In December 1887, the Paris City Council granted the Faculty of Sciences a credit of 12,000 francs for the creation of an evolution course. The municipality's aim was to incorporate the capital into the elite of the large cities that were then the seat of the debates surrounding evolutionism. Alfred Giard (1846-1908), until then professor of zoology at the Lille Faculty of Science, was appointed head of the department. His successor was Maurice Caullery (1868-1958), who took over the chair of Evolution of Organised Beings in 1908 after a long research period spent at the marine biology station in Naples.

Dismantled in the 1970s, part of the teaching and research collections of the Laboratory of Evolution were integrated into the zoology collection of the University of Paris VI, now the Faculty of Sciences of Sorbonne University. This is the case with this rich collection of small marine organisms, mostly crustaceans, many of them parasites, preserved in alcohol. The specimens were obtained for the Faculty of Science by Girard and Caullery from other research institutions, such as the marine biology stations in Naples and Wimereux or the museums in Copenhagen and Brussels. The geographical origin of the species represented is extremely varied, with animals caught in the Sargasso Sea, the Canary Islands, off the coast of Chile or even off the coast of Malaysia.

Long forgotten at the bottom of a cupboard, this collection will soon be the subject of a census and a condition report to better understand its heritage value, conservation needs and its interest for marine biology research. Unfortunately, some of the specimens were left dry and seem difficult to recover. However, the rich information recorded on the labels will allow us to understand the material legacy of a laboratory of our university dedicated to progressing our knowledge of the oceans from an evolutionary perspective.

By Santiago Aragon, Head of zoology collection of Sorbonne University.

Data sheet

• Name/Type : Collection of small marine organisms brought together by Alfred Giard and Maurice Caullery
• Inventory number : Not attributed
• Description : 81 glass test tubes capped with emery, 8 to 25 centimeters high, arranged on nine wooden racks (l. 20cm ; h. 4,5cm ; p. 4,5cm).
• Date : circa 1888
• Place of storage : Zoology collection of Sorbonne University

Bibliography