As biologists, we deposit the specimens we collected and studied in repositories so that they can be preserved for future generations. Most repositories, (e.g. museums, collections or institutions) have acronyms for easier referencing in documents, research papers or on specimen labels. An acronym is a name formed from an abbreviation of the initial components of the name. For example, BMNH stands for the British Museum (Natural History) in London—one of world's oldest and largest repositories. In an ideal world, there should be one unique acronym for each repository; this will facilitate the accurate citation and reference of specimens from these repositories. In the real world, however, institutions change names from time to time and some institutions disappeared for various reasons or merged with others. Sometimes, people created new acronyms for the same institutions when their names changed and this resulted in synonyms of acronyms. For example, British Museum (Natural History) in London is now known as The Natural History Museum, London and some authors used NHM, although most researchers continue to use the widely recognized BMNH even though the name of the museum was changed; likewise mite specimens from the collection of A.C. Oudemans are referred to RMNH—(Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, The Netherlands), which is now part of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Synonyms of acronyms were also created when authors were unaware of existing ones, or they had no rules of nomenclature for acronyms to guide them. In addition to the problems with synonyms, acronyms may also have homonyms: e.g. BM was used by some authors for Bishop Museum (Honolulu, Hawaii, USA) whereas BM is also used by botanists (not zoologists) for British Museum (Natural History) in London. The former is B.P. Bishop Museum (BPBM) in full, which should be used for this museum in Honolulu.
I noted a relatively high incidence of synonyms of acronyms for acarological repositories during recent surveys of taxonomic papers on mites (Liu et al. 2013; Liu & Zhang 2016; Li & Zhang 2016; Lam & Zhang 2016; Liu et al. 2017). Many authors did not use acronyms for acarological repositories. Some authors also inconsistently used acronyms. For example, Silva et al. (2016) did not use acronyms for most repositories, but for the few that they did provide, they sometimes gave different ones for the same collection: e.g. USNM and NMNH for US national mite collection at US National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Washington, D.C., USA. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a sample list of acronyms for acarological repositories and their synonyms encountered during my survey. I also consulted a few books such as Schicha (1987), Mesa et al. (2009), Hernandes et al. (2011), and Guglielmone et al. (2014). This paper is not intended to provide a complete list of acronyms and their synonyms of repositories for mite and tick specimens. Rather, I aim to highlight recommended rules for formulating acronyms so that unique and correctively formed acronyms are used and possible synonyms can be avoided in the future. I also propose simple rules for choosing among synonyms of acronyms when they are detected in published literature. In addition, I provide examples to make it easy to understand these recommended rules.
Rules and recommendations
1 Systematic & Applied Acarology will require authors to use correctly formed and widely accepted acronyms for repositories, effectively from the first issue of 2019. When papers include primary type specimens, the location of the repository must be mentioned at least once in the paper as required by Art. 16.4.2 of ICZN (1999): “a statement of intent that they will be (or are) deposited in a collection and a statement indicating the name and location of that collection”.
2. If an institution has no previously used acronyms, please formulate one using the initial components of the institution name (omitting definite article “the”, preposition “of”, conjunctions “and” etc), and ensure that the new acronym is unique (in the days of the internet, it is easy to search for previously used acronyms; e.g. http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/codens/). (A) When the institution has subunits, please use the main institution names rather than its subunits unless the subunit is institutionalized as a repository; e.g. AMU is the correct and preferred acronym for the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland. Some papers used DATE, which is for Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology (Adam Mickiewicz University); however, MCZ (Museum of Comparative Zoology) is an institutionalized unit in Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) and is widely recognized. (B) When the acronym is short with 3 or fewer letters, you can add the initial of the city or country name, or sometimes both or that of its subunits, which can reduce the chance of homonyms: e.g. SAMA for South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia (SAM has also been used); GUGC for Guizhou University, Guiyang, China; FACU for Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt. Although 4-letter acronyms are widely used and recommended by some (e.g. Watt 1979), it is not a rule that needs to be followed.
