Science news

This is the first mainland European bird declared extinct in 500 years.

A breakthrough fossil discovery is changing what we know about some of the largest mammals to ever walk the Earth.

Rising temperatures are pushing many species to the brink, alongside disease, pollution and unsustainable fishing.

A remarkable fossil could transform our understanding of how the intelligence of modern birds evolved.

The story of how animals first set foot out of the water and onto land just became more complex.

A mystery beginning in the South Atlantic, and ending in South Kensington, has finally been solved.

Even the world’s most successful wild animal isn’t safe from rising temperatures.

An evolutionary ‘air race’ may have been taking place in forests during the age of dinosaurs.

Arthropleura's head reveals that millipedes and centipedes are closely related.

Every species extinction is bad, but the impacts are worse when we consider the ecosystem functions that are also lost.

A new species of moth has been discovered 7,000 kilometres from home.

Some seabirds might have a ‘sixth sense’ at the end of their beak, new research reveals.

Researchers have proposed changing the common name of the flesh-footed shearwater.

Food security and biodiversity are threatened by the chemicals contaminating our soils.

Some of Earth’s most successful herbivores may have had hundreds of thousands of teeth in their lifetime.

Humans are having a devastating effect on biodiversity, but the impacts might be worse than we thought.

Despite their fame, astonishingly little is known about these large, flightless birds.

The social skinks are helping scientists answer fundamental questions about evolution.

Tiny teeth are revealing the roots of the modern mammal lifestyle.

Ferganoceratodus edwardsi suggests that many ancient lungfish are more closely related than first thought.

Plant infections can now be detected in our crops before they’re even visible.

Genetically removing the prickles from crops could have huge benefits for agriculture.

We’ve been underestimating the importance of partially logged forests.

A three-dimensional preserved fossil larva has been found to contain traces of internal organs.

The North Sea’s oil and gas rigs impact more than the atmosphere.

A molar found in sand from south London could shed light on the last days of an ancient mammal.

Scientists are studying microbial structures in extreme environments to learn more about early life.

Comptonatus chasei is the newest member of the Iguanodon family.

Some of the best three-dimensionally preserved fossil trilobites have been revealed from Morocco.

Only 1,000 Bornean elephants are thought to be left in the wild.

The iconic marine molluscs might be alive today had Earth not been struck by a meteorite.

Scientists are trying to unravel the mysteries of an extinction event that occured in North America at the end of the Jurassic.

The newly described Myloplus sauron highlights how little we know about South America’s biodiversity.

By sequencing airborne eDNA, a new project hopes to find out more about the UK’s wildlife.

A vast colony of breeding seabirds experienced “unprecedented” mortality.

Musankwa sanyatiensis is just the fourth dinosaur species ever found from Zimbabwe.

Dandelions, buttercups and brambles might help to answer some of the biggest questions in botany.

Seal diversity is just a snapshot of the species that used to exist. 

An ancient worm may have dragged itself along the sea floor, consuming whatever prey it could find.

The first animal communities could have impacted on how complex life evolved over 550 million years ago.

Making our gardens earthworm friendly could help urban spaces become more resilient.

Every year thousands of elephants are still killed for their ivory.

The lesser flamingo is in danger of losing its feeding and breeding grounds.

Since 2020, millions of birds have been struck down by avian influenza, but Oceania remains virus free.

It proposes an entirely new group of birds that connects the smallest flying birds to the largest.

An international team of scientists have spent the last few weeks finding out what is living 4,000 metres beneath the surface.

The spectacled cormorant went extinct almost 200 years ago – but almost nothing is known about its life.

Some of the world’s largest and most unusual fishes could be wiped out.

Giving communities a greater say over mining could help to speed up the transition to net zero.

They might not have legs, but snakes are outpacing their relatives in the race to evolve.

Named in honour of two dedicated conservationists, the discovery of the spiders could help to protect at-risk forests on St Helena.

A new study has allowed scientists to see how populations of fish differ through their DNA. 

Discovered in Scotland, Ceoptera evansae has been named as a new species of pterosaur. 

Seaweeds play a vital role in the modern world, but their existence is under threat.

This year scientists at the Natural History Museum have been busy.

A jawbone fragment overlooked for more than 100 years was once part of a nine-metre-long ancient whale.

It’s said that you are what you eat – and that’s certainly true of toothed whales.

Seabirds in the Pacific Ocean are eating plastic and feeding it to their chicks.

