The Department of Vertebrates began its activities with the founder of the Museum, Dr. Stanko Karaman, in 1926. At that time, as the only scientific researcher, together with one preparator and one technical assistant, he collected and established rich animal collections. Dr. Karaman conducted research on numerous animal groups, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, as well as certain groups of invertebrates, with a later special focus on subterranean fauna.

The museum collections of the Department of Vertebrates include four main groups of organisms—fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. In total, the collections comprise 25,742 museum specimens, of which 491 are displayed in the permanent exhibition, while 25,251 are preserved in the museum storage.

In terms of the number of specimens, the fish collection is the most extensive with 22,807 specimens, followed by amphibians with 917, reptiles with 896, and mammals with 631 specimens. The department’s scientific research activities are particularly focused on herpetofauna, namely amphibians and reptiles.

Contact: Dr. Vesna Sidorovska, Senior Curator

E-mail: v.sidorovska@musmacscinat.mk