Life through a burrowscope lens on subterranean Taumaka (Open Bay Islands)
See fur seal pups, prions, little penguins, and Fiordland crested penguins caught on camera through a burrowscope lens on Taumaka (Open Bay Islands).Read more
2016-10-10
Fascinating forget-me-not pollen
Now that springtime is upon us in New Zealand, many plants are starting to flower, producing pollen. Many of us have a negative association with pollen due to its role in causing allergies [PDF, 172KB]. But not all pollen causes allergies, and pollen is of course extremely important to the biology andRead more
2016-10-07
Birdlife of Taumaka (Open Bay Islands)
Taumaka is a 20 ha Māori-owned island lying off the South Westland coast. Administered by the Taumaka me Popotai Trust, the island is well-known as a breeding site for kekeno / New Zealand fur seals and tawaki / Fiordland crested penguins. Both species were studied on the island by studentsRead more
2016-10-03
Two new birds for New Zealand – Herald petrel and red-footed booby
Finding a new bird species for their country of residence is the holy grail for many birdwatchers. Over the last decade, new species have been detected in New Zealand at an average rate of one every 15 months. The finding of two new bird species within 2 days by the same team of observers was unprecedented – but that is what happened.Read more
2016-09-28
The Fishes of New Zealand wins top international award
Our fishes team have won with the highest award for zoological publishing – the first time a Kiwi book has even achieved this honour.Read more
2016-09-23
It’s a Bug’s Life: Our journey with science by Kiwi Kids ECC
In this post, we hear from Mia Wynyard, kaiako at Kiwi Kids ECC. Let’s find out what the ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ project has meant for this Centre one year on… We are one year on from our ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ experience and we can’t express just how much our thinkingRead more
2016-09-22
It’s a Bug’s Life – Impact of the project for Imagine Childcare
The ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ education resource is on its way – but what has been the impact of this project so far? In this post, we hear from Imagine Childcare – one of our three ECE partnership groups. They are using the expertise they gained through our research to inform their Department ofRead more
2016-09-21
Gully fern, a common New Zealand fern now in the eFloraNZ
Gully fern, also called pākauroharoha and Pneumatopteris pennigera, is one of the most common ferns in New Zealand. You’ll have almost certainly seen it if you’ve ever walked in a New Zealand forest. It occurs from the north of the North Island to the south of the South Island (althoughRead more
2016-09-03
A new microscope: how improved technology is making our work easier
Imaging specialist, Jean-Claude Stahl, has been getting to grips with our new microscope which can take incredibly sharp pictures of shells as tiny as a grain of sand.Read more
2016-09-01
Clive Roberts and one tiny iota fish
Clive Roberts is a fish biologist who joined the National Museum in 1990, shortly before it evolved into Te Papa. He has particular interests in the identification and distribution of New Zealand fishes within the wider Pacific region. This has included surveys of deep reefs, oceanic ridges and seamounts, andRead more
2016-08-22
It’s a Bug’s Life: Using the ‘5 science capabilities’ one year on
Te Papa’s ‘It’s a Bug’s Life’ project was undertaken in 2015, and has provided lots of helpful recommendations about doing science with young children. We look forward to sharing this with you soon in our upcoming resource. But, what has been the impact of this project for it’s participants? Well, Tash King – oneRead more
2016-08-16
Pat Brownsey and the cave-dwelling spleenwort
Pat Brownsey is a fern specialist who joined the National Museum (now Te Papa) botany team in 1977, and is still finding fern mysteries to solve. Pat moved to New Zealand in 1973 after completing a PhD on ferns at the University of Leeds. The abundance and diversity of fernsRead more
2016-08-15
Bruce Marshall and the volcanic vent mussel
Bruce Marshall is a self-taught malacologist (shell expert) who has worked at Te Papa, and the previous National Museum, since 1976. As collection manager of molluscs, Bruce is responsible for a vast collection of several million specimens representing more than 4,700 New Zealand species. These range in size from tinyRead more
2016-08-08
Nancy Adams, Wendy Nelson, and the Three Kings’ seaweeds
The three kings (or three wise men or magi) are Christian icons – but how many people are aware that they have seaweeds named after them? The connection is via the Three Kings Islands north-west of Cape Reinga. Known as Manawatahi to Māori, they are one of only two localitiesRead more
2016-07-20
10,000 images on New Zealand Birds Online
The 10,000th image loaded on New Zealand Birds Online might seem an unlikely image to celebrate, but it has an astonishing back-story. It is a well-camouflaged clutch of four eggs, laid by a tiny wading bird that doesn’t even breed in New Zealand. The image was taken by Russian biologistRead more
2016-07-15