Florida Biodiversity Collection
The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has three extensive collections which include more than one million cataloged, preserved invertebrates, adult fish, and larval fish. The specimens represent vouchers from biological assessment studies. Scientists use these collections as guides as they identify animals collected during research, as sources for research material, or for educational exhibits.
Florida Biodiversity Collection (FBC) staff members maintain these research and reference collections and associated databases.
Invertebrates
The invertebrate collection contains over 139,000 cataloged lots of preserved specimens and tissues which document the biodiversity of Florida’s marine ecosystems.
Fishes
FWRI houses three separate ichthyology collections including adult and juvenile fish, ichthyoplankton, and fish tissues.
Digital Specimens
View a selection of our specimens that have been scanned and rendered in 3-D.
About the collections
Learn about the history of the Florida Biodiversity Collection (FBC) at FWRI, the importance of natural history collections, and special projects going on in the collections.
Contact us
Contact a curator, collection manager, or inquire about internships with the FBC.