Arizona State University

Natural History Collections

About the collection

Supported by ASU’s School of Life Sciences, the ASU NHC includes 10 collections enabling research, teaching, and outreach and holds more than 3.2 million specimens. It contains one of the world’s largest collections of Sonoran Desert biota spanning the U.S.-Mexico border. The ASU NHC is a repository of historical data, with specimens collected dating back to the 1800s through present day.

Specimens included in the ASU NHC originate from field work and donations made by faculty, researchers, students and private enthusiasts. Research and education at the ASU NHC has primarily focused on systematics (naming, defining and classifying groups), biodiversity science and morphological/anatomical studies (form and relationship between structures) of dry or chemically preserved natural history specimens.

The Natural History Collections include:

ASU Herbarium
ASU Lichen Herbarium
ASU Paleobiology Collection
ASU Insect Collection
ASU Mollusk Collection
ASU Ichthyology Collection
ASU Herpetology Collection
ASU Mammalogy Collection
ASU Ornithology Collection
ASU Vertebrate Tissue Collection

Natural History Collections

Vascular Plants Herbarium

The Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium (ASU) is among the most important in the greater Sonoran Desert region with over 340,000 specimens.

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Natural History Collections

Lichen Herbarium

The ASU Lichen Herbarium is the most comprehensive collection in the American Southwest (southeastern USA, northwest Mexico), and the 6th largest in the county.

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Natural History Collections

Mollusk Collection

The ASU NHC Mollusk Collection is made up of several smaller shell collections donated by various individuals, with two major holdings accounting for most of the material. The largest is approximately 100,000 shells donated by Edwin C. Roworth.

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Natural History Collections

Vertebrate Collection

The ASU NHC Vertebrate Collection is comprised of five separate collections: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, and vertebrate tissues.

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Natural History Collections

Insect Collection

The ASU NHC Insect Collection consists of three primary collections: the Hasbrouck Insect Collection, Charles O'Brien Collection, and Lois O'Brien Collection.

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Natural History Collections

Paleobiology Collection

The Paleobiology Collections were formed in April, 2026 to consolidate the original Fossil Plant Collections together with invertebrate, vertebrate and trace fossil collections in order to reflect the broader assemblage of fossil organisms

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