The Natural History Museum London

The Natural History Museum stands out as a premier destination for visitors and a key center for scientific research. We leverage the Museum's extraordinary collections and our deep knowledge to address some of the most pressing issues in our world today. Our collection boasts over 80 million items that represent billions of years of history. Each year, we draw in more than five million guests to explore our exhibits, while an additional 16 million people engage with us online. In today's world, the Museum has become more significant and impactful than ever. By bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds, we can continue to approach global challenges with innovative perspectives.

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Early pterosaur fossils are hard to find – and we might now know why

1 week ago | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

Science newsBy James AshworthFirst published 18 June 2025The early evolution of pterosaurs is a mystery, and the ancient climate might explain why. The first flying reptiles were more picky about where they lived than first realised, meaning that their fossils aren’t necessarily where they’re expected to be. Early pterosaurs loved temperate and humid habitats – and it might explain why today their fossils are hard to find.
New species of ancient Cambrian predator named after Mothra

1 month ago | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

By James AshworthFirst published 14 May 2025A hunter dating back more than half a billion years has been discovered in Canada. Mosura fentoni was a trailblazer for modern arthropods, developing adaptations that some crustaceans and arachnids re-evolved millions of years later. A finger-sized fossil has shed new light on the diversity of ancient arthropods. More than 500 million years ago, many major animal groups first appeared on Earth in a burst of evolution known as the Cambrian Explosion.
Fossil of ancient crustacean gathering reveals new insights into their lives

Mar 19, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

Caught in the actThe slab was found in the Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana, USA. These rocks are renowned for preserving fossils in fine detail, including the remains of sharks, worms and even an octopus ancestor named after former US President Joe Biden. They’re the last remnants of a marine ecosystem that existed over 320 million years ago in a monsoon climate of alternating dry seasons and heavy rain.
World’s oldest known cerapodan dinosaur discovered in Morocco

Mar 18, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

The murky Middle JurassicThe Middle Jurassic is notoriously difficult to study because of its relative lack of land-based fossils. Volcanic eruptions in what is now southern Africa and Antarctica led to rapid and extreme climate change that caused sea levels to rise sharply. As a result, there was less space for the fossils of land-based animals during this time. This means that fossils of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and other Middle Jurassic wildlife are very rare.
What is taxonomy?

Mar 15, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

Linnaean classificationCarl Linnaeus, also known as Carl von Linné, was an eighteenth-century Swedish scientist who’s often known as the ‘father of taxonomy’. Having developed a passion for plants at a young age, he would go on to revolutionise the science of classification. As a botanist, Carl Linnaeus would have been used to the long, formal Latin descriptions used to name plants.
Homo luzonensis: A small, ancient human species from the Philippines

Mar 11, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | Josh Davis |Beatrice Boutayre |James Ashworth

By Josh Davis, Beatrice Boutayre and James AshworthThe ancient human species Homo luzonensis is one of the most recent branches to be added to the human evolutionary tree. It’s also one of our most mysterious ancient relatives, with only a handful of Homo luzonensis fossils discovered so far. Find out more about this miniature member of our extended family. The story of human evolution is not straightforward.
Birds-of-paradise ‘glow’ with their skin and feathers

Feb 18, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

For some of the world’s most decorative birds, the phrase ‘positively glowing’ has taken on a different meaning. New research reveals that many birds-of-paradise emit light from special patches on their head, feet and even inside their mouths. Of the 45 species, 37 have been found to be bioluminescent, absorbing UV and blue light which they release in pale blues, greens and yellows.
Shark attacks fall to 28-year-low in 2024

Feb 13, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

In an average year, humans kill tens of millions of sharks. At the same time, about 70 people will be injured by sharks. A global shark bite census has revealed that this number has fallen even further in 2024. Just 47 unprovoked shark attacks were recorded in the latest update to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), which included four deaths.
New early bird species revealed by fossils unearthed in China

Feb 6, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

By James AshworthFirst published 12 February 2025Ancient birds may have soared over their dinosaur relatives in the Late Jurassic. A new species found in China, known as Baminornis zhenghensis, shows that early birds already had some of their characteristic features 149 million years ago. The oldest known bird with a short, modern tail has been discovered. When birds first evolved, they would have initially been very dinosaur-like.
Ancient bird skull from Antarctica might be from early duck relative

Feb 6, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

Birds evolved from dinosaurs millions of years ago – but the route from these avian ancestors to now is largely mysterious. Scientists now have a new waypoint on this journey, thanks to the discovery of a fossil skull from an ancient bird known as Vegavis iaai. While the species itself was named more than 20 years ago, its skull was a mystery until a newly identified fossil was found. The new skull shares many similarities with living birds, such as a toothless beak and a bird-like braincase.