Going back to basics could help to unlock the mysteries of our origins.

A school science experiment is answering questions that are out of this world.

The oldest disease-causing fungus on record has been found in the Natural History Museum’s collection.

Welcome to the next era of natural history collections. 

Almost half of marine mammals around the UK are being poisoned by banned chemicals.

Specimens of the hitchhiking insect have been sitting undescribed in the Museum’s collections since 1886. 

Variations in the skull shape of vultures have been found to coincide with the preferred method each species uses to feed on a carcass.

Crocodiles have a deep and varied evolutionary past.

Katydids have been using ultrasounds for millions of years to try and avoid predators hearing them.

The species has only been found once on the side of the inactive volcano. 

The dramatic decline in biodiversity is the result of agricultural change, pollution and habitat loss.

A question that has puzzled scientists for over 150 years may finally have been answered.

Putting Martian meteorites in a nuclear reactor has confirmed their curiously young age.

The Natural History Museum’s collections are helping scientists to get a handle on how evolution works.

More surprising is that the vast majority of herpetology records are unsexed.

Your dog could have its day as part of a new scientific study.

Seaweeds are vital for the health of our planet, but we are unaware of just how threatened they might be. 

The tropical crops may face an uncertain future amid rising temperatures and habitat loss.

Investing in natural history collections could offer new scientific and economic opportunities.

Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates in the world.

Human bones with cutmarks, breaks and human chewing marks are found across northern Europe. 

Researchers are hot on the trail of Morocco’s missing dinosaurs.

OSIRIS-REx returned to Earth with a record-breaking amount of material from an asteroid dating back to the birth of our solar system.

Though the Portland plesiosaur made headlines in the 1960s, it has never been formally described.

New research on the 450-million-year-old Eriptychius suggests it could be a ‘missing link’ in the evolution of the vertebrate skull.

A species of bacteria that lived 407 million years ago would have flourished among early land plants.

Only four confirmed specimens are known to science.

A marine predator living over 500 million years ago might bridge the gap between insects and their ancient relatives.

The group may have evolved tens of millions of years later than originally thought.

Bivalves have been touted as a food of the future – but wild populations might not last that long.

Elephants and their relatives evolved in a previously unappreciated way.

Melting polar ice caps may have pushed some of the first ancient humans out of Europe.

The discovery of a new parasitoid wasp could help to save an Endangered Pacific butterfly.

NASA’s Perseverance rover may have discovered organic molecules on the surface of Mars.

One of the UK’s most famous meteorites is helping scientists learn more about asteroids millions of kilometres away.

The pattern of diversity in the deep sea is more complex than first thought.

A 500-million-year-old murder mystery has been solved.

The remains of the armoured dinosaur were discovered on the Isle of Wight.

An ichthyosaur fossil found in Svalbard is finally revealing its secrets 15 years after it was discovered.

The bivalves appear to have been left behind in history’s biggest ever burst of evolution.

Many regions of the deep sea are currently being explored for the potential to mine them.

Mammal evolution has been flipped on its head, according to new research that suggests marsupials are the more evolved mammals.

Urban soundtracks allow us to listen in to wildlife, from calling birds and shouting foxes to chirping insects and quiet worms.

An unprecedented look at potato genetics could help to tackle world hunger.

Exceptionally well-preserved fossils from the Cambrian period have helped fill a gap in our understanding of the origin and evolution of major animal groups alive today.

While there are currently only two members of the genus Saurona, many more as-yet-undescribed species are thought to exist.

Scientists have developed an ambitious new tool which monitors the monthly changes in Wikipedia pageviews for thousands of species.

A new technique allows researchers to extract the DNA of people who have handled bone artefacts, giving clues about prehistoric cultures.

Digital reconstructions of broken fossils have revealed more about the life of an ancient crocodile-like predator.

Traces of ice algae have been found in many animal groups revealing the critical importance of algae and the sea ice on which it grows to the fragile Arctic ecosystem.

New research suggests that ichthyosaurs may have pre-dated the age of the dinosaurs after surviving Earth's largest mass extinction event.

Named after a Hindu god, it is hoped that resurrecting the species will focus conservation attention on at-risk habitats.

The isolated teeth were identified using machine learning models, and could represent some of the earliest relatives of birds ever discovered.

Whales started becoming big early in their evolution – and kept going for millions of years.

Amphibians the size of crocodiles once lurked along the shores of ancient South Africa.

