Symmetries of the interacting boson model

In this contribution the symmetry properties of the interacting boson model of Arima and Iachello are reviewed. While the concept of a dynamical symmetry is by now a familiar one, this is not necessarily so for the extended notions of partial dynamical symmetry and quasi dynamical symmetry, which can be beautifully illustrated in the context of the interacting boson model. The main conclusion of the analysis is that dynamical symmetries are scarce while their partial and quasi extensions are ubiquitous.