Department of Zoology
1987
Martina Šašić Kljajo, PhD
60 collections
Collections of vertebrates (Vertebrata)
Collections of mammals (teriological or mammalian; Mammalia) contain 8,200 specimens, of which 70% have been inventoried, and they contain significant collections of small mammals, rodents (Rodentia) and Eulipotyphla (Insectivora) from Croatia, including endangered groups of bats (Chiroptera).
Collection of birds (Aves)
The Croatian Natural History Museum’s collection of birds contains more than 6,100 skins and preparations which represent around 90% of bird species in Croatia. Bird specimens were collected by more than 1,200 collectors over a period of 170 years. The oldest preserved preparation is that of the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus). The collection preserves specimens of certain species that are now extinct in Croatia, such as the great bustard (Otis tarda), lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni), razorbill (Alca torda), and others. Some of the significant specimens kept in the collection are the globally critically endangered slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris), white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala), and saker falcon (Falco cherrug). The collection has been digitized, and the Catalogue of the Bird Collection (Grbac I. and Kralj J., 2008) is available on this link.
The collection was presented to the public during the exhibition “Flyers of the Open Skies” in 2011.
Insight into and work on the collection is allowed to members of the scientific and professional community. (irena.grbac@hpm.hr)
Collection of bird eggs (Aves)
The collection contains more than 1,300 eggs. They were mostly collected in the period from 1860 to 1925, when collecting animals, including eggs, was common. Today, egg collection is permitted only with a permit, which makes the historic specimens in the collection invaluable in bird research. The collection houses the eggs of 141 bird species, including those endangered and potentially extinct in Croatia, such as the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) and the eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca).
Egg samples and the accompanying documentation are a source of information on the past and present bird populations, and the evolution and ecology of species. The collection was presented to the public during the exhibition “Ab ovo” in 2013. (the catalogue of the exhibition)
The collection has been digitized, and members of the scientific and professional community can view the collection and work on it. (irena.grbac@hpm.hr)
The collection of bird eggs (Oological) contains 1,355 eggs, all of which have been inventoried.
Collections of amphibians and reptiles (Herpetological; Amphibia and Reptilia) with at least 6,000 specimens, are in the process of being inventoried.
Collections of fish and northern lampreys (Ichthyological) contain 7,400 specimens, of which 80% have been inventoried. They also include the important collections of saltwater fish by T. Šoljan, on the basis of which he wrote the first determination key; and the purchased collection of P. Zupančić, which contains the endemic fish of the karst watercourses of the Dinaric Alps, mainly from the group of carp (Cyprinidae), with several species types.
Colllections of insects (Entomological; Insecta)
Collections of beetles (Coleoptera) contain 226,000 specimens (12,500 inventoried). The significant collections are the Geiger, Igalffy, Koča, Korlević, Kozulić (Bosiljevo), Mikšić, Novak, Onsea, Redenšek, Schlosser, and Weingärtner collections.
Collections of cave beetles (Coleoptera cavatica: The Jalžić collection) contain around 3,000 specimens. They are representative of Croatia and they contain several types of endemic taxa.
Collections of Lepidoptera (Lepidoptera) contain 86,300 specimens (49,000 inventoried). The most important collections are the Lorković (40,000), Locke, Koča, Gušić, Grund, Taborsky, Novak, Geiger, Kozulić, Igalffy, Redenšek, Maretić, Rucner; Igalffy, Mladinov, and Vajdić collections.
Collections of Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera) contain 42,900 specimens (14,000 inventoried). The most important collections are the Korlević and Perović collections.
Collections of Diptera (Diptera) contain 17,300 specimens. The A. Langoffer collection is the most important one.
Collections of Heteroptera (Heteroptera) contain 10,800 specimens.
Collections of Orthoptera (Orthoptera) contain 4,000 specimens.
Collections of Trichoptera (Trichoptera) contain 16,000 specimens. The M. Kučinić and F. Perović collections are the most important ones.
Collections of other insects (Sternorrhyncha, Orthoptera, Ephemeroidea, Odonata, Neuroptera, and types of entomological traps) contain around 69,000 specimens.
The Department of Zoology covers a wide range of activities in culture, education and science. The main activities are the preservation and management of zoological collections, primarily of national origin. Scientific evaluation and taxonomy are of primary interest in collection management. The Department of Zoology of the Museum has experts who cover a wide range of animal groups – butterflies, beetles, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, molluscs, and subterranean fauna. Moreover, they also cover the scientific disciplines such as taxonomy, systematics, ecology, biodiversity conservation, GIS, genetics, etc.
Through the Museum, the Department is also involved in the research and conservation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. It has the role of a national centre for biological diversity. Museum experts are members of various national and international professional bodies and groups (such as IUCN, UNEP, ACCOBAMS, EUROBATS, Butterfly Conservation Europe, etc.) and they provide professional services in those areas of biology, ecology, and biodiversity conservation. One of the Museum’s missions is to educate and raise public awareness in the field of nature protection through activities such as organizing exhibitions and publishing various publications (books, posters, flyers, catalogues).
In recent years, within the scope of the Museum, the Department has been the holder of numerous national research projects. One notable project was the project of the State Institute for Nature Protection, which dealt with completing a proposal for the Croatian part of the NATURA 2000 network, the largest network of protected areas in the world. The Department has also participated on the projects of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia. Furthermore, the Department also participated in several international projects, such as the World Bank project “KEC - Karst Ecosystem Conservation”, the PIN/MATRA project “Dinaric Alps Rare Habitats and Species Conservation Project”, and the UNDP COAST project, i.e. “Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in the Dalmatian Coast”.
