NYC's American Museum of Natural History is one of the world's preeminent scientific institutions.
Since its founding in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History has collected more than 33 million specimens relating to the natural world and human cultures. The Museum showcases its amazing treasures in the exhibit halls, and behind the scenes more than 200 scientists are at work making new discoveries. Millions of people from around the world visit the Museum each year.
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“Hey! Eyes down here, please.” During the day, the small flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) roosts, hanging upside down with its feet and wrapping its wings around its body. Also known as the island flying fox, it can be found in coconut trees on the offshore islands of Southeast Asia. By night, this bat searches for food with a diet that includes fruit, nectar, and nuts. True to its name, it’s the smallest known species of flying fox.
Photo: Pavel Kirillov, CC BY-SA 2.0 flickr
Hop into the work week with the Indian bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus)! 🐸This large frog grows up to 7 inches (17.8 centimeters) and weighs around 1.3 pounds (0.59 kilograms). Small prey, like insects and earthworms, are on the menu… but so are larger animals like mice and birds! During breeding season, males turn from olive green to a brighter yellow with contrasting blue vocal sacs.
In addition to India, this semi-aquatic frog might be spotted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Photo: Danielnasika1, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Meet the Sunda flying lemur, an animal that can’t fly and is not a lemur. Also known as the colugo (Galeopterus variegatus), this tree-dwelling mammal can be found in parts of Southeast Asia. Its patagium, the membrane of skin between its neck and limbs, allows it to glide (not fly) more than 300 ft (91 m) through the air. Once considered a close relative of primates or bats, scientists now place this critter on its own branch of the evolutionary tree.
Photo: janconl, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, iNaturalist
That’s one big “armadillo.” Today’s Exhibit of the Day is the enormous Panochthus frenzelianus, a glyptodont! You might not guess it, but scientists think one of their closest relatives includes the tiny 4-oz (113-g) pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus).
Some species of glyptodont, like the specimen pictured here, were the size of cars. They were covered in thick armor made from bone that grew from within their skin and could grow up to 10 ft (3 m) long. Their shells, or carapaces, were incredibly heavy: Some weighed more than 1,100 pounds (499 kg)! These enormous plant-eaters lumbered across the Americas for millions of years before their extinction at the end of the last ice age.
Photo: ptc-6750, © AMNH Library, circa 1993
New research alert! 🦗 Insects rely on a network of fine tubules, called trachea, that carry oxygen and carbon dioxide directly to and from tissues—but studying these delicate networks has long been a challenge. Enter, micro-CT scanning. In a new study published this month, led by Museum scientists, this technology was used to reveal the respiratory networks of 29 species of insects, creating the first-ever consistent, three-dimensional visual atlas of insect tracheal systems. These models have been made freely available in open-source formats. Learn more about this six-year project:
Insect tracheal systems, which are too delicate to dissect and challenging to study, were mapped using micro-CT scanning of 29 species.
Have you ever heard of the “luck of the Irish?” ☘️ Well, this deer didn’t have it. Meet the Irish Elk, Megaloceros giganteus. It was originally discovered in bog deposits in Ireland. Once ranging from western Europe to China, this animal went extinct during the Pleistocene some 10,000 years ago. It was one of the largest known species of deer, weighing up to 1,500 pounds (680 kg). Its antlers, which could reach an incredible 13-foot- (4-m-) spread, were used in ritualized combat between males.
Photo: M. Pelczar © AMNH
The violet sea snail's (Janthina janthina) preferred method of transportation? Mucus bubble rafts. How does it work? First, this marine gastropod secretes mucus from a gland in its “foot,” a muscular organ at the base of its body. Then, it stirs up the water to make bubbles, which bind to the mucus to create a floating “raft.” This critter travels the seas, hanging upside down at the water's surface, going wherever the winds and currents take it. It has a wide range and might be spotted drifting through warm waters worldwide.
Photo: normfarmerimagesau, CC BY-NC 4.0, flickr
It’s National Panda Day! 🐼 Did you know that giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) can spend up to 16 hours a day eating? Their diet consists almost exclusively of bamboo. In order to get enough nutrients, these bears can chow down on more than 80 lbs (36 kg) of it each day. And their guts are lined with a layer of mucus that protects them from woody splinters during digestion. If you’re wondering where all that waste goes, pandas can p**p up to 40 times in a single day, sometimes continuing to defecate even in their sleep!