3. When there are synonyms of acronyms, (A) use one that is correctively formed and also widely accepted (especially by current researchers of that institution or country): e.g. TSUMZ (Tyumen State University Museum of Zoology, Tyumen, Russia) is preferred over TUMZ (Tyumen State University Museum of Zoology); both were used in papers but the former was in wider uses in recent years by authors from this institution; (B) use one for the institution rather than its subunits; e.g. AMU (not DATE) for the for Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
List of acronyms and their synonyms
This list is not complete and may contain errors. It will be revised in the future based on additional research and comments from colleagues. Please send me your comments or corrections. I especially welcome historical accounts of acarological repositories.
ACIAU see SRIAUF
ACISTE—Acarological Collection, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran
ALCU1—Acarology Laboratory, Department of Plant Protection, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey
AFUMI see UMI
AHC see UNAM
AI see VNUA
AINB—Acari collections of INBio, Insitituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Santo Domingo, Costa Rica
=INBCR—Instituto Nacional Biologica of Costa Rica, Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica.
AINP—The collection of All India Network Project of Agricultural Acarology, Bangalore, India AM see AMS
AMMS—Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
AMNH—American Museum of Natural History, New York City, New York, USA
AMNZ—Auckland Institute and Museum, Auckland, New Zealand AMSA see AMS
AMS—Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia.
=AMSA—Australian Museum, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia
=AM—Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia
AMU—Department of Animal Morphology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
= DATE—Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.
ANIC—Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, Australia
APAS—Acarological Laboratory, Department of Plant Protection, Agricultural College, Shahrekord University, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran
ARC-PPRI—Plant Protection Research Institute-Agricultural Research Center - Fruit Acarology Department, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
ASCR see IPCAS
ASCU—Agricultural Scientific Collection Unit, Orange Agricultural Institute, Orange, New South Wales, Australia
=BCRI2—Biological and Chemical Research Institute, Rydalmere, New South Wales, Australia
AUET see ZMAU
BASU—Collection of Acarology Laboratory, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran.
BBM see BPBM
BCRI see ASCU
BEO—Natural History Museum Belgrade (Narodni muzej u Beogradu), Serbia
BITU—Biological Institute, Faculty of Education, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan
BM see BPBM
BMNH—Natural History Museum [former known as British Museum (Natural History)], London, England, UK=NHM—Natural History Museum, London, UK
BMSA see NMBS
BPBM—B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
=BM—B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
=BBM— B.P Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
BUZM—Acarological collection of the Zoology Museum, Bozok University, Yozgat, Turkey
CALBS—Collection of the Acarology Laboratory, University of Bu Ali Sina, Hamedan, Iran CAS see CASC
CASC—California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA
=CAS—California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA
=SM—Science Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, USA
CBGP—Collection of the Centre de Biologie et de Gestion des Populations, Montferrier-sur-Lez, France
CM—Chilean Museum (Museo de Historia Natural, section of entomology), Santiago, Chile
CBZM—Celal Bay ar University, Zoological Museum, Manisa, Turkey
CDPV—Colección Departamento de Parasitología Veterinaria, Salto, Uruguay
=DPVURU—Departmento de Parasitología Veterinaria, Uruguay
CEA-MHNS—Colección de la Estación Experimental Agronomica, Universidad de Chile; Museo de Historia Natural Santiago, Chile
CEUFLA—Coleção Entomológica da Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras - MG, Brazil
CFCV—Colección Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Esperanza, Argentina =FAVE—Facultad de Veterinaria, Esperanza, Argentina
CFMVZ—Coleção da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (also known as “Coleçeo Nacional de Carapatos”), São Paulo, Brazil
CGEN—mite collection at Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (former also known as “Cenargen”), Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil
=DFIB—Collection of Laboratório de Quarentena Vegetal, Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasilia, Distrito Federal and of Instituto Biológico, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
CI.—Cawthom Institute, Nelson, New Zealand
CMC see CMNZ
CMNH—Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsilvania, U.S.A.