The Department of Zoology of the Croatian Natural History Museum takes care of over 60 collections with around two million museum objects. Museum objects are diverse, they range from whole animal parts that have been preserved in dry or wet forms to exhibits, scientific collections, body parts, or tissue collections intended for DNA analyses.
The Department of Zoology of the Croatian Natural History Museum traces its roots back to the establishment of the National Museum in 1846, when there were, among others, collections of conch and ostracodes, a collection of insects, and a zoological collection. Dragutin Rakovec, the first custodian of museum collections, took care of them, along with other natural objects. Later on, Mijat Sabljar, Aleksa Praunsperger, Ljudevit Vukotinović, and Josip Schlosser carried out that duty until 1866.
Photo: Spiridon Brusina
With the establishment of the National Museum, under the management of the Yugoslav Academy, which was also founded at the time, the collections were taken care of by the Department of Natural History. The Head of the Department was Spiridon Brusina, who later became the Director of the Museum of Zoology (1868-1901). The museum collections he took over in 1866 consisted of 40 mammals, 260 birds, 1,900 species of beetles and 400 butterflies, as well as of Sabljar’s collection of terrestrial and freshwater molluscs from Croatia and Slavonia. From Brusina’s official report from 1899, we know that at that time, there were collections of forams (Foraminifera), sponges (Porifera), coelenterates (Coelenterata), anthozoans (Anthozoa), parasitic worms (Helmintha), echinoderms (Echinodermata), crustaceans (Crustacea), myriapods (Myriapoda), insects (Insecta), spiders (Arachoidea), molluscs (Mollusca), fish (Pisces), amphibians (Amphibia), reptiles (Reptilia), birds (Aves) and mammals (Mammalia), whose total number reached about 90,000 museum objects.
Photo: August Langhoffer
The collections were taken care of by directors, who were also curators and excellent zoological taxidermists such as Slavoljub Vormastini, Peter Baraga, Pavao Allinger and Alojz Magerle. The directors of the independent Museum of Zoology after Brusina were August Langhoffer (1901-1927), Krunoslav Babić (1927-1943, 1945), Tonko Šoljan (1943-1944) and Nikola Fink (1945-1950), who were simultaneously University Professors of Zoology and Heads of the Institute of Zoology of the University.
In 1950, the Croatian National Museum of Zoology became an independent institution of the City of Zagreb.
The directors were Milan Kaman (1950-1958), Stjepan Čanađija (1958-?), Marija Stošić (?-1985), and Nikola Tvrtković (1985-1986), who soon became the first Director of the newly founded Croatian Natural History Museum, and who held that position until 2004. In 1951/52, in the Museum, there was also a zoological taxidermy school where about 25 taxidermists from all republics and provinces of Yugoslavia were trained. Among the more famous curators, Lidija Mladinov (entomology) and Konstantin Igalffy (vertebrates) worked in the Museum. Josip Žiljak, an excellent taxidermist, also worked in the Museum.
Photo: Josip Žiljak
Today’s Department of Zoology of the Croatian Natural History Museum employs:
Martina Šašić Kljajo, PhD, MSc in Biology, museum advisor, Head of the Department of Zoology.
She has been working in the Museum since 1998. She is the manager of the collections of Lepidoptera, Orthoptera and Trichoptera.
martina.sasic@hpm.hr
Phone: +385 1 4851700
Irena Grbac, PhD, MSc in Biology, museum advisor. She has been working in the Museum since 1993. She is the manager of the collection of birds, the collection of eggs, the collections of various invertebrates (collection of annelids, collection of solifuges, collection of aschelminthes, collection of spiders, collection of flatworms, collection of crustaceans, collection of sponges, collection of scorpions, collection of false scorpions).
irena.grbac@hpm.hr
Asst. Prof. Draško Holcer, PhD, MSc in Biology, museum advisor. He has been working in the Museum since 1996. He is the manager of the collections of marine invertebrates.
drasko.holcer@hpm.hr
Marijana Vuković, MSc in Biology, museum advisor. She has been working in the Museum since 1996. She is the manager of the collections of myriapods.
Voditeljica je Zbirke stonoga.
marijana.vukovic@hpm.hr
Iva Mihoci, PhD, MSc in Biology, museum advisor. She has been working in the Museum since 2005. She is the manager of the collection of insects (e.g. the Mikšić collection of beetles, the collection of Hymenoptera, the collection of Diptera, the collection of Hemiptera, the collection of Odonata, the collection of Neuroptera)
iva.mihoci@hpm.hr
Asst. Prof. Vlatka Mičetić Stanković, PhD, MSc in Biology, senior curator. She has been working in the Museum since 2013. She is the manager of the collections of beetles.
vlatka.micetic-stankovic@hpm.hr
Petar Crnčan, MSc in Experimental Biology, curator. He has been working in the Museum since 2013. He is the manager of the collection of Mollusca.
petar.crncan@hpm.hr
Mirna Klaić, MSc in Experimental Biology, curator. She has been working in the Museum since 2017.
mirna.klaic@hpm.hr
Denis Bućan, MSc in Environmental Sciences, museum technician
denis.bucan@hpm.hr
Marko Lukić, PhD, MSc in Biology, curator. He has been working in the Museum since 2023.