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Ichthyology, Bonn

Our fish collection

With around 35,000 known species,fish are the most diverse group of vertebrates. They colonise almost all aquatic habitats on earth. The research and collection of the ichthyology section of the Museum Koenig in Bonn is dedicated to this diversity.

The research and collection focus on freshwater fish. Research topics range from the documentation of species diversity to the mechanisms of evolutionary processes underlying this diversity. In projects we combine morphological and ecological approaches to understand how fish have adapted to their very different habitats.

The specimen collection of the Ichthyology Section comprises around 140,000 specimens, most of which are preserved in alcohol. The collection serves as evidence of the occurrence of species in space and time, but also as a source of morphological and, in some cases, genetic information. The majority of the specimens are digitised and can be accessed via the digital collection portal.

The Ichthyology Section was founded in 1945. The first curator was Karl Heinz Lüling, followed by Klaus Busse in 1978 and Fabian Herder in 2008.

Related collections

Contact person

PD Dr. Fabian Herder

  • Head of Vertebrate Department
  • Head of Section Ichthyology

Phone: +49 228 9122 255
E-Mail: f.herder@leibniz-lib.de

Projects

All projects

Publications

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    2026

  • 2026/05

    De Keyzer, E.L.R., Herder, F., Böhne, A., Campuzano Jiménez, F., Burskaia, V., Kukowka, S., Tracey, A., Denton, A., Oatley, G., Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life, p., Wellcome Sanger Institute Scientific Operations, D.P.c., Tree of Life, C.I.c., Mokodongan, D.F., Wowor, D., Svardal, H.

    Show more...

    Ancient and recent riverine gene flow contributed to the adaptive radiation of sailfin silversides in Wallace's Dreampond

    Molecular Ecology

  • 2026/03

    Ellerbrok, J.S., Sporbert, M., Schreiner, V., Ristok, C., Farwig, N., Hähn, G.J.A., Klenke, R., Seidler, G., Marx, J.M., Schmidt, A., Settele, J., Wirth, C., Albert, C., Bässler, C., Braunisch, V., Brunken, H., Conze, K., Eichenberg, D., Eisenhauer, N., Ellwanger, G., Ferenczy, J., Gerlach, B., Haase, D., Harpke, A., Herder, F., Jansen, F., Kamp, J., Katzenberger, J., Keil, P., Kühn, E., Mascarenhas, A., Müller, J., Musche, M., Nguyen, H.H., Pogoda, P., Ssymank, A., Suhling, F., Vatterrott, H., Wellmann, T., Bruelheide, H.

    Show more...

    Determinants of Terrestrial and Limnic Species Richness in Germany

    Diversity and Distributions, 3, 32

  • 2026/01

    Schwarzer, J., Schüller, A., Möhring, J., Spanke, T., Nolte, A., Herder, F.

    Show more...

    Recommendation of scientific fish husbandry: Sulawesi ricefishes (Beloniformes, Adrianichthyidae)

    Bulletin of Fish Biology, 1, 21

    • 2025

  • 2025/12

    Wantania, L.L., Möhring, J., Koppetsch, T., Miesen, F.W., Wowor, D., Boneka, F., Herder, F.

    Show more...

    Sulawesi Stream Fish Communities Disconnected From the Sea: Absence of Diadromous and Dominance of Exotic Species

    Freshwater biology, 12, 70

Employees

All employees

  • PD Dr. Fabian Herder

    ztm Ichthyology Bonn Scientist

    Phone: +49 228 9122 255
    E-mail: f.herder@leibniz-lib.de

  • Dipl. Biol. Monique Hölting

    ztm Ichthyology Bonn

    Phone: +49 228 9122 440
    E-mail: m.hoelting@leibniz-lib.de

  • Marius Lambrecht

    ztm Ichthyology Bonn

    Phone: +49 228 9122 256
    E-mail: m.lambrecht@leibniz-lib.de

  • Henning Monscheuer

    ztm Animal husbandry Ichthyology Bonn Animal keeper

    Phone: +49 228 9122 274
    E-mail: h.monscheuer@leibniz-lib.de

  • Jan Möhring

    ztm zmb Comparative Genomics - Vertebrates Ichthyology Bonn Doctoral candidate

    Phone: +49 228 9122 431
    E-mail: j.moehring@leibniz-lib.de

  • Dr. Letha Louisiana Wantania

    ztm Ichthyology Bonn Postdoctoral researcher

    Phone: +49 228 9122 375
    E-mail: l.wantania@leibniz-lib.de

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