The body mass of young shearwaters has deteriorated in just over a decade, with plastic consumption believed to be the most likely cause.

The specimens and objects held in museums around the world represent an astonishing resource. 

Almost a third of Mauritius' native fruits are no longer being dispersed as no animals are big enough to swallow their seeds.

The discovery was made three decades after the species was first uncovered as scientists try to understand more about how sauropods evolved in what is now eastern Asia.

A new disease has been described in seabirds, but it might just be the tip of the iceberg.

The underside of their tails have feathers that are whiter than any others ever measured.

Able to contract faster than a racing car, Spirostomum's abilities could one day be copied to develop faster machines.

The race is on to learn more about these fragile forests as human impacts threaten their survival.

A new study reveals that there are many ways these animals bore through solid rock, but a lack of habitat may lock them into an evolutionary dead end.

Museum scientists joined a six-week voyage to understand more about the fragile environments surrounding South Atlantic islands.

Fighting for mates may be a behaviour that dates back over 400 million years.

Katydids are the earliest known animals to evolve complex communication using sound.

Though it may have gone extinct over 600 years ago, understanding more about Astrochelys rogerbouri could help to save its living relatives. 

The skulls of early herbivores are helping scientists to understand how a diverse group of dinosaurs evolved different ways of eating plants.

It has never been more important to describe as much of the natural world as possible.

Current turtle habitats are likely to become unsuitable, but new areas could become available.

An unexpected series of eruptions at Stromboli may be due to changes in the volcano's internal 'plumbing'.

Intensively used land isn't just harmful to biodiversity we can see – it's also harming the wildlife living under the ground.

A new species of extinct lizard has been described from the Museum's collections. 

Leeches, mites and plants found at the site are revealing the ecosystems ancient animals walked over 260 million years ago.

Data being collected from the surface of Mars are already providing a glut of information about Jezero crater.

The next rover to land on Mars could discover signs of a once mighty river ecosystem. 

The origins of a meteorite which lit up skies above the UK last year have been revealed.

Frog lenses develop differently depending on what environment they will live in as adults.

Fossils discovered in Sussex were compared to human remains found in Spain from a similar time period to see if the populations are linked.

Minute structures found in 3.48-billion-year-old Australian rocks are the oldest evidence of life on Earth.

A new study has looked at what is driving the biodiversity crisis. 

The question of how the Neanderthals died out remains one of the biggest mysteries in human evolution.

The study could help in predicting how species will respond to the rapidly changing environment.

The aye-aye is one of 12 primates that pick their nose - but we have no good reason why the behaviour evolved.

The most complete Jurassic fossil lizard ever found has been discovered in Scotland.

The sequencing of the oldest human DNA in the UK so far.

While their function remains uncertain, the sinuses provide an insight into how ancient human skulls changed over time.

A large part of the asteroid belt may have been formed out on the fringes of the Solar System.

The new Global Typology of Ecosystems provides an important step towards characterising the true diversity of life on Earth at its largest scale. 

Living over 200 million years ago, Scleromochlus helps to show how ancient reptiles took their first steps towards flight.

A fossil from China has filled in a major gap in the evolutionary tree for life on Earth.

In the midst of war, scientists have been working to protect historic artworks.

Researchers have caught a glimpse of the cosmos just two million years after the formation of the solar system.

Termites could reduce the amount of carbon stored in wood as the world gets hotter and drier. 

The people after which England is named made up more than three quarters of the nation's genetic ancestry during the early Middle Ages. 

Investigating Mars' dry lakes could help scientists to discover how life began on Earth. 

The dental record of a small animal has pushed back the origin of mammals by 20 million years. 

The description of an extinct lizard-like animal may help reveal why its kind were rapidly pushed to the edge of extinction.

Female wildebeest are engaged in an evolutionary arms race - but scientists aren't sure why. 

The twelfth century skeletons have provided an unprecedented look at the genetic history of Ashkenazi Jews. 

As the world recovered from a volcanic extinction event, Lesothosaurus may have banded together to help ward off predators.

For the first time the records of ancient British birds have been formally incorporated into the British List.

Bumblebees are getting more stressed as the climate warms.

An insect last seen in 1869 has sung again, which could help give researchers clues about where the insect might still be living.

The protective equipment that kept us safe during from COVID-19 could pose a lethal threat to nature. 

The ability of dolphins and toothed whales to echolocate is shaped before they're even born.

Over 30 potential new species, from starfish to sea cucumbers, have been discovered living at the bottom of the sea.

