Gathering the specimens
It took years to collect the astounding array of fantastic deep-sea creatures, some of which have never been displayed before. Some specimens were donated, others were gathered by Claire Nouvian on oceanographic missions, such as the mission led by Dr Brad Seibel of Rhode Island University, the dive led by Steve Haddock of The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in the Monterey Canyon, and the orange roughy stock assessment campaign conducted by the NIWA (http://www.niwa.cri.nz) in New Zealand. Other specimens were trawled during the Aurora campaign in the Philippines conducted by Philippe Bouchet of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
 
Preparing the specimens
The presentation of these animals is unique, thanks to the talented taxidermist Christophe Gottini at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris), and his son Allan. The animals are suspended in tanks using invisible threads attached to walls of molded resin along the edges of the aquariums. The creatures have not been stuffed and so what you see is completely natural – no retouching! Take a look at the pictures to find out more.

We would like to thank the following people for kindly donating specimens: Samuel Iglésias, Edith Widder, Tracey Sutton, Tamara Frank, Steve Haddock, Philippe Bouchet, Michel Segonzac, David Shale, The University of Bergen, Craig Smith, Dhugal Lindsay, Di Tracey, Ian Doonan, Paul Grimes, Peter McMillan, Matt Dunn, Brad Seibel, Nikki King, Tokyo Sea Life Park.