Oregon State University Helps University Of Michigan Slither To History
Greg Schneider, research museum collections manager for the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's division of reptiles and amphibians, holds a jar containing snake specimens Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Ann Arbor, Mich. They are part of a donation from Oregon State University that could make Michigan's collection of snake specimens the largest held by any research institution in the U.S. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The University of Michigan Museum of Zoology recently acquired tens of thousands of reptile and amphibian specimens, including many snakes.
Research collections manager Greg Schneider estimates the new material donated by Oregon State University contains around 30,000 snakes.
He says that would give Michigan a total of between 65,000 and 70,000 of the slithering vertebrates, surpassing collections at the Smithsonian in Washington, the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the University of Kansas.
At the heart of the acquisition is its promise of new research opportunities, including advanced genetic studies that could result in a better understanding of inheritance and evolutionary relationships.