The days of the most distinctive bird species could be numbered as the most unusual forms bear the brunt of global extinctions.  

Digitising Museum collection leads to rediscovering a moth collected by Richard Owen

As mammaliamorphs switched from being cold to warm blooded, new behaviours, habitats and ways of living became available to them.

Despite vast investment in climate change, much less attention is being paid to plastic pollution - and we need to fight both together. 

A Critically Endangered species of albatross may be in more danger than previously thought. 

The beetle usually lives on the warm Mediterranean coast.

Ryugu sample is one of the most pristine material from the solar system.

The largest meat-eating dinosaur ever found in Europe.

Plankton which help feed the ocean, lock away carbon dioxide and even influence the weather may not be as vulnerable to climate change as feared.

Another bird from the island of the dodo is in danger of becoming extinct, scientists have warned.

We now know how whales evolved from furry, four-legged critters to giants of the ocean.

Over half of all seabirds have been lost in the past 50 years, seeing less of the nutrients vital to life moved from sea to land.

It beats the previous record holder by tens of millions of years.

Some of the species, described for the first time, are smaller than a 1p coin.

Understanding how bats, which are one of nature's largest disease reservoirs, have changed over time can help scientists to identify new disease hotspots.

In response to a warming world, many species are physically changing their body sizes. 

The tropics have long been perceived as being a riot of colour.

It adds to the understanding of how these curious dinosaurs evolved and spread around the world.

Bashanosaurus primitivus adds to evidence the group of dinosaurs may have originated in Asia.

Understanding how frog eyes evolved can help explain how the diverse group came into being.

Even the most carnivorous lizard can bite no harder than herbivores of the same size, Museum researchers have found.

Ancient plants measuring just two centimetres long could show what the ancestor of vascular plants looked like.

Scientists believe there could be many as yet unknown fossils to be uncovered in the region.

Structures inspired by pollen could make electric car batteries cheaper and more efficient.

A new species of crocodile-like animal has been described from fossils unearthed in Tanzania. 

Modern humans arrived in western Europe about 10,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The deep seafloor could be up to three times as diverse as the overlying waters, with much of this diversity yet to be discovered by science. 

A group of fossilised snails and clams are challenging suggestions that ocean acidification contributed to the largest extinction in history. 

The digitisation of these collections could be worth two billion pounds to the global economy.

The way a volcano is filled with boiling hot magma can help improve forecasts of how it will next erupt.

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. 

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

Elusive yellow butterfly from isolated Colombian mountain rediscovered twice.

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. 

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Spicomellus afer is the oldest ankylosaur ever discovered. 

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Seals either swim with their tails or with their flippers. 

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. 

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

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

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

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

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 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. 

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

It is notoriously difficult to sex a dinosaur.

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

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.

One species is known only from a single specimen in the Museum's collection. 

A meteorite from the birth of the solar system could tell us more about how life flourished on Earth.

New minerals from the UK are very rare. 

Radiodont eye fossils inform scientists of the role of vision in evolution. 

The world needs wheat crops that are bountiful, disease resistant and able to thrive in soil without fertilisers.

Many groups of dinosaurs were doing rather well right up until the end. 

Fishermen in the southwest Atlantic are mutilating endangered seabirds. 

The Popa langur lives on an extinct volcano in Myanmar.

Researchers created a database of 52,515 microbial draft genomes of samples from all over the world. 

Why did they get so big?

The decline in native birds is threatening the existence of island biodiversity.

Researchers hope they will also be resilient in the face of man-made climate change and the threats it will bring.

The fish may be a relic population that has existed for over a hundred million years.

A series of 'safety nets' are needed to prevent the next set of goals from failing. 

Rodents of unusual size once lived across the Caribbean.

The world's biggest animals are nature's engineers.

The extinction risk to plants could be worse than previously thought, according to a landmark report.

Centuries of farming, building and industry have made the UK one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe.

This is the first time the relative eye size of frogs has been compared across all vertebrates. 

Animal populations have declined by 68% since 1970.

Bronze Age people were keeping human body parts and preserving them.

Prehistoric societies in the Britain were creating artistic designs on rock as long ago as the late Ice Age.

The skull shape of birds is just a tiny fraction of the diversity that would have been seen in their dinosaur ancestors.

The first taxonomically verified checklist of the plants of New Guinea is complete.

Where will the rover land, and will it find life on Mars?

Whales are some of the only animals with wonky heads.

