The Department of Anthropology houses its own comparative collection of reference faunal specimens. The Pacific Islands faunal collection was initiated by William S. Ayres in 1973. The North Pacific faunal collection has evolved out of a personal collection started by Madonna L. Moss and Jon M. Erlandson in the 1980s.

At the University of Oregon, the North Pacific collection has been expanded in recent years. We now hold collecting permits from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices in Alaska and Oregon to authorize salvage of animal carcasses in these areas.

We acquired a number of carcasses of animals who were casualties of the Exxon Oil Spill in 1992. We have also gratefully received donations from Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, Oregon State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Hatfield Marine Science Center, the Chintinimi Wildife Refuge, the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and private individuals (see Acknowledgments).

The North Pacific collection now contains 469 catalogued specimens, 71 mammals, 112 birds, 136 fish, 5 reptiles, 1 amphibian, and 144 invertebrates. The collection can be used by qualified researchers and students with advance arrangement. If you are interested in our holdings, you can download the catalog.

M. Moss, M. Tveskov, and R. Losey butcher a harbor seal carcass at the Hatfield Marine Science Center for the UO collection, January, 1997.

T. Rick working with fish specimens at the UO Department of Anthropology North Pacific Faunal Collection. Photograph by M. Moss, November, 1998.