Originally given to the University by Ernst Haeckel, the Phyletisches Museum is one of the town's most frequently visited institutions. This globally unique museum for phylogeny and the theory of evolution is also home to a zoological-palaeontological collection. Among more than 600,000 objects in the Phyletisches Museum are fossils, whale bones, and the skeleton of an aurochs, an extinct wild European breed of cattle. Records of regional and worldwide fauna as well as histological sections of insects complete the exhibition. Of particular scientific significance are the 440 type specimens. As part of the Institute for Systematic Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, the collection is used extensively in research and teaching. The collection is complemented by temporary exhibitions, which address the museum's main themes using a variety of scientific and artistic approaches.