The San Diego State University Department of Biology vertebrate collection houses thousands of animal skins and skeletons. This resource is available for research and teaching to both students and faculty and is located here at SDSU in a room within the Life Science South building. Our vertebrate collection is known to be one of the richest university collections in the nation and includes both native and exotic species of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Some of the specimens housed in the collection are quite rare and a few date back as far as the 1800's. Other collections we house are terrestrial arthropods and the herbarium.

The purpose of the collection is to provide instructional models for teaching all levels of biology with a broad taxonomic representation. The collection is used by professors and graduate students for research in the areas of systematics, evolution, paleontology and anthropology. Many graduate students rely on the extensive data provided by the collection to research and produce their thesis projects, as it is extremely helpful for the identification of live animals.

We are always looking for support to help fund this valuable resource and would appreciate your contributions. If you would like to visit the collection or would like more information please contact Mike Van Patten or call (619) 594-4769.