NHMO Fish collection

Occurrence Specimen
Latest version published by University of Oslo on Jun 3, 2026 University of Oslo
Publication date:
3 June 2026
Published by:
University of Oslo
License:
CC-BY 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 12,516 records in English (2 MB) - Update frequency: weekly
Metadata as an EML file download in English (13 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (7 KB)

Description

The NHMO Fish  Collection of the Natural History Museum contains around 10,000 objects, including 27 holotypes, 11 paratypes and 82 other types. The collection was largely built through expeditions in the first half of the 20th century, of which many targeted the Arctic region (see Johannessen et al. 2023). In addition to these early expeditions, objects were obtained around the globe, including Madagascar, South America, and Antarctica. The collection also includes specimens returned from French Polynesia and Easter Island by Thor Heyerdahl (see Delrieu-Trottin et al. 2025). Most specimens were fixated in formalin upon collection.

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 12,516 records.

6 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

Occurrence (core)
12516
MaterialSample 
12516
Multimedia 
5112
Preservation 
4214
Preparation 
3718
ResourceRelationship 
1411
Amplification 
624

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Matschiner M, Westwig E, Johannessen L E (2026). NHMO Fish collection. Version 1.12. University of Oslo. Occurrence dataset. https://corema.ipt.gbif.no/resource?r=o_fish&v=1.12

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is University of Oslo. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: f0d00d00-aa57-4209-abaf-be2aed9a71dd.  University of Oslo publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Norway.

Keywords

Occurrence; Occurrence; Specimen

Contacts

Michael Matschiner
  • Metadata Provider ●
  • Originator ●
  • Point Of Contact
  • Associate Professor
Natural History Museum, University of Oslo
  • Natural History Museum, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern
NO-0318 Oslo
NO
Eileen Westwig
  • Metadata Provider ●
  • Originator ●
  • Point Of Contact
  • Collection manager
Natural History Museum, University of Oslo
NO-0318 Oslo
NO
Lars Erik Johannessen
  • Metadata Provider ●
  • Point Of Contact
  • Collection manager
Natural History Museum, University of Oslo
  • Natural History Museum, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern
NO-0318 Oslo
NO
Rukaya Johaadien
  • User

Geographic Coverage

Global

Bounding Coordinates South West [-90, -180], North East [90, 180]

Taxonomic Coverage

Fish

Class Chondrostei, Cladistii, Dipneusti, Elasmobranchii, Holocephali, Holostei, Myxini, Petromyzonti, Teleostei

Temporal Coverage

Formation Period 1842-current

Additional Metadata

Alternative Identifiers f0d00d00-aa57-4209-abaf-be2aed9a71dd
https://corema.ipt.gbif.no/resource?r=o_fish