How did rodents get so diverse? Costa Rica may have answers

David Villalobos Chaves — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 19:45:01 +0000

How did rodents get so diverse? Costa Rica may have answers David Villalob… Thu, 01/30/2020 - 11:45

Baird's beaked whale at the Burke Museum

Elliot Trotter — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 20:51:26 +0000

Baird's beaked whale at the Burke Museum Elliot Trotter Tue, 10/08/2019 - 13:51

Amazing Life

Cathy Morris — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 06:06:19 +0000

Amazing Life

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Cathy Morris Mon, 09/16/2019 - 23:06

Life on Earth is extraordinary.

Over 8.7 million species are known to exist today, with more being discovered daily. How did this variety of life come to be, and what happens when human and natural forces change the balance of life?

Drawing on specimens from the Burke’s biology collections, Amazing Life reveals a global life-support system. Every living thing—including you—plays a role in keeping that system functioning. Discover how life has evolved across time and space, how it’s still changing today, and how it might change in the future.

Plan Your Visit

Floor 2, Biology

Photo: Andrew Waits

Discover how life has evolved across time and space, how it’s still changing today, and how it might change in the future.

Photo: Andrew Waits

Discover how life has evolved across time and space, how it’s still changing today, and how it might change in the future.

Photo: Andrew Waits

Associated Collection Term

Arachnology & Entomology

Mammals of Washington

Cathy Morris — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 19:55:23 +0000

Mammals of Washington Cathy Morris Tue, 07/30/2019 - 12:55

Topics

Mammals

Teaser text

Washington is home to 141 species of mammals. Learn all about their habits and habitats, what they eat, where they live, and more.

Teaser image

Link

https://www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/mammalogy/mamwash/

Burke Museum Mammalogy

Associated Collection Term

Mammalogy

Mammal Diversity

Cathy Morris — Sat, 20 Jul 2019 19:04:49 +0000

Mammal Diversity Cathy Morris Sat, 07/20/2019 - 12:04

Topics

Mammals

Teaser text

An interactive tree diagram showing the pathways of relatedness and historical evolution of today’s 29 different mammal orders.

Teaser image

Link

https://www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/mammalogy/mtm/

Burke Museum Mammalogy

Associated Collection Term

Mammalogy

Cathy Morris — Wed, 29 May 2019 05:13:56 +0000

Mammalogy Cathy Morris Tue, 05/28/2019 - 22:13

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Mammalogy at the Burke Museum

The Burke Museum Mammal Collection supports research, education and outreach related to mammals.

With more than 55,000 specimens, the Mammal Collection is among the largest in the Pacific Northwest. It is also one of the oldest collections in the region, having been founded in 1899 as part of the original Washington State Museum.

Today, the collection ranks as the 10th largest university collection in North America and the 18th largest collection in the Western Hemisphere.

Photo: Courtesy Sharlene Santana

Dr. Sharlene Santana, Curator of Mammals, holds a bat while conducting behavioral studies in the field.

Photo: Rachel Ormiston/Burke Museum

The Mammal Collection includes more than 40,000 skulls.

Photo: Dennis Wise/University of Washington

Volunteers cleaning vertebrae from a Baird's Beaked Whale that washed ashore on the Washington coast.

Photo: Ada Kaliszewska

Mammalogy researchers in Costa Rica for fieldwork on the coevolution between pepper plants and fruit bats.

Photo: Andrew Waits

Mammalogy collections and staff play an important role in undergraduate and graduate education within the UW.

Photo: Courtesy Sharlene Santana

Members of the Santana Lab.

Photo: Andrew Waits

Collections staff share the work of the Mammalogy team with Burke visitors, members, and school groups.

Search the Collection

The Mammalogy Collection database includes over 55,000 specimen records.

Mammalogy Database

Photo: Rachel Ormiston/Burke Museum

What’s in the Collection?

The collection includes mammal specimens from all continents except Antarctica, and it has a strong emphasis in the Pacific Northwest. Over half of our specimens are from Washington state with good representation also from Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska.

Of the 55,000 cataloged specimens in the Mammal Collection, more than:

29,000 include a skin (typically a study skin, but sometimes flat or live-mount skins)
40,000 include a skull
8,000 include a complete skeleton
1,000 are preserved in fluid
9,000 have a frozen tissue sample archived in the Burke's Genetic Resources Collection

Our Research

Mammals have evolved an extraordinary diversity in form, function, and life habits, but some groups of mammals are more diverse than others.

Our research is led by Dr. Sharlene Santana, Burke Museum Curator of Mammals, and focuses on understanding how disparities in mammalian diversity arise. We approach this task by doing comparative studies of the morphology, performance, behavior and ecology of mammals to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms leading to radiation.

