The IMNH Mammal Collection currently houses over 1,500 catalogued specimens. The collection is comprised of skin and skull preparations of modern mammals. Specimens have been collected by ISU students, faculty, volunteers, and researchers.
Drs. Barry Keller, Edson Fichter and their students collected most the material as part of their research. Geographically, most of the specimens are from Idaho, with rodents and bats the best represented groups. The collection also has a number of specimens from Yellowstone NP, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, California, Utah and Wisconsin.
The collection is used for teaching mammalogy and zoology classes at IMNH and ISU. The collection provides a critical resource for taxonomic and genetic studies by mammalogists, paleontologists, archaeologists, and wildlife managers.