Mollusks Collection in the Museo de la Plata, Argentina

ORTIZ BLANCHE, M. E.; CAO, L.; G.DARRIGRAN; C. DAMBORENEA

American Malacological Society Newsletter

Academy of Natural Sciences

Año: 2015

1041-5300

Collections are a group of things (elements, objects,items), generally of the same class, put in order andgrouped in response to a special interest or value.Given the quantity and diversity of informationsaved in all the biological collections around theworld, it would be best if they were organizedfollowing a common pattern. This would erase theinterference of classification differences, increasingthe accessibility of the data stored, and allowing itsuse for the study of biodiversity.It is recommended that biological collections weremanaged by permanent institutions, capable ofproperly organizing the elements and ensuring theaccessibility to the information. An example ofthese institutions in Argentina is the Museo de LaPlata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina.The biological collections in Museo de La Plata alltogether contain more than 3 million objects, whichare under the supervision of six of the fifteenDivisions. http://www.museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar/areas_y_divisiones.Mollusks form an interesting and attractive group oforganisms, not only for collectors, but for thehuman society. They also play an importanteconomic and sanitary role. Most of them areexploited as an alimentary resource (e.g.Crassostrea gigas, Illex argentinus, among others).Many groups of mollusks are related to thetransmission of parasites (e.g. schistosomiasis),cause plagues like terrestrial snails, or areintroduced (e.g. the golden mussel Limnopernafortunei, the snail Achatina fulica) producing animpact in both natural and anthropogenicenvironments.The following article will describe the importanceof the material stored in the Mollusks Collection ofMuseo de La Plata. It will also explain the workrealized by the Division Zoología Invertebrados,most specifically by the Malacology Section, whichis in charge of the Collection.