The Gallery of Comparative Anatomy (occupying the ground floor), holds nearly a thousand skeletons and interprets their organization and classification.

In addition, two approaching events led to make concrete the project: the first centennial of the French National Museum of Natural History (1793-1893) and the Exposition Universelle de Paris of 1900.

In 1892 the Muséum national D'Histoire Naturelle appointed the French architect Ferdinand Dutert to design the building and produce the drawing plans, and the works were launched in 1893, lasting until 1898.

[1] Even in the present day, the collections derive from the great expeditions of the traveller-naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries as well as from the ménagerie du Jardin des plantes (one of the oldest zoos in the world).

The gallery, made of stone and metal, is almost 80 metres (260 ft) long, the facades are decorated with sculptures inspired by naturalists and large windows afford abundant natural light.