O contributo do Museu e Laboratório Mineralógico e Geológico da Universidade de Coimbra para os estudos de Paleontologia Africana

Abstract

The Mineralogical and Geological Museum and Laboratory of the University of Coimbra were a main unit of the Faculty of Sciences during the XX century. It originated from the earlier Section of Mineralogy and Geology of the Natural History Museum (1885) and was subdivided, after 1992, in both the Earth Sciences Department and the Mineralogical and Geological Museum. Side by side with many other contemporaneous activities of this structure, the research, teaching and outreach of Paleontology from the ex-Portuguese African territories was marked by a rather late, but still significant contribute that gathered reputation to the University, also with the creation of a scientific journal (Memórias e Notícias, since 1921).Although the intention to supply the Museum with African samples and specimens was noticeable at least since the 1840´s, the collections of minerals, rocks and fossils began only to be assembled more than 50 years later. The geologic studies were initiated with Prof. Anselmo Ferraz de Carvalho. Some years afterwards they continued under the direction of Prof. Cotelo Neiva (1950 onwards). Concerning the works of Paleontology of Angola, Mozambique and/or São Tomé and Príncipe, the emphasis goes to Gumerzindo Henriques da Silva (from 1953 to 1972), António Ferreira Soares (from 1959 to 1970) and Armando Moura (from 1958 to 1976), among others. With a few exceptions, the taxonomic groups studied by these workers were Cretaceous and Miocene bivalves, gastropods, cephalopods and echinoids. Most studies deal with systematic, taxonomic and biostratigraphyic problems, and their pertinence and quality have been confirmed by a significant volume of scientific contacts with foreign institutions and specialists of Paleontology. In the present study we make a brief analysis of these works and related collections, as well as a review of the literature of the real contribution of Coimbra during the golden era of African studies that were the 1950’s to 1970’s of last century.