The rowi is New Zealand’s rarest kiwi with only about 600 individuals left in the wild in a single population at Ōkārito. A number of suspected hybrids between rowi and little spotted kiwi have been found over the years.Read more
In December 2020, Te Papa botanists Heidi Meudt and Antony Kusabs were in the field with three North Island iwi: Tamakaimoana, Ngāti Porou, and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui. Worryingly, their search for rare forget-me-nots was unsuccessful. But their collaborative mahi struck a meaningful chord.Read more
Neither snow nor rain nor wind nor gloom of night stays these botanists. On a field trip to the South Island in January 2021, botanists Heidi Meudt and Antony Kusabs went to some extreme measures to collect forget-me-nots and other plants for our research and collections.Read more
The name Apteryx haastii was applied to great spotted kiwi in 1872. However, a recent study by Researcher Lara Shepherd, Vertebrate Curator Alan Tennyson, and collaborators, has shown that Apteryx haastii is not what we thought it was.Read more
Wellington recently competed in the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge. During the four days of the Challenge people recorded as many observations and species as possible. Science researcher Lara Shepherd was shocked that the introduced weed old man’s beard was the second-equal most observed species in Wellington. Read more
How many species of plants and animals do you think you could find in only four days? This year Wellington participants in the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge found 1537 species! Our Researcher Lara Shepherd and Curator Botany Leon Perrie summarise what was discovered.Read more
A team of keen birders recently participated in an 11-day trip to the remote Kermadec Islands, about 800 km north-east of mainland New Zealand. Several of the species they encountered are rarely seen or photographed – in New Zealand or anywhere. Trip organiser Scott Brooks has loaded more than 70 of his stunning images from the trip on to New Zealand Birds Online. Curator Vertebrates (and NZ Birds Online administrator) Colin Miskelly showcases the best of Scott’s Kermadec bird images.Read more
Botany curator Leon Perrie describes how a New Zealand fern’s closest relative has turned up in an unexpected place.Read more
Curator of Invertebrates Rodrigo Salvador led the team investigating how science communication of invertebrate animals is done and how the general public feels about it. Here he talks about some of the findings.Read more
Curator of Botany Leon Perrie discusses some of the rules governing scientific names, and explains why we can continue using the name Coprosma grandifolia – at least for now.Read more
Curator Asian New Zealand Histories Dr Grace Gassin introduces Making Histories – a Te Papa project exploring different experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more
Because they are small and don’t come in big numbers, they’re often overseen and most people don’t even know of their existence. Invertebrates curator Julia Kasper introduces New Zealand native bees, and explains why they are so important, their biggest threats, and what is being done to help.Read more
A team comprised of staff from Te Papa and the Department of Conservation (DOC) recently spent a week surveying islands in northern Fiordland. In this second blog based on the trip, vertebrates curator Colin Miskelly describes some of the sites visited and discoveries made.Read more
Five Te Papa staff recently joined Department of Conservation colleagues on a boat-based survey of islands in central and northern Fiordland. One of the species they were hoping to learn more about was the mysterious grey-backed storm petrel. Vertebrates curator Colin Miskelly explains why this tiny bird was on their radar, and what they found.Read more
Earlier this year, Te Papa botanists hunted for uncommon forget-me-nots in a very special place: Hikurangi, East Cape.Read more