Unfortunately, the giant panda is a vulnerable species—only a little over 1,800 pandas live in the wild.
Photo: Joachim S. Müller, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, flickr
Feeling hungry? 🍳 Think twice before biting into an egg-yolk jellyfish (Phacellophora camtschatica)! Beneath its yolk-like bell, this jelly has hundreds of stinging tentacles that can grow up to 20 feet (6 m) long! This species, which prefers to feast on other smaller jellyfish, can be seen in temperate waters around the world. Because its sting is relatively mild, crustaceans hitchhike on or inside this jelly’s bell—some fish even swim among its tentacles.
Photo:by and by, CC BY-ND 2.0, flickr
Not only is the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) the world’s largest shark—it’s also the world’s largest fish! Growing up to 40 ft (12 m) long and weighing more than 40,000 lbs (18,144 kg), it’s often regarded as a gentle giant. Don’t be alarmed by its colossal mouth: This slow-moving species is a filter feeder, gulping down small marine animals like shrimp and plankton. It can be spotted in warm waters around the world, traveling thousands of miles each year to find food.
Photo: Muhammad syaran, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
It’s time for Trilobite Tuesday! Pictured is a well-preserved, 5-inch- (12.7-cm-) long Huntoniatonia trilobite from the Devonian sediments of Oklahoma’s Haragan Formation. It’s just one of many three-dimensional specimens found at this site. Known for their rich caramel color, these 417-million-year-old trilobite fossils were found atop a legendary outcrop known as Black Cat Mountain.
Happy birthday, Albert Einstein! Wildly ingenious and passionately curious, Einstein saw a beam of light and imagined riding it. He looked up at the sky and envisioned that space-time was curved. Einstein reinterpreted the inner workings of nature, the very essence of light, time, energy, and gravity. From his Special Theory of Relativity to the basics of time travel, his insights fundamentally changed the way we look at the universe—and made him one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century.
Photo: Albert Einstein during a lecture in Vienna in 1921, Ferdinand Schmutzer, No Known Copyright, Wikimedia Commons
Research alert: A recent study, led by Museum conservation scientists, has confirmed a new species: the Northern pygmy loris (Xanthonycticebus intermedius)! This newly described critter, which has a shorter muzzle and longer fur than its southern cousin, can be found in northern Vietnam, Laos, and southern China.
Slow lorises and pygmy lorises are poorly understood species that are also globally threatened with extinction, due to high demand for illegal wildlife trade. Learn how historic museum specimens are important for ongoing conservation efforts—and how this research is already being applied by rescue centers in Vietnam.
New study based on historic museum specimens formally recognizes a second species of pygmy loris.
Did you know? Uranus is four times wider than planet Earth, and on this day in history in 1781, it was discovered. British astronomer William Herschel was using his telescope when he noticed an object in the sky. He thought it to be a star or comet, but within two years, other astronomers showed it was a new planet orbiting the Sun! Uranus, the third largest planet in our solar system, appears blue due to the methane in its atmosphere.
Fun fact: one Uranian year (a complete rotation around the Sun) takes about 84 Earth years to complete.
Photo: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, CC BY 2.0, flickr
Who’s ready for Sunday dinner? For Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus), snakes are on the menu… along with rodents, small birds, and insects! This bird of prey is a migratory species, searching far and wide for food and mates. Depending on the season, it can be spotted from Northern Europe down to South Africa, and from Ireland to parts of India. Individuals may cover distances of up to 136 miles (219 km) in a single day.
Photo: Hari K Patibanda, CC BY-NC 2.0, flickr
“Moo.” Just kidding, this cow isn’t a cow at all… it’s a fish! Meet the longhorn cowfish (Lactoria cornuta), a colorful species that inhabits reefs in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific. Some scientists think its signature horns protect it from predators, making this fish hard to swallow. But the longhorn cowfish has another trick up its fins: When threatened or stressed, this critter gets toxic! To ward off foes, it can secrete a neurotoxin-filled mucus from its skin.