We combine traditional and cutting-edge tools to study specimens, including micro-CT and laser scanning, dissections, 3D morphometrics, biomechanical modeling, and phylogenetic comparative methods.

Santana Lab

University of Washington Courses

Mammalogy collections and staff play an important role in undergraduate and graduate education within the UW’s College of Arts and Sciences, and especially the Department of Biology.

UW Biology

Photo: Sharlene Santana/Burke Museum

Questions & Answers

We’ve pulled together some common questions and answers related to the Burke Museum Mammalogy Collection. Do you have a question that isn’t answered in the list below? Contact us.

The Burke Museum is moving to a brand new facility! In order to unpack and prepare for opening, the mammalogy collections are currently closed.

We greatly appreciate the community's patience while we move our collections to their new home. The New Burke will open to the public in October 2019.

Questions? Contact us.

The Burke Mammal Collection provides loans of skins, skulls, skeletons and fluid-preserved specimens to the global nonprofit research community. For more information, view our Loan Policy (PDF) and contact us.

Yes, mammalogy staff will attempt to identify mammals or parts of mammal specimens found by researchers or members of the public.

To request specimen identification, please use the Burke's Object Identification Request Form and include one or more photographs that show the whole individual or part to be identified, ideally alongside a ruler or another object for scale.

Questions? Contact us.

Mammal specimens arrive at the Burke from a variety of sources. Some are found dead, some are donated by U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, local Zoos, or other wildlife organizations. Specimens are also collected by scientists during field research.

The Burke Museum welcomes salvaged specimen donations under the following conditions:

Please deliver specimens within a sealed container (i.e. plastic bag).
Inside the container, include a note indicating the date and location found (i.e. city/town), as well as how the specimen(s) came into your possession.
If possible, please ensure that specimens are either frozen or in otherwise good condition when delivered.
Please note that the Burke Museum cannot accept living specimens, nor can we provide monetary appraisals for any wildlife product.

Salvaged specimens may be delivered to the Burke Museum non-public business entrance — which is located at the northeast corner of the building and can be accessed via the intercom outside the door.

Deliveries are accepted without an appointment between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, though please contact Burke Mammalogy if accommodation beyond this timeframe is needed.

We couldn’t do what we do without volunteers! Visit our Volunteer page for more information about Burke Museum volunteer opportunities and to view current openings.

Our Team

Meet the people within the Burke Museum Mammalogy team.

Our Team

Have a general inquiry?

Photo: Sharlene Santana/Burke Museum

Support Mammalogy

Your gift makes it possible! We couldn't do what we do without generous donor support for collections care, research and public outreach.

Donate Today

Photo: Dennis Wise/University of Washington

Bats evolved diverse skull shapes due to echolocation, diet

Burke PR — Thu, 02 May 2019 21:14:04 +0000

Bats evolved diverse skull shapes due to echolocation, diet Burke PR Thu, 05/02/2019 - 14:14

Pocket Bats

Cathy Morris — Wed, 30 May 2018 20:16:44 +0000

Pocket Bats Cathy Morris Wed, 05/30/2018 - 13:16

Topics

Mammals

Research impact

Teaser text

Download and print Pocket Bat cards and you can have a variety of 3D augmented reality bat skulls right in your pocket.

Teaser image

Link

https://faculty.washington.edu/ssantana/wordpress/pocket-bats/

Santana Lab

Associated Collection Term

Mammalogy

A pocket full of bats

Burke Museum — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 21:12:05 +0000

A pocket full of bats Burke Museum Tue, 01/30/2018 - 13:12

Robust jaws and crushing bites allow sea otters to specialize their diets

Kristin Campbell — Wed, 06 Sep 2017 01:56:17 +0000

Robust jaws and crushing bites allow sea otters to specialize their diets Kristin Campbell Tue, 09/05/2017 - 18:56

Mammalogy

How did rodents get so diverse? Costa Rica may have answers

Baird's beaked whale at the Burke Museum

Amazing Life

Life on Earth is extraordinary.

Floor 2, Biology

Mammals of Washington

Burke Museum Mammalogy

Mammal Diversity

Burke Museum Mammalogy

Mammalogy

Mammalogy at the Burke Museum

Search the Collection

What’s in the Collection?

Our Research

University of Washington Courses

UW Biology

Questions & Answers

Can I visit the collection?

I’m a researcher. How do I request a specimen loan?

Can I have a mammal identified?

How do animals arrive at the Burke?

Can I donate a mammal to the collection?

Can I volunteer?

Our Team

Support Mammalogy

Donate Today

Bats evolved diverse skull shapes due to echolocation, diet

Pocket Bats

Santana Lab

A pocket full of bats

Robust jaws and crushing bites allow sea otters to specialize their diets