Terrestrial Zoology collection

This collection contains representatives of arachnids and myriapods, chiefly from Western Australia, but including specimens from other Australian regions and elsewhere in the world. Most specimens are stored in ethanol or slide-mounted. This collection serves primarily as a reference and research collection rather than for display.

This collection contains representatives of all kinds of insects, chiefly from Western Australia, but including specimens from other Australian states and elsewhere in the world. Specimens are dried and pinned, preserved in ethanol, or slide-mounted. This collection serves primarily as a reference and research collection rather than for display.

The Herpetology collection contains specimens of reptiles and frogs from throughout Australia and South-East Asia but predominantly Western Australia. The majority of the collection is preserved in alcohol but some dried and skeletal material is also maintained. The collection is used largely for research and reference but also serves a vital role in public education through museum exhibitions. New and exciting discoveries within the collection continue to be made every year.

This collection contains representatives of both aquatic and terrestrial mammals, chiefly from Western Australia, but including specimens from other Australian regions and elsewhere in the world - particularly from southeast Asia. This collection serves as a reference collection, a research collection, and also for display in the Museum's exhibitions.

The Museum's Ornithology Collection contains eggs, nests, skeletons, taxidermy, alcohol preserved birds and also tissue used for genetic analysis. The bird specimens are sourced from all over Western Australia as well as Christmas Island and Indonesia. This collection also contains a reference collection of specimens from around Australia and the world.

This collection represents animals and other samples taken from underground voids such as caves, calcretes and gravels. The collection's samples are acquired from both above or below the water surface.

The Subterranean Biology Collection exists mostly as a holding collection - the samples await processing or description before they are redistributed into the relevant permanent collection (Arachnology, Crustacea, Entomology, Fishes, Marine Invertebrates, Minerals, Molluscs).

Vertebrate biogeographic survey and monitoring is a project to catalogue and survey the vertebrate biodiversity of a particular region or area.

These research projects are useful to determine the vertebrate biodiversity of regions that have been disturbed by human activities, or areas that have been isolated from the Australian mainland by sea level changes in the recent past.

Survey specimens are deposited into other collections within the Terrestrial Zoology department.