Zoology Collection highlights

The zoology museum is filled with loads of colourful characters! There are some familiar favourites, like Rani the tiger, the butterflies and the mammal skeletons. But here we want to highlight some of the other animals, and models, found in the collections.

Dr Auzoux's May Beetle

One of the most curious insects in the collection is Dr Auzoux's model of a May beetle.

Louis Auzoux (1979-1880) was a French anatomist and naturalist who became famous for his large scale and highly accurate models of human and veterinary specimens.

The models are made of several parts; each of which can be removed to show anatomical details.

The May beetle (Melolontha vulgaris) was an agricultural pest, eating crops such as potatoes and corn.