Skip to main content

BASEL: The Natural History Museum Basel (NMB)

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Paleontological Collections of Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Part of the book series: Natural History Collections ((NHC))

Abstract

The palaeontological collections of the Natural History Museum Basel comprise approx. four million specimens of fossil plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, and samples of microfossils. They attract many scientists from all over the world. The NMB houses collections that have their origin in the sixteenth century and possesses with a few Gessner-originals the oldest reference specimens to a palaeontological publication. The most important subcollections are: Triassic plants, foraminifers, Jurassic invertebrates from the Jura Mountains, Cenozoic mollusks from the Caribbean region, Cenozoic mollusks from Europe and northern Africa, Cenozoic mammals from Europe, Cenozoic smaller mammals from the Swiss molasses basin, collections of modern vertebrate bones for comparative purposes. The permanent personnel include three curators, two collection managers, and two preparators.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bruckner D (1748–1763) Versuch einer Beschreibung historischer und natürlicher Merkwürdigkeiten der Landschaft Basel. 1–23. Stück. Emanuel Thurneysen, Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins LS, Coates AG (eds) (1999) A paleobiotic survey of Caribbean faunas from the Neogene of the Isthmus of Panama. Bull Am Paleontoly 357:1–351

    Google Scholar 

  • Costeur L, Schneider M (2011) Catalogue of the Eocene mammal holotypes of the Natural History Museum Basel. Carnets de Géologie—Notebooks on Geology, Brest, Book 2011/03 (CG2011_B03), pp 1–128

    Google Scholar 

  • De Pietri VL, Mourer-Chauviré C, Menkveld-Gfeller U, Meyer CA, Costeur L (2013) An assessment of the Cenozoic avifauna of Switzerland, with a description of two fossil owls (Aves, Strigiformes). Swiss J Palaeontol 106:187–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Etter W (2016) Conrad Gessner als Paläontologe. In: Urs B Leu, Mylène Ruoss (eds) Facetten eines Universums: Conrad Gessner 1516–1565. NZZ Libro, Zürich, p 175–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Gessner C (1565) De rerum fossilium … liber. Jacobus Gesnerus, Zürich

    Google Scholar 

  • Gisler M (2014) Fossilien auf Trinidad: Hans Gottfried Kugler (1893–1986). In “Swiss Gang” Pioniere der Erdölexploration, pp 68–83. Herausgegeben vom Verein für wirtschaftshistorische Studien, R+A Print GmbH, 8752-Näfels

    Google Scholar 

  • Gygi RA (2014) Quantitative geology of Late Jurassic epicontinental sediments in the Jura Mountains of Switzerland. Birkhäuser, Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins GE (1986) A history of trinidad oil. Trinidad Express Newspapers Limited, Port of Spain, Trinidad

    Google Scholar 

  • Hottinger L (2013) Micropalaeontology in Basel (Switzerland) during the twentieth century: the rise and fall of one oft he smaller fields of the life sciences. In: Bowden AJ, Gregory FJ, Henderson AS (eds) Landmarks in Foraminiferal micropalaeontology: history and development, vol 6. The Micropalaeontological Society, Special Publications, pp 317–335

    Google Scholar 

  • Huber D, Simon C, Stern WB (2011) Das Bernoullianum—Haus der Wissenschaften für Basel. 190. Neujahrsblatt der Gesellschaft für das Gute und Gemeinnützige. Schwabe Verlag, Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson JBC, Budd AF, Coates AG (1996) Evolution and environment in tropical America. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung P, Saunders JB (1987) Hans G. Kugler. Naturhistorisches Museum Basel. Birkhäuser, Basel und Reinach

    Google Scholar 

  • Knappertsbusch M, Huber BT, Sanfilippo A, The DSDP/ODP MRC Curatorial Party (1998) Micropaleontological Reference Centers. Revista Espanola de Micropaleontologia 30(3):331–336

    Google Scholar 

  • Kugler HG (1959–2016) Treatise on the Geology of Trinidad. Parts 1–5. Electronic archive deposited at the internal media server of the Natural History Museum Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutsch RF (1937) Originalien der Basler Geologischen Sammlung zu Autoren des 16.–18. Jahrhunderts. Verh Naturf Ges Basel 48:15–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Saunders JB, Jung P, Biju-Duval B (1986) Neogene Paleontology in the Northern Dominican Republic. 1. Field surveys, lithology, environment, and age. Bull Am Paleontol 89:1–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaub H (1981) Nummulites et Assilines de la tethys paléogène. Taxonomie, phylogénèse et biostratigraphie. Mémoires Suisses de Paléontologie 104–106. Vol. 104: Texte, 236 p. Vol. 105: Atlas I, 48 plates. Vol. 106: Atlas II, 48 plates

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon C (2009) Natur-Geschichte Das Naturhistorische Museum Basel im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Beiträge zur Basler Geschichte. Christoph Merian Verlag, Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Stehlin HG (1912) Die Säugetiere des schweizerischen Eocaens, sechster Teil: CatodontheriumDacrytheriumLeptotheridiumAnoplotheriumDiplobuneXiphodonPseudamphimeryxAmphimeryxDichodonHaplomeryxTapirulusGelocus—div. Nachträge. Abhandlungen der Schweizerischen Palaeontologischen Gesellschaft 36:838–1164

    Google Scholar 

  • Walch JEI (1768–1773) Die Naturgeschichte der Versteinerungen zur Erläuterung der Knorrischen Sammlung von Merkwürdigkeiten der Natur, Theile 1–4. Felssecker, Nürnberg

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Walter Etter .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Etter, W., Knappertsbusch, M., Costeur, L. (2018). BASEL: The Natural History Museum Basel (NMB). In: Beck, L., Joger, U. (eds) Paleontological Collections of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Natural History Collections. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77401-5_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics