Latest from the AM Blog

Writing from the frontiers of science, culture and education, as well as all the latest news from the Museum.

  • AMRI

    Does the Blue Mountains Tree Frog have really bad neighbours?

    Neighbourly feuds are a universal problem – but for the Blue Mountains Tree Frog, could the other frog species they share a stream with, be deadly?

    Written by Jordann Crawford-Ash / Category AMRI / Published 12 February 2021
  • AMRI

    Celebrating AMRI Women in Science

    To celebrate this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are profiling women from the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI).

    Category AMRI / Published 11 February 2021
  • At The Museum

    Early Birds: Autism and Sensory-friendly Mornings

    The Australian Museum's Early Birds program provides a reduced sensory and supportive environment for visitors on the autism spectrum or those who have other access requirements.

    Written by Cordelia Hough / Category At The Museum / Published 10 February 2021
    Autism Early Birds
  • AMRI

    Surrender Your Shell: Using DNA to protect the Hawksbill Turtle

    Did you know that real tortoiseshell products are made from the shell of critically endangered Hawksbill turtles? This illegal trade has brought the species to the brink of extinction. To learn more, the Australian Museum, WWF-Australia and Royal Caribbean International launch Surrender Your Shell.

    Written by Dr Greta Frankham / Category AMRI / Published 08 February 2021
  • AMRI

    Recovery and discovery: rare snails on Lord Howe Island

    After more than a year rodent-free, two of the Critically Endangered land snails on Lord Howe Island are showing strong signs of recovery – and a closely related mystery species has also reappeared!

    Written by Dr Isabel Hyman / Category AMRI / Published 03 February 2021
  • AMRI

    This month in Archaeology: The origins of money

    This month in Archaeology, Dr Way discusses the origins of money examined in the recent PLoS ONE publication, ‘The origins of money: Calculation of similarity indexes demonstrates the earliest development of commodity money in prehistoric Central Europe’ by M.H.G. Kuijpers and C. N. Popa.

    Written by Dr Amy Way / Category AMRI / Published 01 February 2021
  • AMRI

    FrogID Week 2020 – rapid citizen science data informing frog conservation

    FrogID, an AM citizen science initiative, is rapidly gathering the information we need to help understand and conserve Australia’s frogs.

    Written by Nadiah Roslan / Category AMRI / Published 28 January 2021
  • Science

    Legacy of the Egypt Exploration Fund in the Australian Museum

    Since 1882 the Egypt Exploration Fund focused on digging for objects and distributing them widely to subscribing organisations around the world, including those in United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, India, Japan, and Australia.

    Written by Peter Dadswell, Dr Stan Florek David Chan / Category Science / Published 22 January 2021
    archaeology Ancient Egypt North Africa Egyptian
  • AMRI

    What can we learn about wombat habitats from their poo?

    Microbes that live in the guts of mammals can be critical to their health and survival, yet we know little about the microbes that inhabit our unique Australian marsupials. Scientists from the University of Adelaide and the Australian Museum studied the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat to learn more.

    Written by Professor Kristofer Helgen Dr Raphael Eisenhofer / Category AMRI / Published 18 January 2021
  • AMRI

    Myth or museum specimen? The animals that are more fact than fiction

    Famously featured in George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones franchise, the dire wolf is far more than a popular legend. A recent study in Nature has discovered how genetically distinct this prehistoric carnivore actually was. Read more about the study, and other animals thought to be pure myth.

    Written by Meagan Warwick, Professor Kristofer Helgen / Category AMRI / Published 14 January 2021
  • AMRI

    A rainforest tree by the sea — Who are the pollinators?

    In Australia there are over 40 species of mangroves; despite their key role in coastal ecosystem function, we know relatively little about their reproductive ecology. Learn more about the pollinators involved, in this recent and pivotal study.

    Written by Dr Geoff Williams OAM, AM, PhD / Category AMRI / Published 15 December 2020
  • AMRI

    Is a deadly disease impacting amphibians on Vietnam’s highest mountains?

    Scientists from the Australian Museum, Indo-Myanmar Conservation and ZSL London Zoo search for frogs and the world’s worst wildlife disease in the mountains of northern Vietnam.

    Written by Christopher Portway, Dr Jodi Rowley Nguyen Thanh Luan, Benjamin Tapley / Category AMRI / Published 15 December 2020
  • AMRI

    Australia: home of the (prehistoric) crocs

    Opalised fossils help tell the story of a small crocodile that lived among the dinosaurs.

    Written by Lachlan Hart / Category AMRI / Published 11 December 2020
  • AMRI

    Welcome new fanged friend: A new species of Fanged Frog discovered in Cambodia

    From the forests of northeastern Cambodia, another frog species new to science is scientifically named!

    Written by Dr Jodi Rowley Dr Bryan Stuart / Category AMRI / Published 10 December 2020
  • AMRI

    Why we need to get taxonomy right

    Taxonomy and systematics comprise the describing, naming and classifying the natural world. By classifying the natural world, we can understand a species origins and interrelationships. So how do we get it right, and how do we get it wrong? We explore the world of marine invertebrates for more.

    Written by Dr Pat Hutchings / Category AMRI / Published 08 December 2020