Zoological Collection

The collection currently comprises around 1400 items, including several hundred specimens of island fauna, including representatives of species that are currently extinct in Sardinia.

Only at the end of the 19th century did zoology find a place in university courses in Medicine, with the teaching of Filippo Fanzago from Padua in 1878, followed in 1908 by Rina Monti, the first female full professor in Italy.

The Zoological Collection consists of materials belonging to the University's Zoological Museum founded by Fanzago, preparations of Sardinian fauna from the Institute of Zoology and the Collection of the Sardinian Society of Natural Sciences, and subsequent integrations and donations up to the present period, totaling around 1400 items. It includes several hundred specimens of island fauna and features representatives of species currently extinct in Sardinia, such as the bearded vulture (*Aegipius monachus*) and the lammergeier (*Gypaetus barbatus*), or now very rare, like the Bonelli's eagle (*Hieraaetus fasciatus*) and the Mediterranean monk seal (*Monachus monachus*).

The ornithological section is particularly rich (especially for Sardinian birds of prey and exotic birds), as well as the sections on marine and terrestrial invertebrates, including endemic Sardinian insects and exotic lepidoptera (butterflies). Also present are osteological, entomological, embryological, and comparative anatomy collections, various small equipment, and ancient teaching aids.