Mammals Mammalia
Mammals are not a major focus of the collections of the Natural History Museum Basel. However, many species are represented, as life-like objects were previously created especially for exhibition purposes.
The collection includes around 10,200 specimens of more than 1,500 taxa. They have never been curated professionally. It was only when the collection grew to around 3,400 mammals that it gained nationwide significance. Important collectors were Urs Rahm, who collected numerous mammals as part of his research work in the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Paul and Fritz Sarasin and Jean Roux.
Of regional value are documents on university work into mammals such as bats, polecats, muskrats or mice (Muridae).
The quagga specimen is worth of particular attention. The quagga, related to zebras, died out at the start of the 20th century. The Natural History Museum Basel has an example of the only 24 quagga specimens left in the world.
The Natural History Museum Basel's vertebrate palaeontology collection also houses a series of mammalian skeletons.
