The silver fern is one of the favoured symbols for a new flag. Aside from being one of New Zealand’s icons, the silver fern is a real plant. But being on a nation’s flag deserves a background check – what is the silver fern? It’s also known as ponga (theRead more
Keeping track of our protected species populations and their distribution is one of the tasks of biologists, and this summer Te Papa scientists surveyed sites in the Mercury Islands group for seabird populations. Flesh-footed shearwaters Puffinus carneipes breed throughout northern New Zealand, with a total population size in New Zealand ofRead more
If you were lucky enough to be at Te Papa at 10:30 on either Tuesday or Thursday these last two weeks then you may have got some hands-on science in your day. Last week, Mel Dash from Audience Engagement helped visitors learn more about states of matter. In particular, theRead more
As well as impressive plants, Mount Owen and the Marino Mountains are also zoologically interesting. The wet weather may have prevented us reaching the summit of Mount Owen but it did bring out the slugs and snails. We spotted a giant leaf-veined slug (Amphikonophora gigantea) beside the track on theRead more
There are currently five recognised species of fern on the Snares Islands, the closest sub-antarctic island group to New Zealand. North East Island, the main island of the Snares group, slopes gently downhill from the tall, tussock covered western cliffs towards the forested east coast, creating four small catchments, which drain intoRead more
Packed full of stunning pictures, detailed information and beautiful bird calls, NZ Birds Online is an online encyclopaedia of birds created in collaboration between Te Papa, DOC and OSNZ. We’re indebted to the photographers who’ve shared their images with us – and now the world! Joining us for our Meet the photographers series is Craig McKenzie, discussing the perils of tooRead more
Over the holidays I was fortunate to spend a few days botanising the Marino Mountains, including Mount Owen, in north-west Nelson’s Kahurangi National Park. Kahurangi National Park is one of the most botanically interesting regions in New Zealand. Nearly half of New Zealand’s native plant species and 80% of ourRead more
From the 23rd-30th of December 2013 I was given the opportunity to join Rodney Russ and his team at Heritage Expeditions on board the Spirit of Enderby for a week long adventure to the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands. The Heritage Expedition Trust awards several scholarships each year to help youngRead more
Happy New Year to you all! How was your summer birding? The NZ Birds Online team have been out and about enjoying the flora and fauna of New Zealand. Colin was lucky enough to get to Snares Island to see some of the subterranean avian inhabitants. We’re continuing our Meet the photographers series – as ever,Read more
The vascular flora of the Snares Islands is limited, at only 22 species (including one hybrid Poa). Despite this, my first impression of the main island was an island covered with lush vegetation. And there are still some botanical challenges – we failed to locate the fern Histiopteris incisa for instance. Read more
A new species of tree fern has recently been named after Te Papa botany curator and fern expert Leon Perrie. The fern, Dicksonia perriei, occurs only in New Caledonia mostly on acidic soils at altitudes above 1000m, in areas of high rainfall. The new species is related to the three otherRead more
This was one of the key questions that we were trying to answer when four Te Papa scientists – Colin Miskelly, Antony Kusabs, Jean-Claude Stahl and I – set off for the subantarctic Snares Islands in November-December 2013. The Snares are one of the world’s great seabird islands and broad-billedRead more
A Te Papa team recently visited the Snares Islands, 105 km south-southwest of Stewart Island, where they completed a range of seabird research projects. The most time-consuming task was a re-survey of the vast sooty shearwater (titi, or muttonbird) population there. Estimating the population size was based on two mainRead more
I was recently fortunate to be jetboated up the Whanganui River to collect plants. I hadn’t been in a jetboat before, but more significant than the fun of that novelty, it was a wonderful opportunity to get into an area whose botany has been little studied. The Department of Conservation’sRead more
Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly is researching the life and work of the Canterbury naturalist Edgar Stead (1881-1949). This includes re-taking Stead’s photos from the same photo-point, taking other images to illustrate his diaries, and describing how the ecology and wildlife of each of 11 islandsRead more
