The paleontological collection of the Geological Museum of the Seminary of Barcelona
The paleontological collection of the Geological Museum of the Seminary of Barcelona (MGSB) has historically had a particular significance in Geology in Catalonia and a notable international echo, with a library in which a large number of original, bibliographical and cartographic documents on geological and paleontological topics are preserved. Thus, the aforementioned paleontological, bibliographical and cartographic collections of the MSGB are of great interest to the ICGC, both for carrying out geological cartography work and the associated geological databases, and for complying with the provisions of article 3 of Law 10/2004, of December 24, amending Law 2/2002, of March 14, on urban planning, for the promotion of affordable housing, territorial sustainability and local autonomy, and subsequent Decrees that develop it, in reference to the approval of specific actions of public interest on non-developable land.
This agreement has entailed a series of works on the MGSB's collections:
- Creation, maintenance and updating of the database in digital format of holotypes from the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic, and other associated historical fossils inventoried.
- Catalogue of the holotypes preserved in the Museum's collections, with the incorporation of photographs in digital format of all the holotypes.
- Scanning of the handwritten files, corresponding to the mineral and fossil deposits. The works will be carried out on the 3,129 archives with the aim of facilitating their consultation and locating the images of the files quickly and reliably.
- Maintenance of the database of the Museum's collections, with the conversion of the catalogue of fossil specimens to a format interoperable with the digital catalogues of holotypes and deposits, and the implementation of search engines for the records.
The Geological Museum of the Seminary of Barcelona has as its main activity the study of Paleontology, especially of invertebrate fossils. This museum is part of the Church of Barcelona and was founded in 1874, preceded by the old Cabinet of Natural History of the year 1817 and which was later added to the Episcopal Library.
The first director of the Museum was Dr. Jaume Almera (1845-1919), who entered the world of Geology with J.J. Landerer, geologist and astronomer from Tortosa, who sponsored his entry into the Geological Society of France in 1877. In 1885 he dedicated himself to the preparation of the Geological Map of the Province of Barcelona, a map that is still used today and has been highly praised by scientists both nationally and abroad.
In1926, Josep Ramon Bataller (1890-1962) continued the work of Dr. Almera as director of the Museum. He was the first professor of Paleontology at the University of Barcelona; he was named doctor honoris causa by the University of Toulouse and a member of several scientific societies. In his research career, the Mesozoic fossils, of capital importance, and his work on different sheets of the national geological map of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain stand out. In 1951, he received moral and financial support from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and the link between the CSIC and the Museum continued with his successor Dr. Via, who achieved the creation of the Biostratigraphy Section of the CSIC.
As already indicated, Dr. Bataller was replaced as director of the MGSB by Dr. Luís Via (1910-1991). Dr. Via dedicated his doctoral thesis to the study of crabs from the Spanish Eocene. During his life he dedicated himself fully to the Museum; he always tried to enrich it in all aspects, and open it to scholars and enthusiasts.
After the death of Dr. Via, the management of the Museum passed to Dr. Sebastià Calzada, who in 1975 received his doctorate in Geology with a thesis on brachiopods from the Cretaceous of the peninsular Levant. Calzada is the author of numerous articles of a paleontological nature, has tried to deepen the dissemination of the Museum in all aspects and, among other things, has promoted and consolidated the Association of Friends of the Museum, created in 1994.
Since 1988, the annual magazine Batalleria, has been published, which reflects part of the research carried out and disseminates the activities of the Museum and reaches the main paleontological research centers in the world. The journal Scripta Musei Geologici Seminarii Barcinonensis is produced for the same purpose.
In 2009 the Museum received the Creu de Sant Jordi from the Generalitat de Catalunya in recognition of its valuable scientific work.
Fossil collections
The collections
Since 1939, when the collections were rebuilt, the Museum has had a register of nearly 80,000 entries of fossil samples from all geological periods. Each sample can contain from one specimen to dozens and the entries are expanded every year.
The documentation to carry out the task of classification and study forms a specialized library that reaches up to 13,000 titles. It also has a laboratory with capacity for the preparation of fossils that are integrated into the Museum.
In addition, the Museum stores a historical archive with several paleontological collections and private documents of important scientists such as that of Dr. Llopis Lladó and that of Dr. Faura i Sans, d'Almera, Vidal, Font, Bataller, Via, Candel, Solé Sabarís, among others. The Museum also contains the Guerin, Uthoff, Almirall, Mañé, Gàsser, Viader, Dr. Marcelo March (important collection of Triassic Conodonts), Gràcia-Camprubí and Andreu Bresca collections. The content of these private collections almost reaches 20,000 specimens.
Numerous researchers from all over the world visit the Museum to study the available material.
Holotypes
The Holotype collection deserves a prominent section in the Museum's activities.
According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a holotype is the single specimen designated or indicated as the "type specimen" of a nominal taxon of the species level at the time of publication of the original. That is, the holotype is a specimen that is found in a specific place (usually a museum) and that serves as material to describe a new species that was previously unknown to Science.
Holotypes are the most important pieces in museums since they serve to allow researchers to have a correct interpretation of the species. The number of holotypes that a museum has gives an idea of the magnitude of its research. Discovering whether a specimen is a new species is a task that requires a lot of preparation and can only be carried out by specialists in each group.
The Geological Museum of the Seminary of Barcelona has nearly 600 holotypes and the number increases every year.
Scientific activities
The collection, storage, registration and preparation of rock and soil samples, with microfossils, of which about 500 samples are available, are carried out.
Among the inventoried materials, it is worth highlighting the almost complete specimen of Tetralophodon longirostris, of lower Vallesian age found in Polinyà, the jaw of the Pliocene ape (cercopicetid) from Cova Bonica (Gavà) and the varied and rare fauna of jellyfish, holothurians, mollusks, crustaceans, limulids, fish and reptiles from the Muschelkalk of Alcover and Mont-ral (Tarragona).
The research support service supports the numerous researchers who frequent the Museum, whether for bibliographic consultation or the study of fossil specimens in their specialty:
- Taphonomy specialists: Milan Museum, Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History in Japan, University of Minnesota in the USA and University of Galway in Ireland.
- Coral experts: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
- Ammonitid experts: University of Marseille and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- Bivalves and chondrichthyes experts: Museo Geominero, Madrid. In the same year, doctoral student Silvia Sorbi from the University of Pisa studied the sirenians in our collection for her thesis on this group in the Neogene of Europe and North Africa. Currently, 1st semester 2012, there is a constant relationship with scientists from the British Museum, especially dedicated to the study of bryozoans and bivalves in the Museum.
Another line of research work of the Museum consists of the preparation of entire monographs on various fossil groups with the aim, among others, of dating and stratigraphically correlating the terrains that contain them (Biostratigraphy). Also worth mentioning are the numerous collaborations of important researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Valencia, and Dr. Hanspeter Luterbacher, specialist in foraminifera.
Library
The library saved from destruction in 1936 is a basic complement to the objectives of the Museum, since it allows the determination and study of its collections and preserves some classic works. This library is one of the most important in Spain dedicated to Paleontology, specializing in fossil invertebrates, vertebrates and fossil plants. The library is complemented by works of a geological, geographical and scientific nature in general and a considerable number of magazines and other specialized periodicals and also has a map library with topographic and geological maps, mainly regional.
It currently houses almost 14,000 catalogued titles that can be searched through a properly classified file.
The collection is its own or the result of donations and bequests from different people such as: Almera, Bataller, Via, Calzada, Faura i Sans i Candel, among others.