Reviving Taxonomy and Natural History: At Naturalis and MNHN

In January 2026, the TEE Lab spent an amazing and fruitful two weeks at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France.

Marx, Xin Rui, Zann & Eleanor at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the MNHN. Photos 2026 Marx.

The Naturalis Biodiversity Center is home to over 40 million specimens from all over the world, including many important specimens from Southeast Asia. Here, we were hosted by Dr Hans Huijbregt, a leading taxonomist of Southeast Asian dung beetles, and Dr Oscar Vorst, the curator of the Coleoptera (beetles) collection.

A tour around the insect collection in the Naturalis, guided by Oscar and Hans. Photo 2026 Marx.

We were very privileged to work together with Hans in examining and comparing our specimens with the museum's reference collection, and to learn from him the ins and outs of dung beetle taxonomy and identification. We are excited to continue working with him to resolve complex species groups and describe new species to science.

Specimen examination and imaging at the Naturalis with Hans.  Photos 2026 Xin Rui, Eleanor.

Group photo with Hans. Photo 2026 Marx.

Towards the end of our time in Leiden, we visited the museum's beautifully designed galleries, which covered a wide array of topics such as life and death, dinosaurs, and the ice age.

The various galleries in the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre. Photos 2026 Xin Rui.

After Leiden, we headed to the MNHN in Paris, which houses one of the world's oldest natural history collections. The Coleoptera collection in the MNHN is especially extensive, making up nearly 25% of the museum's total collections and 50% of its insect collections. A large portion is from the vast collection of René Oberthür, which the museum had acquired in 1952. The Coleoptera collection also home to many important type specimens from Southeast Asia, such as those described by renowned dung beetle taxonomists Antoine Boucomont and David Sharp.

Looking for important type specimens in the Scarabaeidae collection in the MNHN. Photos 2026 Zann, Xin Rui.

We were hosted by Dr Olivier Montreuil, the curator of the Scarabaeidae collection, who greatly helped us in navigating the large library of specimen boxes and tracking down type specimens. We were ecstatic to find and examine dung beetle specimens collected since the 1800s, including those by Alfred Russell Wallace when he was in Singapore.

A tour around the MNHN's insect collection, guided by Olivier. Photos 2026 Marx, Xin Rui.

Group photos with Olivier. Photo 2026 Xin Rui.

Our time spent in Europe is another step forward in our endeavours to resolve the taxonomic impediments of dung beetles in Southeast Asia. Through our ongoing collaborations with dung beetle taxonomists and experts, this research minimises the taxonomic gap and enables accurate species identifications for future dung beetle research and monitoring efforts in the region.