The difficult provenance of Ferdinand von Mueller's zoological specimens

Abstract

The botanist Ferdinand von Mueller (1825–1896) collected few of the very large number of zoological specimens distributed in his name, although museums often record him as the collector. Analysis of his correspondence allows some of the field collectors, and agents who acted between them and Mueller, to be identified, and the provenance of some specimens understood. Not all provenances can be traced, but the analysis of available correspondence cautions against accepting at face value the documentation of surviving specimens.