea, with a preliminary phylogeny of the genus
Zootaxa, 2, 5741
2026/01
Empowering national capacity for DNA-based approach to species identification and biodiversity monitoring
2026/01
Mountains of diversity: a systematic revision of the Andean rodent genus Oreoryzomys (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae)
PeerJ, 14
2026/01
Subdigital integumentary microstructure in Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkota): do those lineages with incipiently expressed toepads exclusively exhibit adhesive setae?
Beilstein journal of nanotechnology, 17
2026/01
Whither Dendrelaphis in western India? A critique of recent papers by Vaishnav and Ghadi (2025) and Puranik et al. (2025)
Reptiles&Amphibians, 1, 33
2026/01
Characterization of metal contaminants in the Critically Endangered angelshark (Squatina squatina): A first ecotoxicological insight
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 222
2025/12
Species concepts in the psyllid genus Camarotoscena (Hemiptera, Psylloidea) associated with Populus (Salicaceae)
Alpine Entomology, 9
2025/12
Life on sticky plants: two new species of Mitrapsylla (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Psyllidae) on Chamaecrista (Fabaceae) in the Brazilian Highlands
Zootaxa, 1, 5727
2025/12
New ultrastructural (SEM) data of Tubiluchus arcticus (Priapulida)
Verhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins in Hamburg, 55
2025/12
Intra-specific foraging dynamics reveal anthropogenic impact on harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Danish Kattegat and the German Wadden Sea
Frontiers in Marine Science, 12
2025/12
Nuchal scalation patterns in Iranian Mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris Lesson, 1831) point to an overlooked conservation unit.
Journal of wildlife and biodiversity, 4, 9
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