CMNZ—Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Ave, Christchurch, New Zealand
= CMC—Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand
CMNS—Museum of Natural History, Shanghai, China (Mesa et al. 2009)
CNAC see UNAM
CNC see CNCI
CNCI—Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
= CNC—Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
CNCP3—Canadian National Collection of Phytoseiidae, University of Toronto, Canada
CNHM see FMNH
CORBIDI—Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad in Lima, Peru
CUBS—Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
CUE—Collection of Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt (Mesa et al 2009).
CUI—The Division of Acarology of the Department of Zoology, Calicut University, India.
CUIC—Cornell University Insect Collection, Ithaca, New York, U.S.A.
=DECU—Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
CUMN—Acari collection of the Chulalongkom University Museum of Natural History, Bangkok, Thailand.
CZIICT—Centro de Zoología do Instituto de Investigãçao Científica Tropical, Lisbon, Portugal
DA see DZUC
DATE see AMU
DB see KAU
DEES see USPB
DEKU see KUB
DEP see EMEC
DEUP see UPLB
DFIB see CGEN
DiBCA-EZUB see UBI
DPFV—Departamento de Parasitología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Zaragoza, Spain
DPZ see SIUG
DSIR see NZAC
DZPU see PAU
DZSJRP see UEP
DVCS—Department of Veterinary and Capture Services, Kenya Wildlife Service, Nairobi, Kenya
DZUC— Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, Kerala, India
=DA—Division of Acarology, Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, Kerala, India
EAVRO—East African Veterinary Research Organization, Kikuyu, Kenya
EDPCQ—Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control of Qinghai province, China.
EMBT—Department of Agriculture, Entomology & Zoology Division, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand.
EMEC—Essig Museum of Entomology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
=DEP—Division of Entomology and Parasitology, University of California, Berkeley, USA4
EMV—Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Santiago, Chile
ENV—École Nationale Vétérinaire, Toulouse, France
EPCL see SUC
ERGB—Collection of Laboratório de Quarentena Vegetal, Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
ESALQ/USP see USPB
EUE—Acarology Laboratory of Erzincan University, Erzincan, Turkey
EUKT—Acarological Collection of the Zoological Museum, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
FAAS—Institute of Plant Protection Collection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, P. R. China.
FACU—Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt FCM see FMNH
FCPT—Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinopolis, Spain.
FEFU—Far Eastern Federal University. Zoological Museum, Vladivostok, Russia
=FESU—Far East State University, Vladivostok, Russia
FF see UCM
FFSDU—Fundamental Science Laboratory collection, Faculty of Fisheries, Süleyman Demirel University, Egirdir/Isparta, Turkey
FESU see FEFU
FM see FMNH
FMNH—Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
=FM—The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
=CNHM—Chicago Natural History Museum, Chicago, USA
=FCM—Field Columbia Museum, Chicago, USA
GML—Gorgas Memorial Laboratory (=Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas), Panama City, Panama
FMS—Fukui Medical School, Laboratory of Ohara General Hospital, Omachi, Fukushima, Japan
FRNZ—Scion, officially registered as New Zealand Forest Research Institute (formerly Forest Research Institute), Rotoma, New Zealand
FSCA—Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville, Florida, USA
FUE see FUET
FUET—Research collection of the Biology Department, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
FUE—Research collection of the Biology Department, Firat University, Elazi???, Turkey
GM see MSNG
GMNH—Georgia Museum of Natural History, Natural History Building, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
GNHM—Collection of the Goulandris Natural History Museum, Kiphissia, Athens, Greece
GUGC—Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
GUGX—Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomic Region, China
HCOE see OUMNH
HH—Harry Hoogstraat Collection, United States Naval Medical Research Unit N° 3, Cairo, Egypt
HNHM—Soil Zoology Collection of Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
HUB see ZMB
HUHC—Museum of Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei Province, China
IAHVS—Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Yang-xi County, Hubei Province, China
IARI—National Pusa Collection, Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India
=INPC—Indian Agricultural Research Institute, National Pusa Collection (NPC), New Delhi, India
IBAC—Instituto de Biología, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba, Havana, Cuba
IBIW—Research collection of the Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Borok, Russia.
