The Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy (in French, ''Galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie comparée'') is a part of the French National Museum of Natural History (''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'', MNHN). It is situated in the ''

Jardin des plantes The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...

'' in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

near the Gare d'Austerlitz. The Gallery of

Comparative Anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

(occupying the ground floor), holds nearly a thousand skeletons and interprets their organization and classification. The Gallery of

Paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

(occupying the first and second floor) presents a famous collection of fossil

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

s, fossil invertebrates and fossil plants. Among the most appreciated pieces by the public is a series of

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

skeleton casts ('' Diplodocus'', ''

Iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning 'iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species found worldwide have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, Taxonomy (bi ...

'', ''

Allosaurus ''Allosaurus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period ( Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian ages). The first fossil remains that could definitively be ascribed to th ...

'', ''

Carnotaurus ''Carnotaurus'' (; ) is a genus of Theropoda, theropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period, probably sometime between 72 and 69 million years ago. The only species is ''Carnotaurus sastrei''. Known from a si ...

'', '' Tarbosaurus'', '' Unenlagia'', ''

Dromaeosaurus ''Dromaeosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of Dromaeosauridae, dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period (middle late Campanian and Maastrichtian), sometime between 80 and 69 million years ago, in Alberta, Canada and th ...

'', ''

Bambiraptor ''Bambiraptor'' is a Late Cretaceous, 72-million-year-old, bird-like dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur described by scientists at the University of Kansas, Yale University, and the University of New Orleans. The holotype fossil is less than one ...

'') but also a ''

Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It lived througho ...

'' skull (cast of specimen AMNH 5027), an authentic skull of ''

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsia, ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 to 66 million years ago on the island ...

'', an authentic ''

Compsognathus ''Compsognathus'' (; Ancient Greek, Greek ''kompsos''/κομψός; "elegant", "refined" or "dainty", and ''gnathos''/γνάθος; "jaw") is a genus of small, bipedalism, bipedal, carnivore, carnivorous theropoda, theropod dinosaur. Members o ...

'' skeleton, and some authentic fossilised skeletons of other extinct animals like '' Sarcosuchus'', '' Cynthiacetus'', '' Mammuthus meridionalis'', '' Mammuthus primigenius'', ''

Megatherium ''Megatherium'' ( ; from Greek () 'great' + () 'beast') is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene through the end of the Late Pleistocene. It is best known for the elephant-sized type spe ...

'', ''

Thalassocnus ''Thalassocnus'' is an extinct genus of semiaquatic ground sloths from the Miocene and Pliocene of the Pacific South American coast. It is monotypic within the subfamily Thalassocninae. The five species—''T. antiquus'', ''T. natans'', ''T. lit ...

'', '' Ursus spelaeus'', '' Panthera leo spelaea'', '' Aepyornis'' and many others.

History

The project of a "Gallery of

and

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

" started in the late 1880s when the ''Galerie de Zoologie'' (Gallery of Zoology) was inaugurated in 1889. The collections in the former galleries of comparative anatomy (founded by

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

in 1802 and constituted by bones, skeletons and preserved organs) were running out of room in the 1880s and 1890s and the inauguration of the Gallery of Zoology (mainly constituted by stuffed animals) encouraged this project, proposed by professors Albert Gaudry (Professor of

), Georges Pouchet (Professor of

) and Armand de Quatrefages (Professor of

), who wished to preserve and present to the public collections of great historic and scientific importance. In addition, two approaching events led to make concrete the project: the first centennial of the French National Museum of Natural History (1793-1893) and the '' Exposition Universelle de Paris'' of 1900. In 1892 the ''Muséum national D'Histoire Naturelle'' appointed the French architect

Ferdinand Dutert Charles Louis Ferdinand Dutert (21 October 1845 - 12 February 1906) was a French architect. Life Charles Louis Ferdinand Dutert was born on 21 October 1845 in Douai, son of a merchant of that town. He was admitted to the École nationale supéri ...

to design the building and produce the drawing plans, and the works were launched in 1893, lasting until 1898. After that, the collections in the former building (Galleries of Comparative Anatomy, founded by Cuvier in 1802, and Gallery of Anthropology, founded by Quatrefages in 1855) were transferred to the new building, which was inaugurated on 21 July 1898.Luc Vives and Cécile Colin-Fromont, ''Les Galeries d'Anatomie comparée et de Paléontologie'', éditions du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle / éditions Artlys, Paris, September 2012 (reprint, January 2015), photographs by Bernard Faye, Even in the present day, the collections derive from the great expeditions of the traveller-naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries as well as from the '' ménagerie du Jardin des plantes'' (one of the oldest zoos in the world). The remarkable Gallery building, designed by the architect

consists of two floors which are sorted in three levels (ground floor, first floor and second floor) and its surface area is approximately . The gallery, made of stone and metal, is almost long, the facades are decorated with sculptures inspired by naturalists and large windows afford abundant natural light. Originally, the second floor (two rooms and the mezzanine over the first floor) was occupied by the Anthropology collections, but in 1937 these collections migrated to the new ''

musée de l'Homme The Musée de l'Homme (; literally "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moder ...

''. Since then the second floor displays the fossil invertebrates and, in addition, and since the early 2010s, the fossil plants.

Gallery

File:Galerie danatomie comparee.jpg, Half of the Gallery of

, ground floor of the building. File:PanoramaGalerieAnatomieComparee.jpeg, Ground floor, panoramic view File:Galerie_de_paléontologie.jpg, First and second floor of the building (photograph taken from the second floor

mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...

). File:Dinosaur skeleton, Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris.jpg, ''

Allosaurus fragilis ''Allosaurus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of theropoda, theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic Geologic time scale, period (Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian Geologic time scale, ages). The first fossil ...

'' on the first floor File:Aepyornis side.JPG, Aepyornis on the first floor

Notes

References

External links

Galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie comparée
on ''hominides.com''
Galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie comparée
on ''mnhn.fr'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Galerie De Paleontologie Et Danatomie Comparee Museums in Paris Natural history museums in France 1898 establishments in France Museums established in 1898 Buildings and structures in the 5th arrondissement of Paris category:Fossil museums in France