American Museum of Natural History

08/30/2026

Meet the particolored flying squirrel (Hylopetes alboniger)! Unlike many squirrels that bury their nuts, this critter has a creative approach to storing food. In humid areas of its range—where food would quickly decay underground—this squirrel has been observed chewing grooves into nuts and wedging them in between tree branches, stashing them above the forest floor. The particolored flying squirrel can be found throughout parts of Asia including Thailand and Vietnam.

Photo: bhaskarbora, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

08/30/2026

Watch out! This plant eats meat. While it normally feeds on insects, the pitcher plant (Nepenthes rajah) has also been known to snare vertebrates including lizards and small mammals. Its sizable pitcher, a modified leaf, can contain up to 34 oz (1 L) of fluid, which is often enough to drown small critters that happen to fall in. Powerful digestive acids are then released as the plant breaks down and absorbs its prey.

Photo: Alastair Robinson, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist

08/29/2026

Have you ever seen the Singing Stone? When it was first displayed at the Museum, this massive block of vibrant blue azurite and green malachite (both copper ore minerals) made high-pitched sounds when the humidity changed with the weather and seasons. These noises were produced as the porous stone absorbed and released moisture from the air. Since it’s now exhibited in a climate-controlled environment, it no longer sings. This colorful specimen was collected in 1891 from the Czar Mine in Bisbee, Arizona, which was a vital source of U.S. copper. You can spot it in the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals.

Photo: D. Finnin / © AMNH

08/29/2026

Meet the Sultan Tit (Melanochlora sultanea)! This “royal” species is found in parts of Southeast Asia, including Nepal and Vietnam. It lives in forests, where it feeds on invertebrates like grasshoppers and mantids. Both males and females have brilliant yellow crests, so how can you distinguish between the two? The dark plumage on a female is more of an olive-brown color, while a males’ is more black.

Photo: Sangyam adventurer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

08/28/2026

Party like a ground sloth, because it’s Fossil Friday! This image, snapped circa 1957 depicts giant sloths on display in the Museum. During the Pleistocene, a wide array of ground sloths lumbered across North and South America. Some, like the island-dwelling Megalocnus rodens, evolved to be long-distance swimmers. Others, like the mighty Megatherium, were among the largest land mammals to ever live. The biggest ground sloths could have weighed up to 8,800 lbs (4,000 kg)—the size of an elephant! Most of these mammals died out at the end of the Pleistocene. There is also evidence that ground sloths and early humans used the same caves, but not necessarily at the same time.

Photo: Image no. ptc-2634 / © AMNH Library

08/28/2026

Once the most common bird in the United States, the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) was driven to extinction by humans as a result of overhunting and habitat destruction. In September 1914, Martha, the last-known living Passenger Pigeon, died at the Cincinnati Zoo. Her death at age 29 after a lifetime in captivity marked the disappearance of her once-abundant species.

Museum visitors can spot the Passenger Pigeon in the Hall of New York City Birds on Floor 3. One of the Museum’s earliest displays, it showcases a flock of Passenger Pigeons foraging for acorns.

08/28/2026

Meet a fish with “human” teeth: the sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus)! This species can grow up to 30 in (0.8 m) long and weigh 22 lbs (10 kg). Inside its mouth, you'll find molars, incisors, and grinding teeth. These specialized chompers help it chow down on its omnivorous diet that includes crabs, clams, small fish, and plants. Its wide range spans from Nova Scotia to the southern Caribbean.

Photo: Adam Reeder, CC BY-NC 2.0, flickr

08/27/2026

What’s an aardwolf (Proteles cristatus)? It’s an insectivorous mammal that’s related to the hyena. But unlike its carnivorous relatives, the aardwolf is one of a handful of mammal species that feed exclusively on termites. Instead of digging for them, it uses its large, sticky tongue to scoop up the insects when they come above ground to forage at night. In summertime, the aardwolf can gobble up more than 200,000 termites for its midnight meal!

Photo: Darren Bennett, iStock

08/27/2026

🕷️Meet the world’s largest spider: the goliath bird eater (Theraphosa blondi)! Weighing up to 6 oz (0.17 kg) and with a leg span of nearly 1 ft (30 cm), this giant arachnid inhabits rainforests in parts of South America including Brazil and Venezuela. While this hefty spider has the ability to take on and consume the occasional bird, it doesn't do so very often. Insects, frogs, and rodents make up the majority of its diet. An ambush predator, the spider lies in wait before pouncing at prey, using its 1-in- (2.5-cm-) long fangs to deliver a venomous bite.

Photo: verneau, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, iNaturalist

08/26/2026

🚨 Research alert! A study led by Museum researchers suggests that some Congo Basin catfish can “sniff” underwater—an adaptation unlike anything described before in fishes, which could be advantageous in their low-visibility habitats.

Axelrod Research Curator Emeritus Melanie Stiassny and Allison Bronson, an alumna of the Museum’s Richard Gilder Graduate School, detailed a unique nasal structure that may allow these catfish (Parauchenoglanis punctatus) to actively draw water and scent molecules through their noses.

“In most fishes, tiny cilia beat within the nose to generate a water current that brings scents toward the sensory tissue,” said Bronson, a professor at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. “But, instead, these fish can sniff water and scent molecules into the nose, which may heighten their odorant-sensing abilities.”

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Research describing unique sensory mechanism in a Congo Basin catfish species wins award.