Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum
and Montana Comparative Skeletal Collection

The University of Montana

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Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum and Montana Comparative Skeletal Collection

About Us

Becky Bigley in the collections

 

      Overview

The Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum at The University of

Montana contains over 24,000 specimens of vertebrates,

primarily mammals, birds, and fish. It is the largest

zoological collection in Montana and one of the major

zoological collections representing the Northern Rocky

Mountains. The museum has been instrumental in

documenting past and present distribution patterns of

Montana mammals and birds, and is the major repository for

specimens that constitute important Montana records. The

museum provides important resources for research,

teaching, and educational outreach programs.

 

Phil Wright

                      Brief History

Begun in the 1890's, the museum contains collections from as early

as the 1880's up to the present.  Philip L. Wright (right) took

responsibility for the museum in 1939 and continued to add

specimens until his death in 1997. That same year, in a dedication

ceremony, the University of Montana renamed the museum in honor

of Philip's efforts to build the collection

Today the museum continues to grow and move forward as the

leading zoological collections repository in the region.

 

Facilities

Main Collections Room: This area (2nd Floor, Health Sciences Building)

contains the bulk of the museum collections and records.  The staff can generally be found in the collections room as well.

Cold Room: The cold room (located in the rear of the Main Collections) contains many of the museum's skins.

Charles Miller preparing a bird in the lab

Preparation Lab and Dermestid Colony: As the name suggests, the

bulk of the museum's processing of incoming specimens takes place here (2nd

Floor, Health Sciences Building) .  This area contains specimen freezers, a fume

hood, the Dermestid beetle box, and lab tables and equipment for preparation of

skins and skeletons. Alcohol Specimens Room

Mounted Birds Room: This room (2nd Floor, Health Sciences

Building) contains the majority of the museum's full-body mount

birds.

Alcohol Specimens Room: This room ( 4th Floor of the Health Sciences Building) contains

the bulk of the museum's fish, amphibian, and reptile collections.

Skull Room: This room (located in the rear of the Main Collections) contains the bulk of the

skulls, horn cores and horn sheaths from the museum's vast Sheep (Ovis canadensis, Ovis

dalli, and Ovis aries) collections.

 

Mission Statement

The University of Montana Zoological Museum (UMZM), a unit of the Division of Biological Sciences of

the University of Montana, is committed to the collection and preservation of specimens in the field of

vertebrate zoology for the purposes of research, teaching, interpretation, and community service.

UMZM maintains a premanent research collection for use by researchers within the University. 

Through the loan program and onsite visits, the research collection is available to the scientific

community at large.  Also, a teaching collection is maintained for use in courses at the University.

UMZM specializes in vertebrates from Montana and the Northern Rocky Mountains.  Other areas of

interest are the states and provinces adjacent to Montana, the Pacific Northwest, and other areas of

the world as deemed suitable.

UMZM, as the largest zoological museum in Montana and one of the major zoological collections of the

Northern Rocky Mountains, is the repository of voucher specimens generated by University research. 

UMZM is also the repository for vertebrate specimens collected by the Montana Natural Heritage

Program.  In addition, UMZM maintains synoptic collection of mammals and birds from Russia, and in a

collection of Chinese mammals.  A comparative skeletal collection is available for research purposes,

and as and aid in the  identification of skeletal specimens obtained by University researchers,

archaeologists, agencies in the community, and the general public.

The Montana Natural History Center (MNHC) acts, by written agreement, as the public outreach

arm of the UMZM to provide instruction in environmental education.

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                                             Contact Us:

             Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812
                   Located on the UM campus on the 2nd floor of the Health Sciences Building

 

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