This dataset provides digitized occurrence records for fish specimens held in the collections of the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra (MCUC), Portugal. The collection documents ichthyofaunal diversity from Europe (Portugal), Africa, South America and Asia, with specimens dating mainly from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. The dataset was compiled through a collection inventory, digitization and taxonomic revision initiated in 2007 and updated in 2026. Catalog numbers and scientific names were standardized, and taxonomic identifications were checked against current nomenclatural resources, including FishBase and the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). The records support research in ichthyology, taxonomy, biodiversity, history and the study of natural history collections.
","language":"eng","citation":{"text":"Santos T, Correia T, Rufino C (2026). Ichthyological Collection of the Science Museum, University of Coimbra, Portugal. Version 1.2. Science Museum of the University of Coimbra. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/nmbcwv accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-12.","citationProvidedBySource":false},"contactsCitation":[{"key":7596084,"abbreviatedName":"Santos T","firstName":"Tiago","lastName":"Santos","roles":["ORIGINATOR"],"userId":["https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8267-7340"]},{"key":7596085,"abbreviatedName":"Correia T","firstName":"Tomás","lastName":"Correia","roles":["ORIGINATOR"],"userId":["https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5536-3714"]},{"key":7596086,"abbreviatedName":"Rufino C","firstName":"Cristina","lastName":"Rufino","roles":["ORIGINATOR"],"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-1399"]}],"lockedForAutoUpdate":false,"createdBy":"ec68e247-0266-4161-add9-274c70664baf","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-09-10T17:18:11.632+00:00","modified":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.113+00:00","contacts":[{"key":7596084,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":true,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8267-7340"],"firstName":"Tiago","lastName":"Santos","position":["Intern"],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"University of Coimbra","address":[],"city":"Coimbra","province":"Coimbra","country":"PT","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.082+00:00","modified":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.082+00:00"},{"key":7596085,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":false,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5536-3714"],"firstName":"Tomás","lastName":"Correia","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Centre for Functional Ecology","address":[],"city":"Coimbra","province":"Coimbra","country":"PT","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.084+00:00","modified":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.084+00:00"},{"key":7596086,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":false,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-1399"],"firstName":"Cristina","lastName":"Rufino","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Science Museum of the University of Coimbra","address":["Largo Marquês de Pombal"],"city":"Coimbra","province":"Coimbra","country":"PT","postalCode":"3000-272","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.085+00:00","modified":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.085+00:00"},{"key":7596087,"type":"ADMINISTRATIVE_POINT_OF_CONTACT","primary":true,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-1399"],"firstName":"Cristina","lastName":"Rufino","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Science Museum of the University of Coimbra","address":["Largo Marquês de Pombal"],"city":"Coimbra","province":"Coimbra","country":"PT","postalCode":"3000-272","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.086+00:00","modified":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.086+00:00"}],"endpoints":[{"key":1320399,"type":"DWC_ARCHIVE","url":"https://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/archive.do?r=peixes_mcuc","createdBy":"ec68e247-0266-4161-add9-274c70664baf","modifiedBy":"ec68e247-0266-4161-add9-274c70664baf","created":"2026-09-11T13:42:26.286+00:00","modified":"2026-09-11T13:42:26.286+00:00","machineTags":[]},{"key":1320398,"type":"EML","url":"https://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/eml.do?r=peixes_mcuc","createdBy":"ec68e247-0266-4161-add9-274c70664baf","modifiedBy":"ec68e247-0266-4161-add9-274c70664baf","created":"2026-09-11T13:42:26.207+00:00","modified":"2026-09-11T13:42:26.207+00:00","machineTags":[]}],"machineTags":[{"key":33140838,"namespace":"crawler.gbif.org","name":"crawl_attempt","value":"7","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-10-12T01:00:19.691+00:00"}],"tags":[],"identifiers":[{"key":473273,"type":"UUID","identifier":"08a16f68-b1b7-4573-84ff-a79bf938aaab","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-09-10T17:38:35.364+00:00","primary":false},{"key":473268,"type":"URL","identifier":"https://ipt.gbif.pt/ipt/resource?r=peixes_mcuc","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-09-10T17:19:12.534+00:00","primary":false}],"comments":[],"bibliographicCitations":[{"text":"Ceriaco, L.M.P., Santos, B.S., Semedo, T.B.F., Garcia, L.C. & Moreira, C.R. (2023). The fish collection of José Mariano da Conceição Veloso (1742–1811) and the beginning of ichthyological research in Brazil, with a taxonomic description of the extant specimens. Zootaxa, 5391(1), 1–85.","identifier":"https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5391.1.1","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Helling, H. (1940). Tabela dicotómica para os Ciclóstomos e os Peixes de Portugal. Imprensa da Universidade, Coimbra. Mems. Estud. Mus. Zool. Univ. Coimbra, Série I, nº 114, 67 pp., 20 figs.","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Helling, H. (1940). Tabela dicotómica para os Ciclóstomos e os Peixes de Portugal. Imprensa da Universidade, Coimbra. Mems. Estud. Mus. Zool. Univ. Coimbra, Série I, nº 114, 67 pp., 20 figs.","citationProvidedBySource":false},{"text":"Helling, H. (1943). Novo Catálogo dos Peixes de Portugal em colecção no Museu Zoológico da Universidade de Coimbra. II Parte. Coimbra. Mems. Estud. Mus. Zool. Univ. Coimbra, nº 149, 110 pp., 2 