New research on Turkana Boy is changing our understanding of the species Homo erectus.

The painting dates to at least 1,000 years ago.

A new family of ancient marsupials has been discovered, relatives of modern-day wombats and koalas.

This is thought to be one of the most significant dinosaur sites ever found in South Africa.

Why do the majority of animals undergo metamorphosis?

Human waste was found 2,000 metres below the ocean surface.

Tracking the diversity of turtles could also give us clues as to how they might respond to increasing pressures in the future.

A satellite has revealed ancient Martian rivers in more detail than ever before.

Climate change is having a bigger impact on animals and plants in the ocean than those on land.

Discover how we're helping some of the most threatened animals on Earth.

Sequencing the wheat genome could help to protect food supplies in the future.

New species of the deep ocean floor are helping change how we think. 

New scans reveal how dinosaur teeth developed. 

A new fossil has revealed what they looked like.

Africa and Eurasia were inhabited by a whole range of hominin species just a few hundred thousand years ago.

Ancient fossils are revealing even more about this species' evolution.

This may alter the recreation of some non-avian dinosaurs. 

An ancient invertebrate lost its legs to live in tubes. 

Straight-tusked elephants were among the largest land mammals ever to have existed.

No other marine mammal has displayed this behaviour. 

Samples collected on the HMS Challenger are teaching us about climate change. 

The Triassic reptiles were found in Zimbabwe.

Singapore is losing its butterflies as forests decline and building programmes boom.

You can't protect what you don't know. 

These snails are losing their eyes. CT scanning is uncovering why.

Real-time genetic sequencing could help save lives. 

The footprints were made when an ancient amphibian walked across a river delta. 

We are gambling with the only world we have, say researchers.

Herbivorous dinosaurs kept evolving the same traits.

As the crabs die, they release a signal attracting other crabs causing a gruesome chain reaction.  

The meteorite formed as our solar system was being born. 

The carnivores walked on four legs and looked like modern-day Komodo dragons.

You are never too small to make a difference.

Female specimens are under represented in collections.

The beetles were collected more than 150 years ago.

Analysis of centipede venom reveals a huge difference between the groups.

A species of wormlike marine invertebrate has been uncovered.

The frogs have been in the Museum collection since 1852.

Dugongs help fight climate change by protecting seagrass meadows.

A new species of stegosaurian dinosaur, Adratiklit boulahfa, has been described.

The new species highlight how much more there still is to learn about India's herpetofauna. 

Wherever humans have gone, pigs have followed.

It is thought to have lived 200 million years ago.

How did potatoes come to Europe and how did they adapt to a new environment?

What this means for their future is still not known. 

Genes of an elusive Tibetan bumblebee can finally be sequenced.  

Scale parasite flies, of a new fly family for Britain, have been found in the Museum's Wildlife Garden.

Discover more about some iconic Neanderthal skulls.

New dating suggests they were in southern Greece 210,000 years ago. 

What can we learn from scanning snakes?

Past global warming events took place 183 million years ago. 

To meet UK electric car targets for 2050, we would need just under twice the current annual world cobalt production. 

Both penguin and seal DNA could be identified from within sponges.

The ancient shark was found in an unusual fossil ecosystem.

We've been looking at the wrong species. 

This is fastest recorded timeline of a bird losing its ability to fly.

It has been named after Gollum due to its underground lifestyle. 

The introduction of farming across the world changed the course of human history.

It has the highest density of plastic in the world.

It's one of the oldest datasets of its kind.

The team will help uncover dinosaur fossils and footprints in Wyoming. 

Driven to extinction in the 1950s, very little is know about this species. 

Despite breeding on remote islands, petrels are being poisoned by lead. 

A new paper is shedding light on the relationship between a bird's diet and how it looks.

The Cambrian explosion is one of the most important intervals in the history of life.

The first specimen of Mylodon darwinii, a ground sloth found by Charles Darwin in 1832, is now available online.

The new amoeba species is the earliest of its kind ever discovered.

This velvet spider group was thought to live only in Africa and the Middle East.

The small but mighty insects buffer the forests against drought.

The number of microorganisms linked with llama droppings gives clues about the Inca.

They include new dinosaurs, an ancient wombat and a giant shark.

Rats and pigeons are thriving, but unique species are disappearing.

It likely went extinct at around the same time as Neanderthals.

These horned frogs are named for their pointy eyebrows.

Small primates were sailing the high seas long before humans existed.

