Blog archive: AMRI

AMRI

This month in Archaeology: Stone hatchets as nut-cracking tools

Why are there pits on ground stone hatchets? These are wood working tools, but could they have been used for cracking seeds and nuts as well? How to find out? Do experiments! For this month in archaeology, we discuss the recent experimental archaeology paper, led by Dr Nina Kononenko.

AMRI

Two new species of the world’s largest flying squirrels discovered in the Himalayas by Australian scientists

Australian scientists lead an international team that has described and named two new species of gigantic woolly flying squirrels from the Himalayas.

AMRI

The curious tale of the Australian Museum Olm

Just how did Europe’s only blind, cave-dwelling salamander turn up in Sydney?

AMRI

It’s hard to live in the city: the decline of frog species from our urban areas

How are frogs faring across Australia, from bushland to your backyard? Are frogs persisting, even in the most built-up of areas? In a recent study, FrogID data helps us understand how frogs in Australia respond to urbanisation.

AMRI

Holt’s Long-eared Bat: A new cryptic species discovered in Western Australia

AMRI scientists recently collected DNA samples from bats at Coolah Tops, NSW – the results of which have led to the discovery of a new bat species, endemic to the forests of far south-west Western Australia.

AMRI

Living on the edge! Molecular insight into Sydney’s endangered bandicoot population

An endangered population of long-nosed bandicoots are inhabiting an iconic Sydney headland – and molecular insights show that they are surviving on the edge.

AMRI

From field to museum – studies from Melanesia in Honour of Robin Torrence

Dr Robin Torrence, Senior Fellow in Archaeology and Geosciences at the Australian Museum, is a giant in her field. Over the last 35 years, Robin has impacted so many – including the 32 authors who have contributed to the recent special edition of the Technical Records of the AM!

AMRI

Fossil evidence sheds light on why whales and dolphins have large brains

An international team of palaeontologists, led by AMRI and UNSW’s Dr Matthew McCurry, shed light on why whales and dolphins have such large brains – with the help of Baleen Whale fossils.

AMRI

Which frogs are best equipped to survive the human world?

We rank Australia’s frog species based on how likely they are to persist in human modified habitats – with some surprising results!

AMRI

This month in Archaeology: 2020-21 AMF/AMRI Visiting Research Fellow on the Rock Art Recovery Project

Wayne Brennan, a 2020-21 AMF/AMRI Visiting Research Fellow, discusses how scientists and Aboriginal communities work together on the Rock Art Recovery Project - two ways walking together side by side.

AMRI

News from LIRS: 2021 Coral bleaching at Lizard Island

Each month, a selected blog from Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation will be featured at the AM. For this inaugural month, we feature the 2021 Coral bleaching at Lizard Island blog, by Dr Anne Hoggett.

AMRI

A Sutton Hoo ship rivet, the Australian Museum and a War Hero

As a result of the new film on Netflix, The Dig, there has been renewed interest in the Anglo-Saxon ship burial site, Sutton Hoo. We have found a surprising link between the 1400-year-old Sutton Hoo burial, the Australian Museum, and a WWII war hero.

AMRI

The hunt for the not-so-elusive dung beetle

Last month, Dr Chris Reid and Aidan Runagall-McNaull arrived in Northeast NSW to determine the impacts of the 2019-20 bushfires on dung beetle populations. Now nearing the end of their fieldwork, there is some good news to report.

AMRI

A journey through time and place in search of a snake

How was the Australian Keelback snake (Tropidonophis mairii) named? A historical investigation has led to the identification of where the snake came from – but with a twist.

AMRI

A new species of tiny horned frog found at the top of a mist-shrouded mountain

An international team from Vietnam, the UK and Australia set off on a mission to find Critically Endangered frog species in the Hoang Lien Range in northern Vietnam – and on the way, they found a species new to science!