Collectibles and collections for comparative and evolutionary neurobiological research in Africa

The scientific investigation of brains of different vertebrates, both extant and extinct, is of interest for several reasons: for translating medical research on rodent models into practice, for understanding the animals investigated in order to improve conservation and management strategies, and for understanding the evolution of the human brain. The African continent has vast resources that are incredibly valuable to this endeavor, including an enormous variety of extant species, as well as a rich fossil record covering human evolution and many aspects of vertebrate evolution. This paper briefly outlines the current situation in terms of collections in Africa, most of which are found in South Africa. It is hoped that these brief descriptions will increase international scientific interest in the available collections.