Mammals

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

The Division of Mammals houses a world-class collection of roughly 590,000 preserved specimens. This collection supports a wide range of scientific research by resident staff and associates, as well as numerous scientists who visit each year. Divisional collection management staff preserve, conserve, and document our specimens as part of the Congressionally mandated "National Collections" to ensure their accessiblity to present and future research activities.

While the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History exhibition spaces will partially open to the public on June 18th, our collections remain closed to most staff and all researchers, and the museum’s COVID-19 loan moratorium remains in effect. Currently, there is no capacity to accommodate collections activities including visits, image requests, loans, and shipments. While there is no current date set for when on-site collections activities will resume, we will update as soon as this changes.

Access the Collections

Visit the Collection

Specimen Loans

Genetic Loans