For more than 140 years scientists and students from the Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center have collected and studied life on Earth. We now care for more than eight million specimens of plants and animals — prehistoric to living species, microscopic to colossal — gathered from every continent and ocean. Our collections include DNA samples, sound recordings, images, and field notes. Ours is one of the world’s most comprehensive biodiversity research resources.

There are two ways to access information from our collections. Direct web access is available by clicking the Specify icon next to the collection that interests you. The DiGIR link enables you to combine several individual collection databases into a single, searchable "virtual" database. The collections within this virtual database may be searched independently or collectively. You may also download DiGIR results for later analysis. For DiGIR access, click the DiGIR icon next to the collection that interests you.

The  icon will lead you to contact information for those

collections that are not currently searchable through Specify or

DiGIR.

For more information about Specify, click here.

For more information about DiGIR, click here.