IBSP—Instituto Butantã, São Paulo, Brazil
IBSS—Research collection of the Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Vladivostok, Russia IBU—Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
ICA—Institute of Comparative Anatomy, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
ICIPE—The International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya.
IEBR VAST—Department of Zoology Museum of the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
IEMVPT—Institut d' Élevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Tananarive, Madagascar
IGHTC—Ivan G. Horak Tick Collection, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
IM see ZSI
IMR—Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
=IMRKL—Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia INBCR see AINB
INPA—Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil
INPC see IARI
INTA—Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Rafaela, Argentina
IOC—Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
IOZ see IZAS
IPASCR see IPCAS
IPCAS—Institute of Parasitology, Czech (formerly Czechoslovak) Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
=IPASCR—Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
=ASCR—Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
=IPCR—Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
IPCR see IPCAS
IPG—Institut Pasteur, Guyane et du Territoire de l'Inini, Cayenne, French Guiana
IPHCMC—Institut Pasteur, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
IPP—Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
IPT—Institut Pasteur, Tananarive, Madagascar
IRSNB—Institut Royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
= RBNS—Collection of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.
ISEA—Zoological Museum of Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals, Novosibirsk, Russia
ISET—Instituto de Salubridad y Enfermedades Tropicales, México D.F., Mexico
ISM—Institut Scientifique de Madagascar, Tananarive, Madagascar
ISZA—Istituto Sperimentale per la Zoologia Agraria di Firenza, Italy
ITS—Institut Tropical Suisse, Bâle, Switzerland
IZAS—Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Beijing, China
=NZMC—National Zoological Museum of China, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
=IOZ—Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
IZG—Institute of Zoology of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia
IZNASU—Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine
IZSAS—Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak.
IZUW—Institut für Zoologie der Universität Wien, Wien, Austria
JAZM—Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
= UTKI—Acarological Collection, Zoological Museum, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
KAU— King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
=DB5—Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, King Abdel Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
KSMA see KSU
KSU—King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
= KSMA—King Saud Museum of Arthropods, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
KUB—Insect museum of Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
=DEKU—Department of Entomology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
KUZ— Collection of the Kyoto University Museum, Kyoto, Japan
LA-CEIB—Laboratorio de Acarologia, Centro Experimental do Instituto Biológico, Campinas-SP, Brazil.
LACM—Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (formerly “Los Angeles County Museum”), Los Angeles, California, USA
LAZUA—The Acari collection of Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece.
LCCV—Laboratorio Central de Cuarentena Vegetal de Cuba, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba.
LEMQ—McGill University, Lyman Entomological Museum, Quebec, Canada
LFE—Laboratoire Federal de l'Élevage, Dakar, Senegal
LMNH see RMNH
LP—Laboratorio de Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Maracay, Venezuela
LPFMR—Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculté de Médecine de Rennes, Rennes, France
LSHTM—London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England
LSUMZ—Louisiana State University Museum of Zoology, Louisiana, USA.
LUNZ—Lincoln University, Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand
=LCNZ—Lincoln College, Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand
MAEU— Faculty of Science and Arts, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Turkey
MCN see ZAUMCN or MCNBR
MCNB—Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Barcelona, Spain
MCNBR—Museo de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
=MCN—Museo de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
MCSN see MSNG
MCZ—Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
=MCZC—Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
MGAB—Acarological Collection of the “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History (Muzeul Naţional de Istorie Naturală ”Grigore Antipa”), Bucharest, Romania
MGS see MHNG
MHN—“Museo de Historia Natural”, Lima, Peru.
