The freshwater snails of eastern North America are well represented in the collection, providing an excellent resource for systematic and ecological studies. Other geographic areas covered by these collections are Southeast Asia and the Philippines, South America and Europe. The majority of endangered species in the U.S. are unionids and species of this group are often sensitive environmental indicators. The area of geographic strength in our freshwater bivalves is North America. Most marine material, approximately 55,500 lots, was received as part of formed collections or as voucher material.
Geographic coverage is world-wide with strengths in Florida and the Caribbean.
The collection contains considerable historically important marine material acquired in several major private collections, for example those of Charles D. Nelson, Fred Button and Walter Biese. Recent growth in the marine collections has resulted from the work of the present curatorial staff. The cephalopods, prior to the arrival of Dr. Janet Voight, were comparatively under-represented in the collection. Since 1990, specimen acquisition through orphan collections, cooperation with fisheries surveys and collaborative research by Voight has increased the cephalopod collection to include most of the recognized families and many octopus genera. Strengths of this collection are to be found in squids from the North Pacific and Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic and octopuses from hydrothermal vents on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.