An international reference collection of small mammals The collection was created by INRA in the 1930’s in Jouy-en-Josas, and was then fed with dead of living specimens, as well as tissue and DNA/RNA samples by researchers from INRA and IRD. Now located in Montpellier, this world-referenced collection contains about 100.000 samples, mainly from rodents: 2.250 complete specimens, 15.000 skulls, 42.000 tissue samples in ethanol, 23.000 DNA samples, 5.500 RNA samples, 500 cell cultures and 300 chromosome preparations. These samples belong to Cricetidae (from France), Muridae (from Europe, Asia and Africa), Gerbillinae (from west and north Africa), and even less Sciuridae, Nesoyidae and Dipodidae families. The collection also features specimens or the Soricomorpha, Erinaceomorpha orders, and several carnivorous.

Samples are referenced in the Small mammals database that will be open to the public in 2016.

The collection is deposited at the UMR1062 Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (CBGP) in Montpellier, France. The CBGP is a research laboratory that carries out research in the fields of systematics, genetics and ecology relevant to the management of populations and communities of organisms for the purposes of agriculture, public health and biodiversity.

The Small Mammals Collection is a part of BRC4env, one of the 5 specialized pillars of the French Research Infrastructure "Agricultural Resources for Research" (AgroBRC-RARe, http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid99437/ressources-agronomiques-pour-la-recherche-rare.html) federating BRCs: animals as CRB-Anim, plant as CRB-Plantes, micro-organisms as CIRM, environmental resources as BRC4Env, and forests as CRB-Forets. BRC4Env includes BRCs and collections hosted by INRA, IRD, CIRAD, CNRS, technical and higher education institutions.