| Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée | |
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Main façade of the Galerie de paléontologie et d’anatomie comparée. |
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| Established | 1898 |
| Location | Paris |
| Type | Paleontology |
| Website | http://www.mnhn.fr/ |
The Galerie de paléontologie et d’anatomie comparée (Gallery of Palaeontology and Comparative Anatomy) is a part of the French Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History). It is situated in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris near the Gare d'Austerlitz.
The Gallery was inaugurated in 1898 as part of l' Expositions universelles de Paris of 1900 and was the creation of professors Albert Gaudry (Professor of Paleontology) and Georges Pouchet (Professor of Comparative Anatomy) who wished to preserve and present to the public collections of great historic and scientific importance. The collections derive from the great expeditions of the traveller-naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries as well as from the ménagerie' (zoo) of the Jardin des Plantes.
The Gallery of Paleontology presents a famous collection of fossil vertebrates (especially dinosaurs and other extinct animals) and of invertebrates.
The Gallery of Comparative Anatomy, holds nearly a thousand skeletons and interprets their organization and classification. The remarkable Gallery building, designed by the architect Frederic Dutert consists of two floors and its surface area is approximately 2,500 square meters. The largest gallery, made of stone and metal, is almost 80 meters long, the facades are decorated with sculptures inspired by naturalists and large windows afford abundant natural light.