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The Institute of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico Celebrates its 95th Anniversary

Written by Fernando A. Cervantes and Yolanda Hortelano-Moncada, National Mammal Collection, National Biodiversity Pavilion. Institute of Biology, UNAM. Mexico City, Mexico.

The Instituto de Biología (IB) will celebrate its 95th anniversary on November 9, 2024 and is a dependency of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (Fig. 1). This date coincides with the same time that the Mexican government granted “autonomy” to the then National University of Mexico.  

Fig. 1. Central buildings of the Institute of Biology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City (Photograph: Institute of Biology, UNAM).

The central buildings of the IB are located in the south of Mexico City, in the area known as Pedregal de San Ángel, which is characterized by a rocky substrate of volcanic origin. Currently, a large part of the IB campus is an ecological reserve that protects the flora, fauna, and fungus of the natural ecosystem of the area, which corresponds to xerophytic scrub (Fig. 2). 

Fig. 2. Xerophytic scrubland growing on volcanic rock in the Ecological Reserve of Pedregal de San Ángel, where the Institute of Biology, UNAM, is located in Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City (Photograph: Dirección General de Comunicación Social, UNAM).
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