2021

Museum scientists have described 552 new species.

A series of tracks on a public beach point to the presence of large, long-necked dinosaurs in Wales over 200 million years ago. 

Scientists, activists and members of the public fought to ensure that 2021 won't be remembered as all bad for conservation.

The largest space telescope ever built has been launched as part of a mission to view the early years of the universe.

An ancient battle fought thousands of years ago has provided an oasis of life on the wrecks it left behind.

The genetic landscape of England and Wales was shaken up thousands of years ago as new arrivals redefined its people.

One of the largest invertebrates to have ever lived once roamed the beaches of ancient England.

A newly discovered millipede has claimed the title of the 'leggiest' animal in the world.

One of the world's 'most wanted' fish has been tracked down, almost 50 years after it was last seen.  

Elusive yellow butterfly from isolated Colombian mountain rediscovered twice.

The largest-ever flying animal acted like a giant heron, plucking prey from the water and launching itself into the air. 

The dinosaur was much chunkier than any other sauropod.

The ancestor of modern snakes was not the extreme burrower some thought it to be, adding to the controversial debate about the origin of snakes. 

An ancient relative of modern crocodiles and alligators shows that their semi-aquatic lifestyle dates back over 150 million years. 

Some of the world's most picturesque coral reefs are at risk of being wiped out in the next 50 years.

New 3D scans of soft tissue show how ammonites functioned.

Solar winds from the Sun could have produced much of Earth's water by irradiating asteroids.

Scientists have discovered how a bird of prey dubbed 'the flying tiger' could take down one of the heaviest birds that ever lived.

The end of the mammoths gave rise to a tinderbox world that was more likely to catch fire. 

Ancient elephants that would have been born the size of a puppy lived for decades more than previously thought.

The combination of a common fungal disease with climate change on ladybirds could cause aphids to become more of a problem. 

Climate change could lead to an increase in break-ups as it puts pressure on the animal kingdom. 

Neanderthals lived fast and died young, developing their teeth earlier than humans to power their rapid growth. 

Ants swap chemicals in their 'spit' to support the most valuable members of the colony. 

Birds will mock-up the scene of an attack to stop rivals from stealing their nest. 

There are over 600 million fewer birds in Europe than there were 40 years ago. 

A walrus has been spotted taking a rest on the coast of north-eastern England. 

Here's a roundup of the important announcements that have been made at COP26 over the past week amid plenty of promises but also harsh reality checks.

A new species of dinosaur has been discovered from the Isle of Wight after a case of mistaken identity.

Sharks, seahorses and smelt are among the residents of the River Thames revealed in a new report.

One of the world's most endangered birds can choose to have young without sex, it has been found.

Beluga whales may be consuming hundreds of thousands of microplastics each year due to the fish they eat. 

The fossils of 'very weird animals' have helped show how elephants and walruses may have evolved their iconic tusks. 

Read a summary of the major headlines coming out of the climate summit.

Sewage in Britain's waterways has been hitting the headlines recently. But what effect does raw waste have on our rivers, streams and oceans? 

A new ancestor of modern humans with the potential to rip up the family tree has been tentatively named.

Domesticated horses are about three centuries younger than the Pyramids of Giza, researchers have found, as they uncover the origin of all domestic horses. 

A corgi-sized canine once roamed Mediterranean islands, hunting small prey like birds and pika. 

With COP26 starting in just a few days time, here's a roundup of the key headlines ahead of the upcoming climate summit.

Dippy the Diplodocus is coming home to the Museum after a tour that saw them meet over two million new friends around the UK.

Populations of the North Atlantic right whale fell by almost 10% in 2020, leaving only a few hundred of the animals surviving.

A conundrum that has foxed scientists for decades has been solved, revealing the origins of an ancient group of animals. 

The economic benefit of digitising an entire museum collection has been quantified for the first time.

A breakthrough in why eggs from one of the world's most endangered birds fail to hatch could provide a lifeline for the species. 

Rising mountains helped guide the development of multicellular life as they provided nutrients for its development. But that came at a price. 

The largest Triceratops ever found has sold for over £5 million in an auction that has caused controversy. 

COP26 is a crucial moment for the future of our planet.

Microbes in the air could be among the victims of climate change, with 15% of airborne species of bacteria predicted to go extinct.

Climate change could leave birds and their eggs unprepared for the extreme weather being thrown at them. 

Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans living in rainforests has been found in a cave in Southeast Asia. 

The white-tailed sea eagle will not be reintroduced to Norfolk despite fully fledged plans and public support. 

