Echinoderm collection
Echinoderms, which include sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, brittle stars and crinoids, are exclusively marine organisms found at all latitudes and depths. They are a highly original group of animals whose adults have an internal skeleton composed of calcite plates and a pentaradic (5th-order) plane of symmetry.
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Presentation
Samples from the Muséum's echinoderm collection are stored partly dry, after being fixed with ethanol, and partly in alcohol. Some holothurian specimens are in the form of microscopic preparations on slides (around 5,000 slides). The total number of samples is estimated at 500,000, including 2,000 types. Echinoderms have been collected in all oceans, at all latitudes. The largest number of specimens come from the Indo-West-Pacific region and the Southern Ocean.
Each identified batch can be consulted on the Muséum's dedicated website, or on request. Each lot is associated with a genus name, a specific epithet, the author of the original description, the inventory number, the place and year of collection, and sometimes the publications. A specialised "Echinoderms" library has been built up over the years through exchanges, donations and purchases of works and offprints. It contains relatively rare items and is a valuable research tool. It is accessible to researchers.
History
Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck was one of the first to build up a collection of Echinoderms. One of the oldest specimens is a pedunculated crinoid determined by Guettard in 1761. Other scientists were involved in building up and expanding the collection, including Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck, Henri Marie Ducrotay Blainville, Alcide d'Orbigny, Edgard Hérouard, René Koehler, Edmond Perrier, Achille Valenciennes and Gustave Cherbonnier, who gave it a new lease of life.
More recently, the collection has grown rapidly with the Tropical Deep Sea Benthos and Southern Ocean campaigns. Today, this collection is consulted and valued by many scientists because it is exceptional in terms of the diversity of taxa represented and the number of specimens available.
Research
The collection’s main research areas are systematics (morphology, genetics and ontogeny), as well as ecology, biogeography and phylobiogeography. The Echinoidea have been used for pollution studies. Some echinoderms are also used in biomedical studies.
The collections are constantly growing, thanks to oceanographic campaigns in France (in collaboration with the IRD, TAAF and IFREMER) and abroad (in collaboration with the AAD, AWI, BAS and Museums Victoria).
Many French and foreign scientists come to work on the collection. In particular, the asteria and brittle star collections have benefited from the contributions of today's leading taxonomists (including Christopher Mah and Timothy O'Hara) and are now probably the most important collections in the world for these groups.
Contact
Marc Eléaume, Head of the Echinoderm Collection
marc.eleaume [@] mnhn.fr