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The
Zoological Museum at São Paulo University was founded in
the 1890s when several private collections were donated to the
São Paulo state Government. Anthropological, botanical
and zoological collections were stored in different locations
until 1895 when they were brought together in a public building
then called Museu Paulista (Paulista = from São Paulo State).
In 1939, the Department of Zoology
was created and in 1940-41 a new facility was built to store the
collections. In 1969, it was made part of the University of São
Paulo under the name Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São
Paulo.
Besides housing the collections,
the staff does research on taxonomy, systematics, evolution and
biogeography. They also provide resources for post-graduate degrees
for students from São Paulo University. Their large library
is one of the best in Latin America, used by students and scientists
from all over Brazil and beyond.
It was remodeled in 2004 and receives
thousands of visitors every year to see their great displays of
Brazilian fauna.
There are many competent biologists
working on revisions to our fauna in the Malacology Section, such
as the Curator, Prof. Dr. Luiz Ricardo Lopes de Simone (who was
a shell collector himself), also the new in 2006 Museum Director,
Prof. Dr. Sérgio Antonio Vanin, an entomologist who also
has a passion for shells.
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