The snail from ‘Old Zealand’
2021-10-04
Curator Invertebrates Rodrigo Salvador tells the story of the tragedy and survival of a Dutch garden snail whose shell ended up at Te Papa.Read more
What’s in a name? Keeping up to date with the taxonomy of Philippine land snails
2021-08-13
The process of collecting and identifying an organism is long and stringent. Despite this, mistakes can still be commonplace. Lorenzo Ravalo is a contractor working with us as a Natural History Technician and takes us through some of the challenges faced in keeping up to date with taxonomy. Identifying anRead more
Extinct snail Chilonopsis melanoides – from the Atlantic to Aotearoa
2021-06-14
While rummaging through cabinets, Curator Invertebrates Rodrigo Salvador found a two-centimetre treasure: the shell of an extinct snail from Saint Helena. Here he talks about the ecology of Saint Helena and how the snail ended up in a museum in New Zealand.Read more
Forgotten treasures in our collection
2020-07-28
Curator of Invertebrates Rodrigo Salvador tells about the discovery of a small but important collection of land snails that remained unnoticed in our collections since the 1930s. Read more
Long-lost relatives: Joining the dots in snail superfamilies
2020-07-07
A new DNA study by our researchers Rodrigo Salvador and Lara Shepherd revealed an unexpected land snail family across the Pacific.Read more
The carnivorous giant snails of Khandallah, Wellington
2020-04-10
Endangered giant snails that suck up earthworms like spaghetti are living in a small colony in Khandallah. Curator Invertebrates Rodrigo Salvador tells us more.Read more
Snails share their secrets
2019-07-09
Te Papa holds a surprising treasure trove of tropical land snails in its collection. These snails have important biological data to share, but remained overlooked for the last century – until Rodrigo Salvador became interested…Read more
Prehistoric desert snails
2018-12-13
Did you know snails can live in the desert? Natural history researcher Rodrigo Salvador tells us a little about a curious set of fossils discovered in Algeria.Read more
Critters of Ohinau Island
2014-02-13
Te Papa vertebrate curator Dr Colin Miskelly recently spent 12 days on Ohinau Island (east of Whitianga, Coromandel Peninsula) as part of a Te Papa seabird research team. This blog reports on some of the more impressive invertebrate species that he found on the island. Ohinau is a 43 haRead more
Wearable of the Week # 9
2013-10-25
This week’s wearable is by Sally Spackman, a recent graduate from Massey University’s fashion design degree. Made from hundreds, if not thousands of coiled pine needles, the spiralled forms that make up Powelliphanta Pine are inspired by the beautiful shells of New Zealand’s powelliphanta snails – the ‘giants of theRead more
Critters of the Poor Knights Islands
2013-02-16
Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly recently visited the Poor Knights Islands Nature Reserve, off the Northland coast, as part of a research team tracking the at-sea movements of Buller’s shearwaters. The project is led by Graeme Taylor of the Department of Conservation, and is intended toRead more
Life through a burrowscope lens (Part 2) – subterranean Poor Knights Islands
2013-02-16
Te Papa’s curator of terrestrial vertebrates Dr Colin Miskelly recently visited the Poor Knights Islands Nature Reserve, off the Northland coast, as part of a research team tracking the at-sea movements of Buller’s shearwaters. The project is led by Graeme Taylor of the Department of Conservation, and is intended toRead more