Vienna Natural History Museum – Collections

NHM Vienna houses hundreds of thousands of fossilized bones and teeth from extinct mammals. They come from historical collections from the 19th century as well as from recent excavations and expeditions. The focus is on Miocene and Pleistocene sites in Austria and other European countries. Several guests from around the world regularly visit the mammal fossil collection to study, for example, the famous Miocene reference faunas in Kohfidisch (Austria), Devínska Nová Ves (Slovakia) , Samos, Pikermi (both Greece) and Maragheh (Iran) . There is also great scientific interest in the collection of primitive Miocene finds from several European sites. Another important part of the collection is the large mammal fossils from the Ice Age. The approximately 30,000 stratigraphically important mammal teeth from the Paleogene and Neogene of Austria and Mongolia are of special scientific value.

The paleornithological collection includes approximately 1,500 fossil bird remains from the Paleogene, Neogene and Pleistocene of Austria and other European countries. The historic collections of fossil moa bones from New Zealand and elephant birds from Madagascar are also of international importance.

• Fossil amphibians and reptiles

The extensive collection of fossil amphibians from the Nýřany carbonate gas coal (Czech Republic), located at NHMW, enjoys world scientific reputation. Also important are the terrestrial reptiles from the Triassic Karroo Formation in South Africa as well as the rich fossil remains of marine reptiles (eg Sauopterygia) of the Triassic, which come from Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Silesia and Tyrol South, among others. One of the most interesting discoveries in Austria is the marine reptile Mistriosuchusrecovered at about 2000 meters in the Dead Mountains. Important vertebrate fossils from the Jurassic period include some unique bones of crocodiles, pterosaurs and ichthyosaurs from sites in Germany (eg Solnhofen, Holzmaden) and England. Distinctive signs of reptiles of the Cretaceous period are the skeletons of dinosaurs Protoceratops and Psittacosaurus from Mongolia, the skeleton of one of the oldest sea snakes (Pachyophis) from Bosnia-Herzegovina and a five meter long skeleton of the giant sea turtle Archelon from the US. In addition, the NHM Vienna houses a rich fossil herpetofauna from the Miocene period from various sites in Austria. What is particularly worth mentioning is the collection of fossil turtles.

Most of the collection of fossil fish, which contains approximately 13,000 remains, comes from the Paleogene and Miocene of Austria and other European countries. It includes, among other things, an important collection of famous Eocene fish fauna from the Italian Monte Bolca, Miocene fish fossils from several historic brick pits in Vienna or the quarry of St. Margarethen in Burgenland. The fossil fish from the Mesozoic and Paleozoic eras are less important. Highlights include, for example, the rich Triassic fish faunas from the Polzberggraben near Lunz or from Raibl in northern Italy, the Jurassic fish from the area around Solnhofen in Germany or the Cretaceous fish faunas from Lebanon and Brazil. But there is also international scientific interest in ancient fish faunas. Here too, NHMW has a lot to offer, such as the collection of Devonian fish from Canada and Russia, Carboniferous fish faunas from Great Britain and the Czech Republic or Permian fish from Rotlegen of Bohemia or from the Kupferschiefer from Thuringia and Hesse.

Contact someone