The Latest Breaking News from the Natural History Museum

Russian Thistle Spread: weed invades 100 million acres; USDA tests blister mite control

Introduced to North America in the 1870s, Russian thistle rapidly colonized the western regions, thriving in arid and disturbed soils. Its spread was exacerbated by agricultural shipments, where seeds mixed in could disseminate widely through farms and railroads. Once dry, the weed rolls across the landscape and scatters its seeds,…

The Times of India · Sep 14

Award-winning 16-year-old photographer now highlighted in world’s leading wildlife photography competition with an almost perfectly aligned bird and airplane DSLR image

After his previous success with a split-second wildlife shot that many spend years trying to capture, the young photography talent is now shortlisted for another prestigious award

Digital Camera World · Sep 3

Eight hours after drilling an adjacent hole in the Arctic ice, this photographer finally captured a polar bear staring straight into his DSLR lens

Norwegian photographer Audun Rikardsen waited hours for this extraordinary seal's-eye view of a polar bear – now highlighted by the world's leading wildlife photography competition

Digital Camera World · Aug 31

Britain's best Jurassic fossil collection was sold to Abu Dhabi after UK museums could not raise the money to buy it

For decades, Dorset-based fossil hunter Chris Moore combed the cliffs and beaches around Lyme Regis and Charmouth, part of England's UNESCO-listed Jurassic Coast, gradually assembling a collection of 318 specimens spanning ichthyosaurs, fish and crustaceans, including fossils that could potentially represent species new to science. Under the region's fossil collecting…

The Times of India · Aug 20

Natural History Museum to reopen ‘hidden’ gallery after more than 80 years

The space was originally closed in 1943 after the museum’s herbarium was damaged during the Second World War

Evening Standard · Aug 19

Natural History Museum to reopen hidden gallery closed since Second World War

For the first time in more than eight decades, the Nature and Us gallery at the London museum will reopen after being closed to the public since 1943.

The Independent UK · Aug 19

Block export of ‘national treasure’ UK fossils, says MP

Sale of one of UK’s top collections overseas prompts call new rules to help keep items in country

The Guardian - UK · Aug 16

One of UK’s best fossil collections sold overseas in ‘loss to the nation’

Exclusive: Lack of funds left British museums unable to pay eight-figure sum for collection, which went to Abu Dhabi institution

The Guardian - UK · Aug 8

Rosemary Parslow obituary

Conservationist who became an authority on the wildlife of the Isles of Scilly and collected specimens for the Natural History Museum

The Guardian - UK · Aug 8

How rose-ringed parakeets went from escaped pets to one of Britain's most recognisable birds

Bright green, loud and unmistakable, rose-ringed parakeets have become one of the most recognisable birds in London's parks and gardens, despite having no natural historical presence anywhere in Britain. The species, native to parts of Africa and South Asia, was first confirmed breeding in the wild in Britain in 1969,…

The Times of India · Aug 4