News from the Australian Museum

Scientific discoveries, ground-breaking expeditions, jaw-dropping exhibitions and Australia's biggest museum collection.

Newcastle Funnel-web Spider (Atrax christenseni) male

Sydney’s famous funnel-web spider splits into three!

Reports of unusually large Sydney Funnel-web spiders from around Newcastle led an international team of scientists to take a fresh look at the Sydney Funnel-web, Atrax robustus.

13 January 2025

Blazing the Trail

Discover what makes us human on an epic journey investigating our shared story of human evolution.

Podcast series

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Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru: Australian Museum's summer blockbuster exhibition announced

Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru will be exclusively hosted in Sydney from Saturday 23 November 2024. Tickets go on sale from today for this immersive museum experience which shares the secrets of five ancient Peruvian Empires, dating back more than 3000 years.

8 October 2024

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The Eastern Water-holding Frog (Cyclorana platycephela) is found in the Northern Wheatbelt

Go where no one has gone before – help us document frogs in the Northern Wheatbelt of New South Wales

The frogs of the Northern Wheatbelt of New South Wales are poorly sampled. We need your help to document frogs and fill in data gaps so we created a priority map to highlight areas where your FrogID recordings will make the biggest difference to our understanding of frogs!

25 November 2024

Example of burnt trees and regrowth, during fieldwork.

A repository of biodiversity information

'Biodiversity impact of the 2019-2020 megafires' is the outcome of many different research projects, synthesised to find broad trends and outliers across groups of organisms.

19 November 2024

Nocturnal Worlds: Mountain Pygmy Possum episode

From sea turtles to pygmy possums, Australian wildlife's soothing sonic soundscapes

Nocturnal Worlds, a free award-winning podcast from the Australian Museum and Audiocraft, shares the secret sounds of three more iconic Australian animals.

12 September 2024

Disturbing rituals, ‘sex pots’, jewellery: The surprise relics being unearthed in Peru
WA Today
March 3, 2025
Mysterious and vulnerable: the secret lives of Australia’s giant worms
The Guardian
March 3, 2025
Extreme weather in Australia the 'new normal', scientists say
1news.co.nz
Feb. 25, 2025
Scuba diver spots ‘spaghetti’-like creature — and discovers new species in Bora-Bora
Miami Herald
Feb. 7, 2025
Sydney funnel-web spider found to be three different species
Australian Geographic
Jan. 21, 2025

Australian Museum Research Institute

Saving our koalas: using genomics to enhance conservation outcomes

Koalas in New South Wales are at risk of extinction by 2050. New research highlights the need for targeted conservation efforts to address genetic diversity and maintain habitat connectivity to ensure their survival.

22 October 2024

An adult female Coastal Lobe-lipped Bat from Western province, PNG, showing the enlarged flap or lobe formed from the outer ear margin, that is characteristic of this new species

The Coastal Lobe-lipped Bat: a new range-restricted species from the coastal lowlands of southern Papua New Guinea

The Coastal Lobe-lipped Bat (Chalinolobus orarius) is a newly named species recognised from museum specimens collected in Papua New Guinea (PNG) previously thought to represent the Hoary Bat (C. nigrogriseus) of northern Australia.

21 October 2024

Dead Green Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea) from winter 2022

Communities on the front line during a frog conservation emergency

During the 2021 winter, frogs across eastern Australia experienced a mass mortality event. While we continue to investigate the cause and impact of these frog deaths, we need your help again this winter to report any sick or dead frogs.

24 June 2024

Vaka (Canoe) 'Tai Tokelau' made entirely from the Kanava tree in Tokelau featured in Wansolmoana, Australian Museum's Pasifika Gallery.

The Australian Museum celebrates deep cultural connections with the Pacific in its new permanent gallery: Wansolmoana

Exploring themes of Deep connections, Identity, Disruption and Climate Change, Wansolmoana has been made possible by a generous gift from The Macdoch Foundation.

19 October 2023

From the Director: Let’s celebrate beautiful Bilas body adornment

The Australian Museum's exhibition Bilas: Body Adornment from Papua New Guinea is woven straight from the spirit of a community’s lore and showcased by way of physical adornment.

18 July 2023

Barka: The Forgotten River

Explore the magnificent Barka (Darling River) and its plight in a free exhibition opening at the Australian Museum Thursday 16 March 2023.

16 March 2023

Cynthia Houniuhi is President of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC)

The Talbot Oration: Taking Climate to the World’s Highest Court

Renowned Pacific climate champion, Cynthia Houniuhi, tells her story of fighting for change in the world's highest court at Australian Museum’s Talbot Oration.

Live at the AM
13 June 2024

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