The echinoderm collection (IE) of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN - Paris)

The aim is to provide a general view of the echinoderm collection of the Paris Museum,
which is primarily a scientific collection.
The naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, one of the founders of the Theory of Evolution, was the
first to really establish the collection of echinoderms at the Paris Museum. There are both dry
and alcohol-preserved lots. Some sea cucumber specimens are preserved as microscopic preparations
on slides. The number of lots is estimated at 500,000, of which 0.4% are types. Echinoderms have
been collected in all oceans, at all latitudes. The largest numbers of specimens were collected
relatively recently in the Indo-West Pacific. Echinoderms live exclusively in marine waters and at
all depths. For 25 years intensive research programs have permitted huge collections to be obtained,
especially from the Indo-Pacific and Antarctic regions. Most of the data entered so far are from
these regions.