About the Collection
The fish collection at the Bell Museum of Natural History dates to the 19th century and contains over 41,000 cataloged lots. Early collections focused on fishes of the upper Midwest, especially fishes of Minnesota. However, there are many older collections from outside the state. These include specimens from the Menage expedition to the Phillipines in the 1890's; fish from Hawaii collected in the early 1900's; and many other specimens from across the continental United States. The fish collection also holds diverse holdings of marine fishes from the Pacific Northwest, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic coast. While most of the specimens are stored in alcohol there is: a large collection of pharyngeal teeth from cyprinids and catostomids; a sizable, uncataloged larval fish collection; and a growing collection of dry and stained-and-cleared skeletal material.

Tissue Collection
Tissues of several species of Minnesota fishes are available for research purposes. Tissues are stored at -70°C or in 95% ethanol.

Fish collection personnel

Dr. Andrew Simons: Curator