Document Type : Article

Author

• Ali Gholamhosseini

Department of Biology, College of ‎Science, Shiraz University, ‎Shiraz, ‎Iran

Abstract

Natural history museums are one of the most important types of museums in the world, serving as an effective and engaging means for promoting science, connecting the community with universities, and providing essential infrastructure for education and research. However, they fulfill these roles best when they are up to date. Therefore, in this research, I updated the labels of bird specimens of natural history museum and technology of Shiraz University to increase the efficiency of the museum in terms of educational duties. All specimens were examined based on morphological traits and identified to the species level using valid references. Errors in species identification were corrected, taxonomic status for each species was updated, and a database was prepared. New labels for the specimens were designed, and more detailed data is now available to visitors through a QR code scan on the specimen’s label. The results showed that the bird collection contains about 350 specimens belonging to 147 species, 121 genera, 53 families, and 24 orders. The highest species diversity is found in the order Passeriformes with 32 species, followed by the order Charadriiformes with 17 species, and after that, the orders Accipitriformes, Anseriformes, and Galliformes, each with 15 species. The results indicate that the classification of 31 species has changed at the order level, eight species at the family level, and six species at the genus level. Consequently, 45 taxonomic changes were updated in this study. Finally, some suggestions were made for increasing efficiency and attracting more visitors.

Keywords

• Taxonomy
• Classification
• Passeriformes
• Bird‎

Main Subjects

• animal biosystematic