Methods to regrow coral reefs, restore rainforests and reuse food waste have each received a million pounds as part of the first ever Earthshot Prize. 

Gorillas react more strongly to the voices of unfamiliar humans and those they like less, researchers have found. 

A giant ground sloth that once roamed South America occasionally broke its plant-based diet to eat meat, researchers have found.

Over 100 species of European birds are on the road to becoming extinct, a new report has warned. 

Most African mammals all went extinct 33 million years ago as the world became dramatically cooler. 

Over recent weeks there have been plenty of sensational headlines about insects invading our homes and causing the evacuation of schools. 

Winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 announced.

The world's biodiversity has fallen below the 'safe limit', researchers suggest, as habitat destruction and agriculture take their toll on nature.

The 'lost world' gives a glimpse of the planet before the last Ice Age. 

The rare natural black diamond was on display from October 2021 to April 2022.

Rocks with the potential to hold fossils of Martian life have been identified by NASA's Perseverance rover. 

The discovery of a stink bug in a Surrey garden has caused worries the insects may be becoming established in the UK. 

The oldest-known meat-eating dinosaur discovered in the UK has been named in honour of trailblazing Museum scientist Angela Milner, who passed away in August 2021.

A unique 'hyper-eye' consisting of three different levels of vision has been discovered in a prehistoric animal. 

Discovering the largest Winchcombe meteorite in a field of sheep poo.

The US government has announced that 23 species of American animals and plants are believed to have gone extinct. 

A species of eagle that may have eaten ancient koalas over 25 million years ago has been described from Australia. 

Prehistoric humans may have 'farmed' cassowaries as early as 18,000 years ago. 

Lanternfish are one of the most abundant vertebrates on Earth. Yet despite their huge numbers, almost nothing is known about them.

The moth is famous for its enormous tongue - the longest of any insect.

The loss of the world's primates will lead to a greater loss of diversity than first thought, as their parasites also risk extinction. 

Scientists at the Museum urge anyone who knows more about it or its location to get in touch.

Two new species of carnivorous dinosaurs  have been discovered from the Isle of Wight. 

The oldest confirmed human footprints from the Americas have been found in New Mexico, pushing back the date of our ancestors' arrival on the continent by thousands of years.

Levels of cocaine in the river are at levels potentially harmful to eels. 

Pollinators and flowers can attract each other with electric fields to maximise the benefits for both, researchers have found.

Coral reefs have declined by over half since the 1950s as they suffer from the effects of climate change and overfishing.

A nursery for the largest land mammals ever to have lived has been uncovered in Spain, offering rare clues to their family lives. 

Snakes saw an explosion in diversity after the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid, researchers have found. 

Spicomellus afer is the oldest ankylosaur ever discovered. 

Thousands of homes, schools and hospitals in London are at risk from climate change, the Mayor of London has said. 

The phrase 'blind as a bat' is looking increasingly out of date as new research suggests bats use their sight and memory after going silent when looking for mates.

Officials are investigating after over 60 endangered penguins were reportedly stung to death by bees.

Polar bears are becoming less diverse as sea ice declines, putting them at an increased risk of extinction.

Our ancient relatives had a sweet tooth, researchers have found, after uncovering the oldest-known mammalian cavities.

Concerns have been raised after reports of 'unprecedented' deaths amongst guillemots in the north of the UK.

Animals are 'shapeshifting' as the planet warms, as limbs, ears and beaks change size to adapt to rising temperatures.

Australian scientists are persevering in their quest to 'catch 'em all' as they name new species after pop culture icons.

Wild Goffin's cockatoos have been observed to make their own 'cutlery' when setting down to eat a meal of sea mangoes.

Six new species of dragonflies and damselflies have arrived in Britain since the late 1990s.

Tyrannosaurs competed by biting each other's faces, research suggests. The bites could have been part of competition for mates, food and dominance between some of the largest land predators to have ever lived.

A new company has been launched to restore the woolly mammoth to the Arctic tundra.

The world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, could disappear in the next century as rising sea levels threaten to submerge its habitat.

The driveway onto which the Winchcombe meteorite came crashing down in early 2021 has now been recovered.

This is the first rock sample ever to be collected from the red planet.

A series of ancient lake beds discovered in Saudi Arabia is showing how the now arid deserts were once green wetlands.

Take a look at some of the Highly Commended photos from the fifty-seventh Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, opening on 15 October.

NASA's rover is attempting to collect first rock samples for Mars 2020 mission.

The world's largest-ever report on climate change has been published.