MHNCI—Museu de Historia Natural Capão da Imbuia, Curitiba, Brazil
MHNG—Muséum d'histoire naturelle, Genève, Switzerland
=NHMG—Natural History Museum of Geneva, Switzerland
= MGS—Muséum d'histoire naturelle, Genève, Switzerland
NHMG see MHNG
MHNLS—Museo de Historia Natural La Salle, Caracas, Venezuela
MHNM—Museu de Historia Natural, Maputo, Mozambique
MHO see OUMNH
MMP—Museum of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro.
MNCN—Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain.
MNHN—Muséum National d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
MNHP—Museum of the Natural History of Podgorica, Montenegro.
MNHWU—Museum of Natural History, Wrocław University, Wrocław, Poland.
MNRJ—Arachnological Collection of the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro (Museu Nacional Rio de Janeiro), Brazil
NMNZ—National Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
=MNZT—Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand
=MNZ—Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand
MNZ see NMNZ
MNZT see NMNZ
MPAS see PEM
MRAC—Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium
=MRCB—Musée Royal du Congo Belge, Tervuren, Belgium
MRCB see MRAC
MRSN—Musei Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Turin, Italy
MSNG—Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “Giacomo Doria”, Genova, Italy
= GM—Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova Giacomo Doria, Genova, Italy
=MCSN—Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genova, Italy
MSNM—Milan Natural History Museum (Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano), Milan, Italy
MUSM—collection of the Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
MVMA see NMVA
MZB see MZBB
MZBB—Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Bogor, Indonesia.
=MZB—Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Bogor, Indonesia
MZD see NUSM
MZLQ see USPB
MZNH—Museum of Zoology and Natural History La Specola, Florence, Italy
MZSP see USPB
MZUC—Museo de Zoología Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile
MZUNAV—Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Navarra, Spain.
NBG—Collection of the Nikita Botanical Gardens–National Scientific Center, Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine.
NCA see NCA-PPRI
NCA-PPRI—National Collection of Arachnida, Plant Protection Research Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
=NCA—National Collection of Arachnida, Pretoria, South Africa
NFCSO—Department of Pest Management Development and Coordination, Directorate of Plant Protection, Soil Conservation and Agri-environment, National Food Chain Safety Office, Budapest, Hungary
NHMB—Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Sweden
NHMG—Natural History Museum of Geneva, Switzerland
NHM see BMNH
NHMW—Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Austria
= NMW—Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, Austria
NHRS—Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Stockholm, Sweden.
=NRS—Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden
=NRS—Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden
NIAH—National Institute of Animal Health, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
NIBR—National Institute of Biological Resources, South Korea
NIGA—Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
NIOGI—Museum of Biological Oceanography Division, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India.
NJAU—Arthropod/Mite Collection of the Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Province, P. R. China.
NM see NMVA
NMB see NMBS
NMBS—Acarology collection of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
=NMB—Acarology collection of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa
=BMSA—National Museum in Bloemfontein, South Africa
NMNS—National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
NMPC—National Museum of Prague, Czech Republic
=NMP—Arachnological collection of National Museum of Prague, Czech Republic
NMP see NMPC
NMS—National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
= EC—Evans Collection in Edinburgh Museum, Scotland
NMV see NMVA
NMVA—Museum Victoria (formerly National Museum of Victoria), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
= NMV—Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
=NM—National Museum, Melbourne, Australia
=MVMA—Department of Entomology, Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
NMW see NHMW
NMPC—Arachnological collection of National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
NRS see NHRS
NRSS see NHRS
NSCY—National Scientific Center, Yalta, Ukraine.
NSM see NSMT
NSMT—Collection of the National Museum of Nature and Science (former National Science Museum), Tokyo, Japan.
