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Diatom collections
Arranged fossil diatoms (Specimen BM Adams TS 558) from Bory-Slovakia.
The diatom collection is one of the largest in the world, containing over 300,000 specimens accumulated from the early nineteenth century to the present day.
The collections are a crucial resource for modern research. Diatom specimens are used to answer scientific questions about areas as diverse as climate change and phylogenetic relationships.
Specimen numbers
Specimens
300,000
Type specimens
10,000
Species
20,000
Strengths
The collections are extremely geographically and taxonomically diverse. They are an internationally recognised type specimen repository, containing representatives from freshwater, brackish and marine environments.
All major diatom groups, both fossil and recent, are represented.
The comprehensive assortment of fossil specimens, includes one of the best representations of Cretaceous diatoms.
Curator
Contact the curator
If you have any questions or would like to use specimens for research, please get in touch.
Type specimens
Estimated: 10,000
Confirmed: 5,000
Material type
Microscope slide collections: 150,000
Bottle collection: 35,000
Herbarium sheets: 7,500
Diatomite (rocks and sediments): 1,500
Other resources
SEM stubs
Non-permanent strews
LM micrographs
SEM images
Handwritten notes
Letters
Sketches and drawings
Index card files
Major collections
The diatom collection has a large number of historical and recent specimens and accompanying materials amassed by British and foreign diatomists, as well as a variety of published diatoms exsiccate sets.
Important collectors
- Robert K.aye Greville (1794-1866)
- William Gregory (1803-1858)
- Friedrich T.raugott Kützing (1807-1893)
- William Smith (1853-1856)
- Edmund Grove (1823-1911)
- Gerald Sturt (1860-1947)
- Frederic Kitton (1827-18951885)
- John Ralfs (1807-1890)
- Julien Marc Deby (1826-1895
- Eugene O’Meara (1815-1880)
- Freeman C. S. Roper (1819-1896)
- Bernard Hartley (1917-2007)
- William A. Firth (1853-1923)
- George H. K. Thwaites (1812-1882)
- John R. Carter (1908-1993)
- Norman I. Hendey (1903-2004)
- Robert Ross (1912-2005)
- Eileen J. Cox
- Thomas B. B. Paddock
- David M. Williams
- Patricia A. Sims
Scanning electron microscope image (coloured artificially by computer) showing the diatom Amphitetras with its ornate silica shell.
Photograph of a diatom specimen found off the coast of Hong Kong. Diatoms are abundant in marine ecosystems.
Scanning electron microscope image of a fossil marine diatom showing the ornate silica shell.
Scanning electron microscope image of a diatom showing the ornate silica shell.
Scanning electron microscope image of a fossil marine diatom showing the ornate silica shell.
Other important collections
- Tempére & Peragallo: (Diatomeés du Monde Entier, 1st and 2nd editions).
- Cleve & Möller: (Diatoms, 1877-1882).
- H. L. Smith: (Diatomacearum Species Typicae, 1876-1888).
- G. L. Rabenhorst: (Die Algen Sachsens, 1848-1860; Die Bacillarien Sachsens. Ein Beitrag zur Fauna von Sachsen, 1849-1852).
- Hamilton, Poulin, Charles & Angell: (Americanarum Diatomarum Exsiccate, 1992-1994).
- A. Tuji: (Algae Aquae Dulcis Japonicae Exsiccatae, 2007-2016).
Country of origin
Collections are geographically diverse. Parts of the slide collection are assembled from particular geographic localities or expeditions:
- Russia (Lake Baikal in Siberia)
- Indonesia (Lake Toba, Sumatra)
- Jamaica
- Philippines
Learn more about the collections
Accessing the collections
Find out how to arrange a visit to the collections and access specimens for research.
Collections management
Find out how we fulfil our duty to provide a safe and secure environment for the collections in our care.
Collections on the move
Discover how we are preparing for the UK’s largest collections move and which collections will have limited access.