Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri Accurata Descriptio

Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri Accurata Descriptio, also known as Seba's Thesaurus, originated as a way for the pharmacist and zoologist Albertus Seba (1665-1736) to showcase his vast natural history collections.

Initially published in 1734, it was internationally renowned throughout the eighteenth century, and almost 300 years later the book and collections still have a significant influence on scientific study. In fact, some of Seba's specimens now reside at the Museum, including anacondas, bats, tigers and fish.

The four volumes contain 449 lifelike depictions of specimens, sometimes in a contextual background similar to those found in Maria Sybilla Merian's work. The first volume focuses on the flora and fauna of Asia and South America, while snakes dominate the second volume. The third concentrates on marine life and features a tremendous variety of scallops, squids, sea urchins and fish, while the final volume covers mostly insects, minerals and fossils.

Carl Linnaeus used many of the original specimens in Seba's collection in his classification system. He later referred to Seba's work in subsequent research more than 250 times.

A good deal of Seba's material also became type specimens - the original specimens on which new species descriptions are based.

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