The secrets of our collections

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Our collection’s objects harbour stories ranging from the fascinating to the curious, telling tales on anything from the damage done by fire at the Natural History Museum in Hamburg to the fate of the “Bonn canteen sturgeon”, the last of its kind to find its way onto a plate. Every single piece not only tells of nature, but also of the people and events that have shaped it.

Fossile Zehenfußkrebs im Museum ausgestellt

This fossilised decapod crustacean (Acanthochirana) from the Jurassic period, originating in the marine sedimentary rock of the Solnhofen limestone in southern Germany, boasts a proud age of around 150 million years. Originally near-white in colour, the decapod was probably recovered from the destroyed State Geological Institute in Hamburg during World War II after the night of the bombing on 28 July 1943, acquiring its dark, reddish shade from that fire’s heat.

The LIB houses one of the most important annelid collections in the world. Some of this collection’s over 3,500 type specimens were purchased by former curator Dr habil. Gesa Hartmann-Schröder between 1961 and 1994. In the course of her remarkable career, she described 573 marine annelid species, making her the most prolific marine annelid taxonomist in history and an important role model for women in annelid taxonomy.

The LIB maintains an extensive research archive on the history of biology together with the Biohistoricum in Bonn to preserve, analyse, and publicise the estates of important natural scientists. Historical documents found there comprise correspondence, books, and drawings, including some by Africa researcher Georg Schweinfurth. They offer special insights into the historical development of the various biological disciplines.

ausgestellter "Bonner Kantinenstör" im Museum

The story of the “Bonn canteen sturgeon” is as tragic as it is absurd: This European sturgeon was one of the last of its kind to meet its end in the canteen kitchen of the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Bonn in 1993. The 142-kilogram specimen was caught off Heligoland, sold illegally at the Cuxhaven fish market, and consumed at the Federal Ministry of the Interior. A chef rescued the protected fish’s head and skin, allowing researchers to identify it as a member of the second sturgeon species originally native to Germany, now extinct in this country.