Whales had more cortisol in their bodies while the global whaling industry was at its peak.

Scientists are still unsure where the species came from.

It could help us to monitor mining impacts in the ocean.

The birds' nesting behaviour reflects the health of our oceans.

The RSPB are planning a mouse eradication programme starting next year.

Microplastics are having an enormous impact.

A new study is helping to explain how evolution works.

The fish burrows underground and breaths through the lining of its mouth. 

Researchers have found evidence that suggests Mars once had an ancient ocean and a water cycle similar to Earth's. 

Dwarf emus were driven to extinction by humans. Now their remains are at risk too.

Researchers are delving into the origin of the aubergine by sequencing its DNA.

The fossils will help us understand how these creatures evolved over the past 40 million years.

The discovery is expected to be followed up by more new species.

The teeth are helping us to understand how ancient human populations interacted.

The presence of a subglacial lake could provide an environment for life

The discovery is changing how scientists think these dinosaurs evolved. 

Researchers have discovered several new animal species living on the Pacific seafloor.

A new paper challenges the traditional idea that our species evolved from a single population in one region of Africa.

Scientists have been investigating the last meals of a seal in search of plastic.

There are about 90 million dogs living in North America, but where did they all come from?

Remains of young people who were ritually sacrificed have been found from Bronze Age Mesopotamia.

Scientists have developed new adhesives inspired by some very sticky slugs.

Some shearwaters in Australia appear to be better than others at avoiding feeding plastic to their chicks. 

Scientists have peered inside the tooth of the extinct reptile Eilenodon.

The Museum is scanning its collection of whale specimens so that the data is easier to handle and accessible to researchers around the world.

For the first time, scientists have an image of what happens inside an ant's brain when it is infected with a parasitic worm.

A meteorite sample from the Museum collection is revealing more about how and when the crust of the Red Planet formed.

The DNA of thousands of animals, including endangered species, is being collected in a national network of freezers.

A Brazilian beetle in the genus Metallactus has been named after an ale.

A deadly fungus has been devastating populations of amphibians all over the world - but no one knew where it began until now.

Museum palaeontologist Emanuela Di Martino has been studying ancient bryozoans to understand ocean diversity.

The new centre will allow scientists to collaborate more closely and share pioneering research.

Scientists believe that the arrival of just one more ash dieback spore could kill off Europe's remaining ash trees.

In the 1830s, Darwin made a series of discoveries in South America: the mysterious remains of extinct mammals.

This discovery will allow scientists to look at the effects of climate change on blue-green algae and their toxins in Antarctica. 

Studying an Indian Ocean paradise is helping to reveal which animals living on low-lying islands are at risk from rising temperatures.

Scientists have formally given an ancient reptile a name, over 80 years since its fossils were found in Tanzania.

Researchers have been studying the magnetic fields of 4.6-billion-year-old meteorites. 

It's the most diverse part of the ocean, but plenty of people have never heard of it.

The arrival of a tiny moth in the Wildlife Garden sparked a scientific search of London.

Museum archaeologists have helped to uncover clues to the people who lived in North Africa 15,000 years ago. 

Plants appeared on Earth 100 million years earlier than scientists previously thought.

Ancient DNA reveals that the British population was all but wiped out and replaced roughly 4,400 years ago.

A piece of Martian meteorite is being returned to the red planet by NASA.

The Museum has digitised its collection of more than 70,000 parasitic lice.

A fourth mandible variation has been identified in some species of Odontolabis stag beetles and it's been named 'Boltcutter'.

A Museum scientist will be one of the first to examine a newly exposed part of the Antarctic sea floor.

A massive survey of life in the freezing seas around Antarctica has shown that they harbour many more animals than previously thought.

A newly-discovered fossil jawbone has revealed that Homo sapiens had already left Africa 180,000 years ago.

A television documentary will follow Museum scientists as they help deduce the astonishing facial appearance of Britain's oldest complete skeleton, Cheddar Man.

A new British bee has turned out to be an overlooked, long-time resident.

A new lunar meteorite has joined the Museum's collection. The sample, weighing 147 grammes, will help researchers' studies into the origin and early evolution of the Moon.

British species of shark, scallop and bee will have their genome sequenced for the first time, thanks to the efforts of Museum scientists.

The public have the chance to vote in a major genetics project helping scientists to understand more about important British species.

Scientists saved scientifically important slabs from an ammonite fossil bed after they were damaged by storms.

More than 20,000 plant specimens held at the Museum will be digitally copied.

