• Can farm dams help support frog conservation?

    With the help of tens of thousands of citizen scientists across Australia, scientists from Deakin University and the Australian Museum explored the value of farm dams to frogs and determined what features of dams support more frog species.

    AMRI
    Farm dam on a private property on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.
  • The fish that devoured the moon

    Public wet markets and trawl surveys unveil a new species of razor wrasse from the Philippines and Western Australia, adding to a group of fishes that live curious lives away from the megadiverse coral reefs.

    AMRI
    <i>Iniistius bakunawa</i>, the Eclipse-spot Razor Wrasse.
  • Faded out: What environments did Australian frog populations disappear from due to disease?

    By looking at historical and recent frog records across Australia, including from FrogID, we reveal how Australian frog distributions have changed in response to the introduction of a deadly pathogen.

    AMRI
    The Common Mist Frog (Litoria rheocola) suffered population declines and disappearances due to the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis).
  • The ultimate hide & seek champion: Pygmy blue-tongues can stay hidden in flooded burrows

    Did you know that endangered pygmy blue-tongues are champions at holding their breath? These lizards can temporarily suspend their breathing for almost 40 minutes in rain flooded burrows. Kim Michael, recipient of the 2022/23 Peter Rankin Trust Fund for Herpetology, tells us more.

    AMRI
    Pygmy bluetongue nose has broken the water surface of a flooded artificial burrow.
  • Citizen scientists help date fossil sites

    Date a Fossil allows you to be a palaeontologist from home! Scientists engaged 271 citizen scientists in the Date a Fossil project, and in doing so, uncovered hundreds of microfossils in a unique iron-rich fossil site located in McGraths Flat, central New South Wales, Australia.

    AMRI
    Australian Museum, University of Canberra and University of New South Wales scientists excavating at McGraths Flat.
  • Mammalian milestone reached

    A major update to THE reference book for Australian mammals is out now! “Strahan’s Mammals of Australia” provides accessible and up-to-date information on our unique mammal fauna.

    AMRI
    Book cover of Strahan's Mammals of Australia, Fourth Edition.
  • Bats, rats and cats – oh my!

    To gain a holistic biological and historical picture of an area, both native and introduced species should be studied over time. Recently, our mammalogy team surveyed bats, rats and cats on the Australian Museum-led expedition to Norfolk Island.

    AMRI
    Scientists on Phillip Island in the morning
  • Rock-wallabies star in new musical creation

    Australia’s rock-wallabies are world famous for their variation. Now, rock-wallabies take centre stage in a major new oratorio: Origins – of the Universe, of Life, of Species, of Humanity.

    AMRI
    A yellow-footed rock wallaby
  • Hydroides of the World: Book out now!

    The first ever fully illustrated guide to Hydroides is out now! This genus of calcareous worms is one of the largest and most ecologically and economically important group of marine invertebrates in the world.

    AMRI
    Live Hydroides dirampha in tube.
  • Wonderful Worms around the World: Celebrating International Polychaete Day

    Today is International Polychaete Day! On this day, we celebrate polychaetes for their extraordinary diversity, beauty, and the important role they play in marine and estuarine communities.

    AMRI
    Tube worm
  • Our tiny green hitchhiker: Citizen science reveals the frog popping up across eastern Australia

    Thousands of people using the FrogID app have helped reveal just how much the Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria fallax) is establishing populations outside its native range.

    AMRI
    The Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog (Litoria fallax) often sits on vegetation in the sun during the day.
  • The sea urchins of Sydney

    Sydney sea urchins are diverse and live in a variety of habitats – you may find them in rockpools and kelp forests. They are also an important part of what makes our local biodiversity so special. Learn more about these Sydneysiders!

    AMRI
    The red sea urchin
  • Does the venue matter for a banjo frog gig?

    Using FrogID citizen science data, we recently set out to discover if habitat can influence the advertisement calls of frogs!

    AMRI
    An Eastern Banjo Frog (<i>Limnodynastes dumerilii</i>) calling.
  • The FrogID dataset 4.0: almost half a million frog records now online and open access

    The fourth annual release of the FrogID dataset has just been released, ready to help inform conservation!

    AMRI
    The Common Eastern Froglet (Crinia signifera) is the frog species with the most records in the FrogID database.
  • Choose your own adventure with FrogID

    Fine-tuning citizen science to map frog species richness together.

    AMRI
    The small and cryptic Red-backed toadlet (Pseudophryne coriacea) near Kiwarrak State Forest, New South Wales.