Porifera MZS

The Porifera collection at the MZS comprises some 2000 specimens and is the most reference-rich ensemble of the museum collections with 111 valid types. The specimens have broad worldwide origins and were collected in their vast majority in the second half of the 19th century. Two ensembles are particularly valuable: one is the collection of Oskar Schmidt (ca. 600) with his collects in the Adriatic and more generally the Mediterranean seas. It is combined with close to 200 sponges collected by Alexander Agassiz during his journeys with the US Coast Survey along the Atlantic coasts of the Americas, and which were analysed by Schmidt. The second large collection is that from Japanese seas gathered by Ludwig Döderlein in 1879-1881 (200 exemplars). They are all from the Sagami bay area. The MZS Porifera collection was later (first half of 20th century) revised and completed by Emile Topsent who collected in the Naples area. Several other collectors should be mentioned to refine the view: Arnold Edward Ortmann with specimens from Tanzanian coasts, Ernst Haeckel (Adriatic sea), Nathaniel Gist Gee (Chinese coasts), Karl Möbius (North see and Mauritius), Alexandre Myèvre (Mediterranean sea) and several expeditions: the Deutsche Tiefsee Expedition (1898-1899), the Deutsche Südpolar Expedition (1901-1903), the Barents (1882), Varna (1883) and Hassler (1871) Expeditions.