Skins dating back 150 years are revealing the story behind the near extinction of a Chinese deer species.

Martian volcanoes are the largest in the solar system, but how fast they grow has long stumped planetary geologists.

A new species of bryozoan – large, orange and coral-like – has appeared in the historic Eastern harbour of Alexandria, Egypt.

One of the earliest examples of a symbiotic relationship between invertebrates has been found in 520-million-year-old fossils from China.

New dating of teeth from a cave in western Sumatra, Indonesia, suggests that modern humans were present in tropical southeast Asia earlier than previously thought.

A patterned prehistoric human bone from an archaeological site in Somerset has revealed that the practices of ancient cannibals were ritualistic, and not simply about survival.

Scientists have named a fearsome prehistoric crocodile after Motörhead frontman Lemmy.

Some of the highest areas of wildlife diversity in east African forest regions are not within protected areas, a study suggests.

A study of aquatic snails that carry the parasitic disease schistosomiasis has identified infection hotspots around part of Africa's Lake Victoria that could be targeted to reduce infection.

Tiny metallic 'whiskers', first spotted by a 14-year-old girl and her father, have been named Mineral of the Year for 2016. They were determined to be an undiscovered mineral species by an international team of scientists.

Bacterial samples collected by Captain Scott's Discovery Expedition more than 100 years ago have been used to assess the current state of Antarctic biodiversity.

A study of millions years of competition between a group of marine organisms shows that the bigger species regularly outcompete their smaller rivals for living space.

Fossil teeth show that sharks shrank in size and changed their diet after a major extinction event 66 million years ago.

Prof Chris Stringer comments on new research that has identified the earliest known fossils of our species, Homo sapiens.

A new approach to estimating the developmental stage of maggots turning into flies promises to help forensic entomologists with their criminal investigations.

The unusual beak of the pufferfish is produced by small tweaks to the normal programme of tooth development, research reveals this week.

Museum scientists have helped decode the genome for a snail that transmits the world's second-most deadly parasitic disease. The information could inspire new methods of disease control.

Museum human origins expert Chris Stringer comments on the implications for palaeoanthropology of new research suggesting Homo naledi lived relatively recently.

A new Museum crowdsourcing project is asking the public to help digitise scientific data about some of the world's smallest fossils, which hold clues to how ocean conditions have changed over millions of years.

Museum human origins expert Chris Stringer comments on research that suggest humans arrived in the Americas much earlier than previously thought.

An extensive, well-documented historical collection of over 22,000 birds' eggs has been donated to the Museum.

Scientists have identified a new species of ancient reptile that fills a critical gap in the fossil record of dinosaur relatives.

A Museum-led consortium is helping to predict where to find valuable metal ore deposits.

African toads that give birth to live young evolved the strategy to cope with mountainous regions lacking suitable areas of water for tadpoles to develop in.

Scientists have proposed a significant reorganisation of the dinosaur family tree, with major implications for our understanding of dinosaur origins and evolution.

An X-ray film of a fly pupa undergoing metamorphosis has, for the first time, captured minute-by-minute details of the most dramatic part of the reorganisation process.

A study reveals citizen science programmes support conservation in multiple ways.

Convergent evolution and a broad carnivorous diet are what led the warrah, or Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis), to resemble a jackal, Museum scientists have found.

Researchers have found seven new animal species living along the Southwest Indian Ridge, 3,000 metres beneath the surface of the ocean, in an area targeted for deep-sea mining.

Scientists have a new 'big data' tool to study how human activity affects the planet's biodiversity, with the publication of a gigantic database that compiles studies from across the globe.

The Museum's Library and Archives has digitised its oldest book, Historia Naturalis, to mark the tenth anniversary of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Scientists have identified three new species of parasitoid wasp - including two that previously lay undescribed in the Museum's collections.

More than 90% of British butterflies emerge earlier in years with a warm spring or summer - potentially too early for the plants they eat.

Museum scientists are investigating the possibility of using a heat-powered balloon to sample London's air.

Ancient marine fossils are providing new insights into Earth's biggest mass extinction.

Museum scientists have reconstructed the diets of extinct mammals in Britain, thanks to a new way of analysing fossilised teeth.

A bee species more commonly found in continental Europe has been spotted in Britain for the first time.

A new approach for analysing minerals in volcanic rocks is helping scientists work out what happens inside a volcano before it erupts.