=NSM—National Science Museum, Natural History Institute, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
NTMD— Northern Territory Museum (now Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory), Darwin, Australia
= MAGNT—Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia
= NTM—Northern Territory Museum (now Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory), Darwin, Australia
NU see UNSM
NUSM—Medical Zoology Department, Niigata University, School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
=MZD—Medical Zoology Department, Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan
NUMU—Department of Zoology, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
NZAC—New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Landcare Research, Auckland, New Zealand
=DSIR—Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Auckland, New Zealand NZMC see IZAS
ORSTOM—Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-Mer, Paris, France
OMB—Übersee-Museum Bremen, Bremen, Germany
OMNZ—Otago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand
OSAL—Ohio State University Acarology Collection, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
=OSU6—Museum of Biological Diversity, the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
OSU—Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
OVI—Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, South Africa
OUMNH—Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, UK
=MHO—Hope Museum, Oxford, England
= HCOE—Hope Entomological Collections, University Museum, Oxford, England
PAU—The Acarology Laboratory of Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
= DZPU—Department of Zoology of Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
PAUP—Collection of the Department of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
PEM—Peabody Essex Museum7, Salem, Massachusetts, USA
=MPAS—Museum of the Peabody Academy of Science, Salem, Massachusetts, USA
PEU see UEP
PFC—Pacific Forestry Centre (formerly known as Forest Research Laboratory), Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
PHEL—Plant Health and Environment Laboratory, Ministry for Primary Industries, Auckland, New Zealand
PNM—The National Museum of the Philippines (Philippine National Museum), Manila, The Philippines
PPRP—ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
=SANC—National Collection of Acari, Plant Protection Research Institute, Department of Agricultural Technical Services, Pretoria, South Africa (Mesa et al. 2009)
PRUL—Pest Research Unit Laboratory, National Council for Scientific Research, Chilanga, Lusaka, Zambia
QDPI—Queensland Department of Primary Industries Insect Collection, Indooroopilly, Queensland, Australia
QIMR—Queensland Institute of Medical Research (now known as QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute or in short form QIMR Berghofer), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
QM—Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
=QMBA—Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
QMBA see QM
RBNS see IRSNB
PMAE—Royal Alberta Museum (formerly Provincial Museum of Alberta), Invertebrate Zoology, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
RMNH—Naturalis Biodiversity Center (formerly “National Museum of Natural History=Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie”), Leiden, The Netherlands.
=LMNH—Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, The Netherlands
RIH—The collection of the Department of Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Protection at the Research Institute of Horticulture, Skierniewice, Poland.
SAIMR—South African Institute for Medical Research (now as National Institute for Communicable Diseases), Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa
SAM see SAMA
SAMA—South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
=SAM—South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
SANC see PPRP
SBUC see SBUK
SBUK—the Collection of the Acarology Laboratory, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
=SBUC—Collection of the Acarology Laboratory, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
SEATO—SEATO8 Medical Research Laboratory, Bangkok, Thailand
SEMC—Division of Entomology, University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Lawrence, Kansas, USA (former Snow Entomological Museum)
SFCST—Service de Faunistique du Centre Scientifique et Technique, Bondy, France
SGGW see WULS
SHZU—Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China
SIU—Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, U.S.A.
SIUG—Department of Parasitology and Zoology, Szent István University, Gödöll???, Hungary
=DPZ—Department of Parasitology and Zoology, Szent István University, Gödöll???, Hungary
SIZK—the collection of the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology NAS, Kiev, Ukraine
SMF—Senckenberg-Museum Frankfurt (=Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt, = Senckenberg Institution Frankfurt), Germany
SMNG—Acarological Collection of Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz, Germany.
SNMB—Slovak National Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia
SPSU—Collection of the Laboratory of Phytoacarology, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Biological and Soil Sciences Faculty, Saint Petersburg State University, Russia)
SRIAUF—Acarological Collection, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Fars, Iran
=ACIAU—Acarology Collection, Islamic Azad University, Fars Science and Research Branch, Marvdasht, Iran.
