The South Australian Museum houses the Australian Helminthological Collection (AHC), the foremost collection of Helminth parasites in Australia. Most specimens, stored permanently preserved on glass slides or in alcohol, are derived from Australian native vertebrates, but much material is from domestic and zoo animals, plus livestock. As studies of Australia's marine environment expand and with the growth of aquaculture nationally, Helminths from our marine fauna, especially fishes, are increasing in the AHC. The collection is supported by an exceptional and extensive compilation of literature.
The AHC comprises approximately 40,000 registered "lots" with emphasis on parasitic worms from the Phyla: Nematoda or roundworms (~24,000 "lots"); Platyhelminthes or flatworms, including tapeworms or the cestodes (~8,600 "lots") and flukes or the digeneans and monogeneans (~5,000 "lots"); Acanthocephala or spiny-headed worms (~1,400 "lots"). The collection incorporates ~1,100 holotypes, ~3,200 paratypes and ~36,000 voucher specimens, with about 700 lots being donated annually. All registered specimens are databased.
Kingdoms covered include: Animalia.
Number of specimens in the collection
Click the Records & Statistics tab to access those database records that are available through the atlas.
Metadata last updated on 2010-10-19 16:54:16.0
Digitised records available through the Atlas
No database records for this collection can be accessed through the Atlas of Living Australia.