Mammals

The collection contains an estimated at 27,000 specimens, preserved as mounts (traditional skin-mounts or study skins), or skeletons (disarticulated and mounted); there are also full-body, 70% ethanol-preserved specimens. We hold representatives of the 20 class Mammalian orders, comprising 110 families, 401 genus and 886 species. There are 13,746 specimens of 7 orders, 30 families and 111 species that were captured in Spain.

Over 60% of the specimens of this collection are from Spain, but there is also a good representation of the fauna of former Spanish areas of influence - Latin America, North Africa, the Philippines and Equatorial Guinea.

We house the nation’s largest and most important collection of traditional skin-mounted mammals. The skins were remarkably prepared and mounted by the Benedito Brothers, who worked as taxidermists for the Museum in the early 20^th century – Luis mounted the mammals and José María the birds. Notable examples of their work are the dioramas and the big African mammals: The elephant (Loxodonta africana), the giraffe, (Giraffa camelopardalis), and the rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), to name a few.