Benthic Invertebrate
Collection
Supporting biodiversity research in some of the ocean's most unexplored and extreme environments.
Our Collection
The Benthic Invertebrate Collection is a repository of preserved specimens available to loan for research and education.
Our Work
Curation
SIO-BIC contributes to research on invertebrate diversity, including new species descriptions, global phylogenies, population genetics, and biogeography.
Outreach
SIO-BIC materials are widely used in teaching at UC San Diego, as well as for public outreach directly from the collection and through Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
History
Specimens contained in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Benthic Invertebrate Collection date back to 1902, when Dr. William E. Ritter of the University of California Berkeley and summer students began conducting biological survey work from the Boathouse of the Hotel Del Coronado.
Support the Collections
Friends of the Collections support the largest and most complete university-based oceanographic collection in the world, comprised of millions of biological and geological marine specimens. This library of the ocean’s history is a resource to researchers and students all over the world.