Meet Sahelanthropus tchadensis. This newly unveiled bust by artist John Gurche is now on view in the the Hall of Human Origins at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. [...more]
The words “box jelly” may bring to mind something sweet and tasty, but the banded box jelly of Bonaire is a highly venomous jellyfish with a sting that can inflict serious pain. Recently discovered in the waters off the island of Bonaire in the Dutch Caribbean, this strong swimming creature has distinct brown to reddish-orange [...] [...more]
A. sediba was discovered in 2008 in the Malapa Cave at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site located outside Johannesburg. [...more]
This Yowah Nut Opal comes from Queensland, Australia and consists of precious opal deposits enclosed in an ironstone nodule. A recent gift to the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection from the Richard Ashley Foundation, the play-of-color in this opal is spectacular, with flashes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. For a full description, visit [...] [...more]
At the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., the seven-month-old white-naped cranes Cal and Bill are thriving. [...more]
The Scarlet Knight, as the glider is called, made nautical history as the first submersible glider to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean. [...more]
A diminutive bat with cinnamon-brown coloring collected in 1979 in Ecuador by mammalogist Don Wilson of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History represents a new species a recent paper in the journal “Mammalian Biology” has revealed. [...more]
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History recently acquired four remarkable gemstones and jewelry pieces for the Smithsonian’s National Gem Collection in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the museum. [...more]
Scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have found that fledgling catbirds living in the suburbs are extremely vulnerable. Almost 80 percent are killed by predators before they reach adulthood. Nearly half of the deaths are connected to domestic cats. The team studied catbird nests in 3 suburban neighborhoods in Maryland: Spring Park, Opal Daniels Park, and Bethesda. Learn more about this 2011 study by clicking here. (Catbird photo by Gerhard Hofmann)
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