The AMNH Division of Vertebrate Zoology is comprised of the Departments of Herpetology, Ichthyology, Mammalogy, and Ornithology. Over 3.5 million specimens have been archived in the DVZ collections. Taxonomic and geographic coverage is broad, including over 35,000 species. General coverage includes:

Fish: orders- 100%; families- 86%

Amphibians: orders- 100%

Reptiles: orders- 100%

Mammals: orders- 100%; families- 97%

Birds: orders- 100%; families- 100%

Over the past several years, an immense amount of work has been devoted to improving the quality (accuracy, precision, and completeness) of data associated with specimens in the DVZ collections. Two major aspects of this activity are (1) development of a unified and comprehensive collection management and research database and (2) making the data more easily accessible to the public via the Internet. This site represents the culmination of this effort.

In order to enhance the performance of the database, users may search the database for only one discipline at a time. You will be asked to register the first time you access the database. On subsequent visits, you will only be asked to provide your email address.