The South American Mammal collection at the Museo Geologico Giovanni Capellini (Bologna, Italy)

Near the end of the 19th century, Professor Giovanni Capellini acquired a rich collection of fossil mammal remains from South America, which became part of the permanent exhibit in the Museum that bears his name. We investigate the private correspondence of G. Capellini, in order to collect historical data on the collection. This correspondence includes a letter from Florentino Ameghino, which proves that he was born in Mo-neglia (Genova), Italy. Combining results from the letters found and the revision of the taxonomy of the specimens, we conclude that most of the collection was probably sent from Argentina by the German zoologist Carl Hermann Conrad Burmeister between 1863 and 1866.