Paleontology

The palaeontological collection of the National Museum of Natural History of Luxembourg is the principal archive of fossils from Luxembourg and the surrounding regions, fulfilling the museum’s mission to document and preserve the nation’s palaeontological heritage. Given the nature of local rock formations, the collection contains specimens primarily from the Lower Devonian, the Triassic, and the Lower to Middle Jurassic. In addition, the collection includes numerous specimens from specific taxonomic groups such as coleoid cephalopods and ophiuroids which reflect the research priorities of the department’s staff.

The collection is composed of several subsets, organised according to geographical, stratigraphic, systematic, or typological criteria. The total number of catalogue entries exceeds 40,600, corresponding to an estimated 75,000 individual specimens (data as of June 2025), representing more than 4,000 different taxa. The most important specimens in any research collection are undoubtedly the holotypes—the scientific reference specimens designated by the authors of the original descriptions. The MNHNL currently houses 156 palaeontological holotypes. A significant portion of the palaeontological collection was assembled by citizen scientists. In addition to the main collection, the MNHNL also preserves the fossil invertebrates from the historic Edmond Pellat collection, formerly held at the University of Louvain.

The MNHNL palaeontology collection is accessible to all interested parties upon request, and parts of it can be consulted via GBIF.