New research reveals a 515-million-year-old mouth with rings of sharp teeth belonged to an ancient arthropod, giving clues to the ancestral origins of this feature.

A study of lead content in the Atlantic Ocean suggests efforts to phase out leaded petrol use have been successful. 

Turtles can tolerate warmer conditions - but their ability to cope with climate change depends on how quickly temperatures rise.

From skeletal remains found among centuries-old owl pellets, Museum scientists have recovered the first DNA sample of the extinct Caribbean mammal genus Nesophontes.

The first major study into the genes that control vision in snakes has found that the reptiles match their vision to their lifestyles. 

A toad's final meal has helped Museum scientists demonstrate the origins of the species Bufo intermedius, solving a taxonomic mystery dating back over 150 years.

An innovative method of scanning bones is improving our understanding of child mortality in Roman Britain.

New forensic methods have brought researchers a step closer to confirming the man behind an infamous scientific hoax.

A huge range of animals and plants benefit from living in protected areas across the globe, a study has revealed for the first time. 

The loss of species diversity has reached unsafe levels across 58% of the world's land.

Museum-led research uncovers the pigments that give the sea snails Clanculus pharaonius and C. margaritarius their striking pink and yellow-brown shells.

Rare insect fossils preserved in amber have revealed the camouflaging technique of carrying debris dates back more than 100 million years.

Water on the surface of the Moon was supplied by asteroids, a study has shown.

DNA sequencing by Museum scientists has revealed how endangered Australian crayfish and their symbiotic flatworms evolved together - and may soon become extinct together too.

New tests carried out on the Museum's Stegosaurus skull provide ground-breaking insights into the lifestyles of herbivorous dinosaurs

Genetic analysis involving Museum scientists reveals that an outbreak of the neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis in Corsica was caused by parasites introduced from West Africa.

Did English and Scottish water voles arrive in Britain at the same time, or did later English colonisers displace the earlier arrivals? New research unpicks data spanning 28,000 years.

Coral reefs could become a victim of their own success, according to Museum researcher Dr Ken Johnson.

Museum scientists have found that Osedax worms, which feed on the bones of whale carcasses, can live in shallow Mediterranean waters.

The first virtual models of the world's most complete dodo skeletons will allow scientists to investigate this extinct bird in new ways.

A citizen science survey launched today asks the British public to gather data on the humble earthworm, an 'ecosystem engineer' vital to the health of our soils.

A team of scientists led by Museum researchers have identified and named a new species of viper, Bitis harenna, that lives in Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains National Park.

The tendency for species diversity to be greatest near the Equator developed 34 to 48 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch, Museum scientists have found.

An analysis of 2,000-year-old bones suggests pre-Roman Britons frequently interacted with their dead, often by digging up corpses or retrieving decomposing body parts from pits.

Scientists at the Museum and the University of Exeter have discovered a chemical signature that could help miners home-in on copper deposits.

Scientists have imaged the brains of bumblebees in unprecedented detail, revealing the regions linked to learning and memory.

A genetic analysis of ancient sea sponges has provided the oldest evidence of animal life.

Schistosoma mansoni, a water-borne parasite that affects millions of people worldwide, was carried to the Americas by the slave trade, researchers have found.

New DNA evidence of interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals raises surprising questions about our species' history. Human origins expert Prof Chris Stringer explains why.

An investigation into how sharks repeatedly regenerate their teeth has found the crucial network of genes, potentially paving the way for medical breakthroughs in the future.

A new group of beetles with a heart-shaped leg joint has been discovered in the Belize rainforest by Museum scientist Max Barclay.

An unusual fossil find in south Wales has led to the discovery of a new dinosaur species.

The Museum and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have launched a $27 million (£19 million) partnership to demonstrate the feasibility of eliminating intestinal worms, which infect more than 1.45 billion people.

People from across the UK are being invited to take part in Capturing Our Coast, a £1.7-million Heritage-Lottery-funded initiative led by Newcastle University.

Vast quantities of 'missing' xenon may be trapped kilometres below Earth's surface.

Research on a Museum fossil helps explain why Neanderthal faces looked different to our own.

A new species of tropical butterfly found in a remote region of South America has been named Euptychia attenboroughi, after naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

A Museum researcher's 'midge thermometer' innovation has helped explain why the Earth was plunged into a mini ice age almost 13,000 years ago.

Museum scientists use cutting-edge imaging techniques to unravel the secrets of 517-million-year-old animals, uncovering new evidence for brain fossilisation.