Our collection groups
Rocks and minerals, stuffed animals and naturalised plants, fossils and living creatures, prehistoric, anthropological and ethnological objects make up the naturalist collections. A total of 68 million specimens are stored and assembled in collections, which are themselves gathered into groups. Accompanied by document, archive and art collections, these collections represent around 100 years’ worth of natural history knowledge.
Attention
Following a severe computer attack affecting our servers, some of our sites are inaccessible for an indefinite period. Our teams are fully mobilised to restore the situation as quickly as possible.
Our collection databases remain accessible.
Natural history collections
- Via the GBIF website by selecting MNHN as the data provider and using the advanced search function for occurrences or provenance.
Last updated: 23/08/2025
Documentary collections
- Calames catalogue: via the ABES
- Electronic documentation: via Sudoc
For all requests to access MNHN collections (loans, samples, images, visits), please refer to the guidelines indicated on the specific collection page matching your request.
The MNHN’s biological anthropology collections are among the world’s most diverse and as such they constitute a unique resource...
The biological resources of living and cryopreserved cells (RBCell) of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle store...
The botany collections include inert collections (over 2,000,000 herbarium sections of cryptogams - fungi and lichens, algae...
The MNHN’s cultural anthropology collections focus on the interrelationship between human societies and their environment with a...
The Muséum’s libraries’ collections document every stage in the natural history research cycle, from the first field notes and...
The mineralogy and geology collections of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle include over 4,000 meteorites, nearly 24,000...
The term "marine invertebrates" is used to describe groups as diverse as crustaceans, molluscs, worms, cnidarians (corals...
The palaeontology collections of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle contains between 5 and 6 million specimens and...
The Prehistory collections focuses on archaeological remains, of mineral, animal or vegetable matter, which illustrate the...
The terrestrial arthropod collection group is made up of insects, arachnids and myriapods. The Onychophora collection is connected...
The vertebrate collections comprise around 1.4 million specimens.