A recent discovery has highlighted, yet again, just how poorly we know what lives around our coasts – some within sight of our major cities – especially among rocky reefs. Te Papa’s fish expert Andrew Stewart introduces us to the polkadot triplefin.Read more
Some of the fishes in our collection were collected over 100 years ago. Fish Collection Manager Andrew Stewart explains how these ‘time capsules of data’ are central in current research.Read more
Fishes of the Southern Ocean was the first book to bring together all of the identification information for fishes living in Antarctic waters. Recently, Te Papa hosted visiting editor Ofer Gon as he undertakes research for a second edition.Read more
Did you know New Zealand has its own Pokémon? It’s called Relicanth and our science researcher Rodrigo Salvador has been speculating on why this creature was chosen to represent Aotearoa.Read more
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
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
Throughout 2015, young children from three Wellington regional Early Childhood Centres (ECE) have been thinking and working as scientists as part of the ‘It’s a Bugs Life’ partnership project with Te Papa Education. In celebration of the mahi (work), their teachers and educators from Te Papa arranged for the children to come and meet with more experienced scientistsRead more
Throughout 2015, young children from three Wellington regional Early Childhood Centres (ECE) have been thinking and working as scientists as part of the ‘It’s a Bugs Life’ partnership project with Te Papa Education. In celebration of the mahi (work), their teachers and educators from Te Papa arranged for the children to come and meet with more experienced scientistsRead more
Te Papa’s second colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, is part of the displays for the upcoming Te Papa Open House on 25th July 2015 – a part of the 150th celebrations for the Wellington City as capital of New Zealand. The squid was caught in the Ross Sea in early 2014, by Captain JohnRead more
A new paper by Te Papa researchers and their colleagues from Massey University, NIWA and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, describes not one but THREE new species of hagfish. This increases the total number species found in New Zealand waters to eight. What are hagfish? These strange creatures, alsoRead more
This week to celebrate Tuvalu language week 2014 we have shared a few highlights from our collection on Instagram including a pair of taka (reef sandals). In Tuvalu taka were more than a fashion statement, for some they were a necessity. Tuvalu is a low-lying island group made up of four reef islandsRead more
On Monday, I wrote a blog about Khandallah School’s visit to our bird and insect collection. It was clear to me that the students had a wonderful time – but why not let them tell you that! This post has been written by Lara from Room 5. Last Friday IRead more
Our sunfish science extravaganza was a huge hit with adult science enthusiasts from across New Zealand – and worldwide! But could the same setup work for very young children? Mel Dash, one of Te Papa’s audience engagement team, had the inspired idea of inviting the 3 and 4 year oldsRead more
What have we learnt from our day of sunfish science? Sunfish are very hard to sex! The best we can say is that it’s a boy. We think. We’ll have to wait for the test results to determine conclusively whether it’s male or female. Jellyfish are delicious Although we can’tRead more
Te Papa recently received a rare sunfish specimen from Auckland Museum, so we decided to find out more about these mysterious ocean-dwelling animals. Here are our fascinating facts: 1.Sunfish don’t have a tail! Some people call them a ‘gigantic swimming head’ (which seems a bit rude). Instead of a tailRead more
