rows and rows of ichthyology collection jars

Ichthyology

KU Ichthyology explores evolution, biodiversity, genomics, morphology, ecology, biogeography, and life history of fishes. These studies are grounded in KU research collections which are a major worldwide resource for anatomical and genomic investigations of fishes and vertebrates.

Research

Our research is explicitly collections-based scientific research. This work in the field and from specimen-based observations motivates our research questions and provides the data we require to answer them.

ichthyology researcher with a specimen with a computer scan of a fish behind her

Collections

The collections has over 680,000 preserved specimens, mainly in ethanol, with an emphasis on Midwest fishes; significant osteological preparations; and geographically and taxonomically diverse tissue collection of 11,000 fishes.

two researchers holding a fish specimen