Mikšić beetle collection (Insecta, Coleoptera)
René Mikšić (Zagreb, 1920 – Sarajevo, 1986) bequeathed his collection of more than 11,500 dry-preserved beetle specimens, together with his reference scientific library, to the Croatian Natural History Museum in the 1980s. The library was included because it forms an integral and logical part of the collection. The collection arrived at the museum in 1987.
The Mikšić Collection contains more than 1,600 species, including specimens of exceptional scientific and cultural value: 20 holotypes (the specimen upon which a nominal species is based), 9 allotypes (a specimen of the opposite sex to the holotype from the type series), 81 paratypes (all remaining specimens from the original type series after designation of the holotype), and 10 syntypes (one or more specimens used by the author when describing a new species, where no holotype was designated or where multiple specimens were simultaneously designated as holotypes).
The specimens in the collection originate from almost every continent and represent material collected in more than 100 countries.
Collection Curator: Iva Mihoci