A new beautifully preserved fossil of a horseshoe crab has revealed that their brains have hardly changed since at least the Carboniferous Period.  

Elephant ancestors diversified widely thanks to climate change and new habitats.

Uncovering details about how the Carolina parakeet became extinct.

Palaeontologists have uncovered thousands of perfectly preserved Jurassic fossils in a sleepy area of the Cotswolds. 

In recent years there has a growing shift to change the common English names of birds that are offensive or inaccurate.

The beavers were reintroduced just a year and a half ago. 

Understanding the extraordinary diversity and differences between insects can help us figure out how these species evolved.

£3.2 million will go towards revamping green space around the Museum

Gould's field mouse, a small rodent native to Australia, is not extinct as previously thought. It is alive and well living under a different name.

A huge skull found in China represents a new sister lineage for Homo sapiens.

In a titanic effort spanning many years, a team of butterfly experts have listed the butterflies found in Colombia to date.

The Duchess of Cambridge visited the Museum to hear how the Urban Nature Project will inspire the next generation to care for the nature that surrounds them. 

Over the past few hundreds of thousands of years Sicily was home to two different miniature elephants.

It is the only known King Island emu egg in the world. 

A species of frog not seen for over 60 years is likely to be extinct.

It is the first meteorite fall to have been recovered in the UK for 30 years.

The new species is now known as Joseph's racer, was first collected in the mid-nineteenth century.

People are urged to keep an eye out for the whale last seen off Isleworth.

Seals either swim with their tails or with their flippers. 

Dating to roughly 78,000 years old, the grave is the oldest human burial discovered in Africa to date. 

Frog skulls have revealed that a frog's environment is the main driver of its skull shape, but that tadpole feeding behaviour influences how fast frogs evolve. 

It's more common for mammals to have evolved smaller body sizes which makes it look like the brain is getting bigger. 

Marsupials have missed out on their evolutionary potential because of how they reproduce.

The algae could also be of interest in developing new drugs. 

It could help deepen our understanding of the red planet. 

Billions of plastic particles accumulate on remote islands mostly via sea.

Return of the beavers will increase British biodiversity and help manage floods.

Their hearing may have been why these dolphins survived when all other relatives died out.

For the first time ever the two species of African elephants have been assessed separately.

When modern humans arrived in the islands of southeast Asia, they may have encountered a range of ancient human species. 

Last year an expedition to the Mariana Trench made history by conducting the deepest crewed dive ever.

Gamestop investors donate hundreds of thousands of pounds to endangered gorilla charity.

A walrus has been spotted on the western coast of Ireland.

To mark British Science Week, Her Majesty took part in a virtual science showcase.

Economists have called for nature to be valued more highly by governments and financial systems.

They bring on average 688,000 pieces of plastic back onto land every single year.

For the first time in 30 years, a meteorite has been recovered in the UK

By studying modern horseshoe crabs, researchers have been able to build up a picture of how some extinct arthropods such as trilobites may have fed on hard-shelled prey.

The brown marmorated stink bug is a new invasive species in the UK.

Why does the thylacine still capture our imagination?

New 50p coin collection honours fossil hunter Mary Anning.

The Mars 2020 rover landed near the Jezero Crater on 18 February 2021. 

It is shedding light on how the Columbian mammoth came to be. 

The fossilised tooth of a nine-year-old child found in Shuqba Cave is the most southerly evidence of Neanderthals ever discovered.

Tiny plastic fibres have been found in the stomachs of deep-sea fish living in a remote part of the South Atlantic Ocean.

Rather than a violent turnover of populations, there was a merging of communities.

It will cost us double to preserve nature unless we act now, Museum scientists have found.

Genetic and fossil records do not reveal a single point where modern humans originated, researchers have found. 

Irwin's capture of a bushfire wins the WPY People's Choice Award 2020.

Toxic proteins from bacteria have helped centipedes with their own arsenel. 

It is notoriously difficult to sex a dinosaur.

Changing our economic system would create a fairer, healthier, more sustainable world for everyone.

Ancient teeth could be evidence of a hybrid population of Neanderthals and modern humans. 

A pristine pair of ancient beetles were discovered in the Museum collection. They date back nearly 4,000 years.

A milestone has been reached in the campaign for a statue of fossil hunter Mary Anning in Lyme Regis.

A breakthrough in domestic production could bring down the carbon footprint of lithium-ion batteries.

Extinct dire wolves, made famous in the TV show Game of Thrones, are only distant cousins of modern grey wolves.