News

Within the world of dinosaurs Xu Xing is a globally important figure.

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

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

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

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.

The cacophony in the oceans is preventing whales from making themselves heard.

A new study of Tridentinosaurus suggests that preserved skin is just black paint.

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

Satellite images have revealed a missing 64,000 square kilometres of coral cover, an area similar to the size of Ireland.

The first State of the World’s Migratory Species report found that countries aren’t doing enough to save threatened species.

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

Nima Sarikhani’s stunning picture of a sleeping polar bear was crowned 2023's People's Choice.

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

Has the world already passed a critical level of global warming? A new paper claims so.

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

The fishing of sandeels in the UK’s portion of the North Sea will be banned from April.

The first modern humans to live in northern Europe arrived more than 45,000 years ago.

Invasive ants are reducing tree cover on the savannah, causing lions to hunt buffalo over zebra.

Scientists have successfully managed to perform IVF on a rhino for the first time.

Wells, streams and springs are in danger of going dry as we take water out of the ground faster than it can be replaced.

The private collections of Sir Hans Sloane formed the basis of the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the British Library.

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.

The Natural History Museum has teamed up once more with The Royal Mint.

Our scientists have contributed papers on everything from deep sea diversity to marsupial evolution. 

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

A case of mistaken fossil identity has been resolved after 20 years.

Nations around the world have agreed to protect 30% of the land and sea by the year 2030.

An extraordinary dinosaur fossil has revealed what young tyrannosaurs were eating over 70 million years ago.

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

The mystery of the whipnose anglerfish’s extraordinarily long lure might have finally been solved.

Discover this year's shortlisted images and don't forget to vote for your favourite. 

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

Welcome to the next era of natural history collections. 

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.

A new study suggests that levels of ozone have declined by as much as 26% over the south pole.

Their style of mating is more similar to birds than any known mammal.

Crocodiles have a deep and varied evolutionary past.

Jaculinykus yaruui is thought to have dug for food using an enormous thumb on each hand.

Microplastics in the atmosphere might encourage the formation of clouds.

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

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

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

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.

Earth’s climate is entering “uncharted territory” – and we have no idea what’s coming next. 

Professor Chris Stringer, our longest-serving researcher, is set to be honoured for his contributions to human evolution.

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.

The last remaining wildernesses on Earth could be swept away to feed humanity’s growing appetite.

Dental plaque may help to reveal what prehistoric humans ate.

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.

The image, titled The Golden Horseshoe, has won Laurent Ballesta his second Wildlife Photographer of the Year Grand Title award.

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

African wildlife is more than twice as likely to flee from the sound of humans than lions.

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

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

The National Education Nature Park will create a network of green spaces right across the country.

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

For the first time ever, researchers have found a trilobite’s final meal.

Wildlife in the UK has declined on average by 19% since monitoring began in 1970.

Around the world, over 3,600 whales and dolphins are being kept in captivity.

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.

Rising temperatures and habitat loss could spell an uncertain future for bumblebees in Europe.

Red imported fire ants are one of the world’s most damaging invasive species.

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.