SUC—Institute of Entomology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
= EPCL—Chongqing Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
SUI—Department of Plant Protection, Shiraz University, Iran
TIUC see TNU
TM see TMAG
TMAG—Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Australia
=TM—Tasmania Museum, Hobart, Australia
TMU—Acarological Collection, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
TNAU—Department of Agricultural Entomology Collection, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India
TNU—Taiwan National University, Taipei, Taiwan.
=TIUC—Taihoku Imperial University Collections, Taipei, Taiwan
TTU—Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA
TSUMZ—Tyumen State University Museum of Zoology, Tyumen, Russia
= TUMZ—Tyumen State University Museum of Zoology, Tyumen, Russia
TUPH9—Acarology Research Section of Plant Pests & Diseases Research Institute, Iran
UASM—University of Alberta Strickland Museum, Edmonton, Canada.
UAC—The collection of the University of Ankara, Plant protection Department, Ankara, Turkey
UADBA—Université d' Antananarivo, Départaient de Biologie Animale, Antananarivo, Madagascar
UAT—Department of Plant Protection, Agricultural Faculty, University of Ankara, Turkey
UBI—Dipartimento di Biologia e Chimica Agro-forestale e Ambientale (DiBCA), Entomological and Zoological Section, University of Bari, Italy
=DiBCA-EZUB—Dipartimento di Biologia e Chimica Agro-forestale e Ambientale (DiBCA), Entomological and Zoological Section, University of Bari, Italy
UBS—Acarology collection, Department of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
UCL—Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain, Belgium
UCM—Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
=FF—Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
UEP—Zoologia e Botânica, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto, State of São Paulo, Brazil.
=UNESP—Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São José do Rio Preto, State of São Paulo, Brazil
=PEU—Acari Collection of Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), campus de São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
=DZSJRP—Acari Collection of Departamento de Zoologia e Botânica, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), campus de São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
UESC—the Acarological collection of Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
UFAL— Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Campus Arapiraca, Arapiraca, Alagoas, Brazil
UFMG—Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil
=UFMG-AC—Acarological collection of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte - MG, Brazil
UFMG-AC see UFMG
UFRP—Collection of the Laboratório de Acarologia, Departamento de Agronomia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.
UGA—University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, U.S.A.
UGDIZP—University of Gdansk, Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Parasitology, Gdansk, Poland
UGMC—University of Guilan Mite Collection, Rasht, Gilan Province, Iran
UKK—Biosystematics Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani 741235, West Bengal, India.
UM—University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
UMAC see UMI
UMI—Collection of the Acarology Laboratory, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran.
=AFUMI—Acarological Collection, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran.
=UMAC—Acarological Collection, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran.
UMMZ—University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
UMSP—University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
=DEEZ—Division of Entomology and Economic Zoology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, USA
UMR CBGP—the mite collection of Montpellier SupAgro—INRA Acarology collection, Montpellier, France
UNESP see UEP
UNSM—University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A.
=NU—University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A.
UNAM—Acarology Collection of the Universidad Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
= CNAC—Colección Nacional de Ácaros del Instituto de Biología, Mexico City, Mexico
=AHC—Anita Hoffmann Collection, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
UNIPA—Acari collection of the Laboratory of Applied Acarology “Eliahu Swirski, Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Italy
UPLB—Entomological Museum, Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños, the Philippines
= DEUP—Department of Entomology, University of Philippines, Los Baños, the Philippines
UQRoo—Universidad de Quintana Roo, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
USNM—United States National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C, USA.
=NMNH—National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C, USA.
=SNMNH—Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA.
USNTC10—U.S. National Tick Collection, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, George, USA.
