A year in our biobank
Posted 29 Dec 2025
In 2025 the RZSS Biobank was busy storing lots of samples from across UK zoological collections. This year we received nearly 450 samples from 119 species!
There were 51 species added to the biobank for the first time in 2025.
22 of those were new invertebrate species, including the medicinal leech and emperor scorpion.
We now have 28 amphibian species stored in the biobank thanks to the new additions, Sambava tomato frog and ornate horned frog.
The critically endangered Asian forest tortoise was one of eight new reptile species added. Finally, banking the critically endangered Roloway monkey brings our mammalian species total to 216!
Research spotlight
The EAZA Biobank supports over 50 conservation research projects. As the EAZA Biobank hub for the UK, we regularly loan samples to researchers, including our very own RZSS WildGenes lab! Together with Norden’s Ark, we provide support for the Rote Island snake-necked turtle reintroduction programme through genetic screening of the captive population.
Find out more about this projectEAZA Biobank news
This year EAZA became official partners with the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN) increasing the visibility and accessibility of EAZA biobank samples to the scientific research community. With over 28,000 samples in the EAZA biobank, this new partnership will facilitate global access to this invaluable resource.
We received a visit from the EAZA Biobank coordinator, Anna Mekarska, this summer to discuss biobank operations and tour our facility. In October, we visited our sister EAZA Biobank Hub at Copenhagen Zoo to exchange valuable back-up samples.
Super submitters
The EAZA Biobank announced the top three contributing institutions from each biobank hub – congratulations to ZSL (1st), Wingham Wildlife Park (2nd) and RZSS (3rd).
