Mollusca collection
Part of the National Museum of Wales mollusc collection
The mollusca collection at the National Museum Wales in Cardiff, includes the following important collections:
- Melvill-Tomlin Collection (the combined collections of James Cosmo Melvill and John R le B Tomlin) - this forms the base of the dry collection and was donated in the 1950s
- Spirit Mollusc Collection - including the Hoyle Cephalopod Collection
The F Fedden Collection is another historical mollusca collection.
Details
Number of specimens:
180,000-200,000 lots
Timespan covered:
- The Melvill-Tomlin Collection dates from the 1860s to the 1950s.
- The Hoyle Cephalopod Collection is an important historic collection that includes some HMS Challenger material (1872-76).
- The remaining Spirit Mollusc Collection specimens are mostly from the 1960s onwards.
Geographical locations covered:
The Melvill-Tomlin Collection specimens were collected globally.
Curation and collection management
Preservation:
Most specimens are dry, some wet:
- The Melvill-Tomlin Collection includes over 80,000 lots of dry shells.
- The Spirit Mollusc Collection is stored in alcohol.
Database information:
60-70% of the collection is databased on Filemaker online, including:
- 20,000 bivalves
- 40,000 pulmonates (terrestrial gastropods)
- 60,000 prosobranchs
The best use of the database is for finding historic (pre-1900) material. Searches can also be done using expedition name – for example there are 700 bivalves from expeditions, of which 52 are from HMS Challenger.
Spreadsheets are available for:
- Bivalves Excel (2.8 MB)
- Prosobranches Excel (3.8 MB)
Contact information
National Museum Wales personnel interviewed:
Databases
- Bivalves Excel (2.8 MB)
- Prosobranches Excel (3.8 MB)
Excel files
If you are unable to open any Excel file on this page, please email the project coordinator Jeremy Young to request the document in another format.