In 1998, I had the opportunity to study ichnofossils housed in the collections of the Geological Department of Lund University in Sweden. Briefly described here is the general palaeontological collection, which is kept in the basement of Geological Department building on Sölvgatan street 13. Some of the specimens are exposed, both indoors and outdoors. The collection comprises Törnquist collection (mostly graptolites and trilobites), Scandinavian collection and foreign collection. Each specimen has its own place in the cabinets, stored in a separate box in a drawer. All the boxes are provided with detailed descriptions of the contents. Type material is prefixed by LO (Lund Original). The number is then followed by "T" for a holotype, lectotype, or neotype, and "t" for other specimens. Trace fossils belonging to the Törnquist collection are sometimes designated "Trq". Most of the type specimens are accompanied by publications, together with description and copies of original pictures. Exploring the type collection is easy, thanks to the catalogue containing all the necessary data. Each record of the catalogue holds information about name, age, number, localisation, collector, and publications, where a specimen was described and pictured for the first time. It is a pity that catalogue does not contain the specimens from other parts of the collection. In order to find something not indexed one has to browse through all cabinets. Specimens from type collection, and the Törnquist and Scandinavian collections are mostly from southern Scandinavia, while the foreign collection contains samples from Great Britain, France, Germany, North America, Poland, Argentina and much more. The ichnofossil collection in Lund is not enormous, but very interesting.

The most important specimens in the type collection are: LO 193T Psamichnites gigas (figured by Torell 1868 tab.I, fig. 1, 2) ñ usually interpreted as trails made by burrowing gastropods or shell-devoid molluscs; LO 958T Ophimorpha nodosa (figured by Häntzschell 1952, pl. 14, fig. 3) ñ ascribed to burrowing decapod crustaceans; LO 4353T Rusophycus parallelum (figured by Bergström 1970 pl.1a, b, c) ñ resting traces, animal was digging sediments to rest temporarily, usually interpreted as trilobite traces. Also of interest are: LO 6698t Trichophycus venosus (figured by Jensen 1997, fig. 63a) ñ feeding burrows, probably made by small trilobites; LO 6699t Bergaueria sucta (figured by Jensen 1997, fig. 66c), resting burrows of suspension feeding coelenterate; LO 4267t Crusiana dispar (figured by Bergström 1968, fig. 7) ñ locomotory structures, usually interpreted as trilobite traces; LO 194t Skolithos linearis (figured by Torell 1868, tab. II, fig. 1) ñ permanent dwelling structure made by annelids or brachiopods, with vertebrate footprints, like LO 5462t Graullator (Eubrontes) cf. giganteus (figured by Gierlinski & Ahlberg 1994, fig. 3) and LO 5463t Graullator (Eubrontes) soltykovensis (figured by Gierlinski & Ahlberg 1994, fig. 4a, b, c). The Scandinavian collection also contains a rich set of specimens from southern Sweden: Diplocraterion isp., Monocraterion isp., Skolithos isp., Teichichnus isp.

It is possible to borrow specimens from the collections of the Lund Geological Department for research, usually for not longer than 12 months. Researchers employed or associated with scientific institutions may borrow material from the Lund collections freely. If this is not the case, references are demanded from established researchers. Apart from the collection of ichnofossils, the Geological Department at Lund University has a remarkable, and huge, collection of trilobites, graptolites and conodonts, mainly from southern Scandinavia, that is also worthwhile.

I would like to thank Dr. Per Ahlberg for his help, which I got during my visit at the Geological Department of Lund University. My stay in Sweden was possible thanks to European Community sponsoring grant (IMG-97-PL-2080), issued by Tempus-Phare program.

Fig. 1. Psammichnites gigas Torell, 1870 exhibited at Geological Department in Lund

(LO 193T).