The mammal collection at The Nat is one of the most important regional mammal collections in western North America and a cornerstone of the museum’s scientific research. Our collection of roughly 26,000 specimens documents more than 150 years of biodiversity in Southern California, the Baja California Peninsula, and the broader southwestern United States.
The collection is actively used by Museum staff and visiting researchers and supports specimen loans, on-site study, and data sharing through biodiversity portals. Together, these holdings provide an irreplaceable record of change through time and reinforce applied research in conservation biology, land management, and species recovery.
Mammal specimens are carefully preserved as study skins with associated skulls and are complemented by complete skeletons, providing a strong foundation for taxonomic, morphological, ecological, and conservation-based research. Get to know our collection below.
Together, these holdings document faunal change through time and support applied research in conservation biology, land management, and species recovery, particularly for rare and endemic mammals of our mission region. The collection provides a lasting foundation for understanding ecological change in one of North America’s most biodiverse regions.
To explore our collection, visit VertNet, GBIF, or iDigBio (institution code: SDNHM). For the most up-to-date information or in case those sites are down, contact the Mammals Department by using our contact form under “research”.
Prior to 2026, the Departments of Birds and Mammals were combined, and their histories are therefore deeply intertwined. Early pioneers of natural history research at the Museum contributed equally to both disciplines. What follows is an overview of the individuals whose collecting and scholarship shaped the foundation of the mammal collection.
The mammal collection began more than 115 years ago, when pioneer naturalist Frank Stephens (1849–1937) donated his personal specimens to the Museum in 1910. This donation formed the nucleus of the modern collection and remains one of the most important records of regional biodiversity. Stephens began his career as a bird collector, but in 1885 the prominent mammalogist C. Hart Merriam encouraged him to focus on mammals. Over the remainder of his life, Stephens collected more than 2,300 mammal specimens from the region, providing the baseline of mammals prior to widespread urbanization.
Stephens also mentored Laurence M. Huey (1892–1963), who became the single most prolific contributor to both the bird and mammal collections. Their partnership began when a teenage Huey wandered into Stephens’ campsite and was captivated by the preparation of specimens. A self-taught naturalist, Huey served as curator of birds and mammals from 1923 to 1961. He collected more than 8,500 mammal specimens, particularly rodents, with extensive work in Baja California and Arizona.
In the 1930s, Philip H. Krutzsch (1919–2018) developed a lifelong interest in bats, initially traveling by bicycle throughout San Diego County to study them. He formalized this work at the University of California, Berkeley, completing his master’s thesis, Ecological Study of the Bats of San Diego County, in 1948—a landmark contribution to regional mammalogy. Krutzsch collected more than 500 bats, 107 of which are housed at the Museum, and later became a leading authority on bat reproductive biology.
Richard C. Banks (1931–2021) served as curator from 1962 to 1966. Though his tenure was brief, his systematic surveys of rodents and bats in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park remain the most comprehensive studies of those groups and are preserved in the Museum’s collections along with others from the region totaling 1,086 specimens.
Since 2004, Scott Tremor, Curator of Mammalogy, working closely with Philip Unitt, Emeritus Curator of Birds and Mammals, has led a wide range of research and conservation initiatives across California and the Baja California Peninsula collecting more than 1,500 specimens, continuing the Museum’s long tradition of integrative biodiversity science.