Photo: Christian Gloor, CC BY 2.0, flickr
Looking for a power boost? Don’t count on this fungus! 🍄 The fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) can be spotted on forest floors throughout the Northern Hemisphere, with a range that includes parts of North America and Europe. Its bright red cap may be alluring, but it’s also a warning. Traditionally used as an insecticide, this mushroom is considered toxic to humans. Consumption can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and hallucinations. In rare cases, it can even induce a coma-like state.
Photo: ianpreston, CC BY 2.0, flickr
Mouse or deer? The chevrotain or mouse deer (family Tragulidae) is one of the world’s smallest ungulates. This diminutive critter typically reaches weights of only 4.4 lbs (2 kg)—about the size of a chihuahua! Unlike many other deer, it has no antlers. Instead, males rely on fang-like canine teeth to defend themselves from foes. This species can be seen in parts of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, where it enjoys a diet that includes fungi and fallen fruit.
Photo: รัชพงศ์ ดีมาก, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
This may come as a shock… but the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) isn’t an eel. It's technically a knifefish and is more closely related to catfish and carp! This hefty critter, which can reach lengths of 8 ft (2.4 m) and weigh as much as 45 lbs (20.4 kg), delivers a charge of more than 650 volts—that’s more than five times the power of a standard outlet in the United States. Its slimy skin acts like a shield, protecting it from its own shocks.
This fish inhabits the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers in South America. With poor eyesight, it relies on electrolocation to find prey, releasing small electrical discharges as it hunts. The electric eel also uses its unique abilities to stun prey and keep predators at bay.
Photo: Oleksandr (Alex) Zakletsky, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… a dinosaur? Nope to all of the above. This Fossil Friday, let’s talk about pterosaurs—the first animals after insects to evolve powered flight. Though they were related to dinosaurs, pterosaurs evolved on a separate branch of the reptile family tree. They ruled the skies for more than 150 million years, evolving into dozens of different species. Some were as small as a paper airplane while others, like Pteranodon pictured here in the Museum's Hall of Late Dinosaurs circa 1940-1960, had a wingspan of more than 20 feet (6 m).
Photo: Image no. ptc-217 © AMNH Library
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but this topaz crystal is fit for a princess! In the 1950s, a 75-pound (34-kg), light-blue, gem-quality topaz crystal was discovered in Brazil. Although hard, topaz has a weak plane in its crystal structure, so it must be cut carefully to avoid splitting. Because the technology for cutting such a large stone did not exist at the time, this crystal was put into storage. Twenty years later, it was fashioned into what was, at the time, the largest cut gem in the world—known as the Brazilian Princess. This 21,327-carat stone weighs a staggering 9.5 pounds (4.3 kg)!
Photo: M. Pelczar / © AMNH
They’re baaack! Scientists once thought that coelacanths went extinct some 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous. Then, one turned up in 1938 when a fisherman caught a living coelacanth off the coast of South Africa. Plot twist: Years later, another species of coelacanth was caught.
Did you know? These ancient "fish" are actually more closely related to land animals. Their paired fins are lobelike and have joined bones, like arms and legs. Coelacanths live in deep saltwater environments and can grow up to 6 feet (2 m) long. They have an organ filled with a jelly-like substance located near the front of their heads, a trait found in no other vertebrate.
Scientists think this “rostral organ” helps the coelacanth hunt, allowing it to detect low-frequency electrical signals emitted by prey. What’s more? Unlike most other fish, coelacanths give birth to live young—a fact that remained unknown until 1975, when the Museum’s first coelacanth specimen was dissected and found to be pregnant with five embryos.
Photo: A living coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae), wrecklessmarine, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
“Feeeeeed me!” Of the nearly 400,000 species of plants on Earth, only a fraction are carnivorous. One of the most recognizable meat-eating plants is the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). The “jaws” of the flytrap are called lobes. Tiny hair-like structures on their surfaces detect motion. When a curious critter touches these hairs, the flytrap’s “jaw” is triggered and snaps shut. Once inside, the prey is slowly digested in a process that can take up to five days. This species is one of the only carnivorous plants to use motion to trap prey, and it can go months between meals. It feeds on flies, spiders, grasshoppers, and other small arthropods.