USNPC—United States National Parasite Collection, Beltsville, Maryland, USA
USPB—“Museu de Zoologia Luiz de Queiroz” at the Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
=MZLQ—“Museu de Zoologia Luiz de Queiroz”, Mite Reference Collection, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Brazil.
=ESALQ/USP—Collection of Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia, ESALQ – Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil
=DEES11—Reference Collection of Departamento de Enotmologia, Fitopatologia e Zoologia Agricola, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
UTI—Acarological Collection, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
UTKI see JAZM
UUZM— Uppsala University, Museum of Evolution, Zoology section (known as “Uppsala University Zoological Museum” before 1999), Uppsala, Sweden
=ZMU—Museum of Evolution, Uppsala, Sweden
=LC—Linnaeus Collection, Uppsala, Sweden
UWMO—Collection of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland
VLM—Veterinary Laboratory (Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane), Maputo, Mozambique.
VMDFA—Veterinary Medicine Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
VNUA—Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam
=AI—Agriculture Institute N 1, Hanoi, Vietnam
VRC—Virus Research Centre, Poona, India
VRLH—Veterinary Research Laboratory, Harare, Zimbabwe
VRLKK—Veterinary Laboratory Research, Kabete, Kenya
WAM—Western Australian Museum, Perth, Australia.
WINC—Waite Insect and Nematode Collection12, Entomology Unit, South Australian Research and Development Institute, Adelaide (EUSARDI), South Australia, Australia (Mesa et al 2009).
WULS—the collection of the Department of Applied Entomology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
= SGGW—Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego w Warszawie, Poland
YIAZ—Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran
YSU—Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.A.
WUM—Worclaw University Museum of Natural History, Worclaw, Poland
ZAUMCN—Museu de Ciências Naturais, UNIVATES—Centro Universitário, Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil
= MCN—the mite reference collection (CAS) of the Museu de Ciências Naturais, UNIVATES Centro Universitário, Lajeado, the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
ZIAC see ZISP
ZIRAS see ZISP
ZISP—Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
=ZIRAS—Collection of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia.
=ZIAC—Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
ZIZMUH—Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum (formerly: Zoologisches Institut und Zoologisches Museum der Universität Hamburg), Hamburg, Germany.
ZMA see ZMAN
ZMAN—Zoological Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
=ZMA—Zoological Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ZMAU—Zoological Museum of Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey
=AUET—Zoological Museum of Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey
ZMB—Zoologischen Museums Berlin (now known as “Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin”), Berlin, Germany
=HUB—Museum of Natural History, Department of Arachnids, Myriapods and Stemgroup Arthropoda, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
=ZMHU—Zoologische Museum, Humboldt Universitat, Berlin, Germany
ZMBN—the University Museum of Bergen, Norway
ZMM—Zoologischen Museum München, München, Germany
ZMUM—Zoological Museum, University of Moscow, Moscow, Russia
=ZMMO—Zoological Museum of Moscow University, Moscow, Russia
ZMH—Zoological Museum in Hamburg (now Zoological Museum, Center of Natural History, University of Hamburg), Germany.
ZSH—Zoologischen Staatsmuseum Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
ZMJU—Zoological Museum of the Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland
ZMMO see ZMUM
ZMT—Zoological Museum of Turku University, Turku, Finland
ZMUC—the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
ZMUO—The collections of the Museum of Zoology, I.I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Odessa, Ukraine
ZSI—Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, India =IM—Indian Museum, Calcutta, India
ZSH see ZMH
ZSM—Zoologische Staatssamlung Munich, Germany.
Acknowledgements
I thank Dr A. A. Guglielmone for sending me a chapter on tick collections in his book “The Hard Ticks of the World (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae)”.
References
Notes
[3] 3. This collection is now part of CNCI—Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
[7] 7. Known as The Peabody Museum of Salem (1915–1992) and Peabody Academy of Science (1865–1915), which was a successor to the East India Marine Society (founded in 1799).
