Amphibians & Reptiles

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ amphibian and reptile collection, started in the late 1800s by Museum co-founder C.S. Brimley, contains approximately 200,000 specimens. Learn more »

Birds

Our bird collection is one of the three largest of its kind in the southeastern United States and is the only collection of significant size in North Carolina. Learn more »

Fishes

Our collection of fishes comprises approximately 100,000 lots and over a million specimens and is one of the two or three largest regional repositories of fishes in the United States. Learn more »

Geology

Our geology collection numbers approximately 7,500 specimens, mostly from North Carolina. Unusual specimens include meteorites and samples from historic gold mines that closed in the early 1900s. Learn more »

Invertebrates

Our invertebrate collection, comprised of three units: millipedes and centipedes, freshwater crayfish and mollusks, consists of more than 50,000 catalogued lots totaling more than 641,000 specimens and is actively growing. Learn more »

Mammals

Our mammal collection, curated by Lisa Gatens, contains approximately 18,000 specimens and is one of the largest regional mammal collections in the southeast. Learn more »

Paleontology

Our paleontology collection includes approximately 56,000 vertebrate, 55,000 invertebrate and 1,000 paleobotanical specimens. Learn more »