Photo: rore, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, flickr
Is that a mouse?🐭 Guess again: This pocket-sized critter is the western pygmy possum! (Cercartetus concinnus). One of the world’s smallest possums, this species typically weighs just 0.5 oz (13 grams)— the size of an AA battery. This dainty marsupial is a nectarivore, meaning that its diet consists primarily of plant nectar. It inhabits treetops in forests throughout parts of southern Australia, using its long prehensile tail like a fifth limb as it moves from branch to branch.
Photo: latcho, CC BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
This danger noodle isn’t very dangerous—unless you’re a lizard, arthropod, or rodent! Meet the Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari), a non-venomous snake found in parts of the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Notice its unusual eyes? Because they’re positioned at the top of the boa’s head, this species can remain almost perfectly concealed in desert sand while watching for prey. After ambushing its victims, this snek constricts its soon-to-be meal, squeezing until suffocation or immobilization occurs.
Photo: indic, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, iNaturalist
Welcome to another Trilobite Tuesday! Pictured is a 2.8-inch- (7-cm-) long Dalmanites limulurus. Members of the genus Dalmanites are some of the most recognizable trilobites—they’ve been found in Silurian-age rocks around the globe. This specimen is from the Rochester Shale of upstate New York, but others have emerged from 420-million-year-old exposures in Indiana, England, and Sweden.
Heads or tails? For the white-nosed coati (Nasua narica), it’s always tails! Found throughout the Americas from Arizona to the Andes, this raccoon relative sports a tail that’s just as long as its body. This muscular appendage helps the coati balance while climbing. Its tail is also used as a signal, held high in the air while the coati forages, allowing individuals to keep track of each other. This highly social species lives in groups called bands, which consist of up to 20 females and their offspring. Adult males are solitary… except during mating season.
Photo: Victor, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, flickr
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The countdown begins! The Museum’s Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation opens in 112 days. The spectacular new facility will add exhibition galleries, state-of-the-art classrooms, an immersive experience, and a redesigned library, revealing more of the Museum’s scientific collections and linking 10 Museum buildings to improve visitor flow throughout the campus. Learn more about the Gilder Center, opening on February 17, 2023, here: https://bit.ly/3szmagf
It’s time for Fossil Friday! Big animals like dinosaurs leave big fossils–but how do scientists find fossils of small animals like bats and rodents? Join Museum Curator Nancy Simmons and team on an expedition to Colombia as they search for fossils the size of a grain of rice!
Hear from Judith Ramos, one of the Consulting Curators of the Northwest Coast Hall, about the significance of this Tlingit ceremonial fish trap hat. Learn more about the living cultures of the Pacific Northwest in the revitalized Northwest Coast Hall, opening this Friday!
What is a cedar bark beater? What is it made of, and what is it used for? Co-Curator of the Northwest Coast Hall Haa'yuups explains. Learn more about the living cultures of the Pacific Northwest in the revitalized Northwest Coast Hall, opening on May 13.
Get ready to glow when the David Yurman Crystalline Pass opens next winter, connecting the Museum's new Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation with the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals. But are crystals and minerals the same? Are they both just rocks? Mine for answers in this latest video.
Older than dinosaurs–and more threatened than threatening–sharks are spectacular, surprising, and often misunderstood. Few people encounter this ancient group of fishes. But with a visit to Sharks you can come face-to-fin with these amazing animals. You’ll uncover the latest scientific discoveries about shark species, see life-sized models and fossils, and enjoy immersive video installations—which include a selection of footage provided by Discovery’s Shark Week!
Older than dinosaurs—and more threatened than threatening—sharks are spectacular, surprising, & often misunderstood. Dive into the world of this diverse group of animals in the new exhibition Sharks. This show opens December 15!
A giant bubble from 130 million years ago. A stone that once “sang.” And a fluorescent slab from across the Hudson River. This Mineral Monday, hear the origin stories of three show-stopping mineral specimens now on view in the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals in a new video featuring Museum President Ellen Futter and Curator George Harlow. #NewYorkRocks
Since its founding in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History has collected more than 34 million specimens relating to the natural world and human cultures. The Museum showcases its amazing treasures in the exhibit halls, and behind the scenes more than 200 scientists are at work making new discoveries. Millions of people from around the world visit the Museum each year.
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