Abstract

The National Museum of Natural History "Prof. Eugenio de Jesús Marcano" (MNHNSD), conserves the most extensive and important scientific collections of Hispaniola island. The ichthyological collection is the second most numerous and diverse of the Museum, with more than 30,000 specimens of 326 species of marine, estuarine, lacustrine and freshwater fishes. This being surpassed only by the entomological collection. The fishes are preserved in 70% ethanol and gather whole specimens as well as body parts; a small fraction of the collection corresponds to clarified and dyed specimens stored in glycerin. Most of the collection effort has taken place in the Dominican Republic, but there are several specimens from Haiti, Cuba, Navassa isle, Colombia, Mexico and the United States. The MNHNSD marine and estuarine fish collection is comprised of 886 cataloged lots with 5,415 specimens, represented by 291 species and 101 families of 29 orders. The class Actinopterygii represents the majority of the records, with 99.1% and the remaining 0.9% are of the class Chondrichthyes. Despite the relatively low number of registers, this collection comprises a good representation of the Caribbean Chondrichthyes fauna with 48 specimens of 18 species. The marine collections began in 1974. Although the research and collection activities ceased during the early 2000s, since 2009 these activities have not only been reactivated but intensified, carrying out an updating process and growth of the collection, positioning it as an important repository of the biodiversity of marine, estuarine and internal waters of the Caribbean. Summary tables of the records to date of the collection and a map with the most important collection sites are shown.

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