listas.","citationProvidedBySource":false}],"curatorialUnits":[],"taxonomicCoverages":[{"coverages":[{"scientificName":"Squatiniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Gadiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Gasterosteiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Tetraodontiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Dipneusti","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}},{"scientificName":"Beryciformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Chordata","rank":{"verbatim":"phylum","interpreted":"PHYLUM"}},{"scientificName":"Chondrostei","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}},{"scientificName":"Torpediniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Acipenseriformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Ceratodontiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Salmoniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Lophiiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Carcharhiniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Mugiliformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Atheriniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Aulopiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Rhinopristiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Petromyzonti","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}},{"scientificName":"Myliobatiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Chimaeriformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Lepisosteiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Holocephali","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}},{"scientificName":"Squaliformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Batrachoidiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Syngnathiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Beloniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Scorpaeniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Perciformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Characiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Esociformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Lamniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Rajiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Cyprinodontiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Siluriformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Cypriniformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Elasmobranchii","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}},{"scientificName":"Holostei","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}},{"scientificName":"Zeiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Amiiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Anguilliformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Petromyzontiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Gobiesociformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Pleuronectiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Clupeiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Hexanchiformes","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Teleostei","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}}]}],"geographicCoverages":[{"description":"This dataset covers historical fish specimens held in the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra (MCUC), with records from Europe, Africa, South America and Oceania. The collection has a particular historical emphasis on Portugal (excluding the Madeira and Azores archipelagos) and Brazil. Some records lack a precisely determined geographic origin because the locality information on the original specimen labels is incomplete or illegible.","boundingBox":{"minLatitude":-90.0,"maxLatitude":90.0,"minLongitude":-180.0,"maxLongitude":180.0,"globalCoverage":true}}],"temporalCoverages":[],"keywordCollections":[{"thesaurus":"GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type_2015-07-10.xml","keywords":["Occurrence"]},{"thesaurus":"GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml","keywords":["Specimen"]},{"thesaurus":"NA","keywords":["Fish"]}],"project":{"title":"Digitisation of the Collections of the Science Museum, University of Coimbra","contacts":[{"type":"CURATOR","primary":false,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-1399"],"firstName":"Cristina","lastName":"Rufino","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"address":[]}],"awards":[],"relatedProjects":[]},"samplingDescription":{"studyExtent":"This dataset comprises all known fish specimens held in the collections of the Science Museum of the University of Coimbra (MCUC). The scope includes the entire ichthyological/fish collection regardless of taxonomic resolution, from species-level identifications to specimens identifiable only at higher ranks, ensuring a complete representation of the museum's holdings. The collection spans more than 200 years, with most specimens collected in the late nineteenth and early-to-mid twentieth centuries. The geographic scope is global, with the strongest representation from Europe (Portugal) and South America (Brazil).","sampling":"The collection was assembled over more than a century through donations, institutional transfers and the acquisition of material for teaching and research. Documented individual contributors include Domenico Vandelli, Adriano Xavier Lopes Vieira, Augusto Goltz de Carvalho, George Albert Boulenger, Rogério Nogueira de Carvalho, Adolpho Frederico Möller, King Carlos de Bragança, Alberto Girard, J. C. da Silva Senna and Helmut Helling. \n\nThe collection consists primarily of preserved specimens, including fluid-preserved (alcohol) material, taxidermy mounts and skeletal preparations.","qualityControl":"Data quality was ensured through a multi-layered verification process addressing taxonomic accuracy and provenance. After physical inventory, transcribed label data were cross-referenced against the museum's historical accession registers and a preliminary digital inventory to resolve discrepancies, identify previously uncatalogued specimens and establish a verifiable chain of custody for each object. \n\nTaxonomic quality control followed a hierarchical verification protocol. Existing identifications on labels and in historical catalogs were treated as provisional and validated against primary nomenclatural authorities, cross-checked against FishBase and WoRMS.","methodSteps":["A systematic digitization of the ichthyological/fish collection began in 2007 and was updated in 2026. The collection was catalogued in Microsoft Excel and mapped to Darwin Core standards for GBIF publication. A complete shelf survey was conducted to locate all fish specimens. For each specimen, all associated information from labels, annotations and jar inscriptions was transcribed. Curatorial checks included verification against historical accession registers and assignment of new unique catalog numbers. Historical numbers, when present, were retained in a separate data field to preserve provenance."]},"countryCoverage":[],"collections":[],"dataDescriptions":[],"dataLanguage":"eng","purpose":"To make the collection data accessible to the scientific community for further study, enrichment and validation.
","pubDate":"2026-09-11T00:00:00.000+00:00","maintenanceUpdateFrequency":"UNKNOWN","maintenanceDescription":"","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","dwca":{"coreType":"http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/Occurrence","extensions":[],"modified":"2026-09-11T13:43:27.002+00:00"},"approximateCounts":{"occurrenceCount":823}}