Featured content
The Explore, or Featured Content section of the Western Australian Museum website features all our blogs, videos, photo galleries and online exhibitions, as well as information about our education services and kids content.
On this page, we have presented a stream of all the latest videos, photos and blog posts added to the site.
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Creature Feature – Stephenson’s Mantis Shrimp
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 3 days ago
Stephenson’s Mantis Shrimp, Harpiosquilla stephensoni Manning, 1969
Last week this 20 cm long monster was brought into the Museum by a curious member of the public who had managed to collect it while fishing in the Gulf of Carpentaria. With lightning-quick reflexes, frighteningly long, sharp spines and incredible vision this is an animal not to be handled with bare hands!
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Francis Street Building Demolition Slideshow
0 Video | Updated 4 days ago
This slideshow documents the demolition of the historic Francis Street Building. Read the demolition blog for in more detail of the process.
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The Western Australian Museum Fish Collection
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 6 days ago
When most people think about natural history museums, they imagine galleries of exhibits – stuffed animals and a few jars of preserved critters with panels of information. These public exhibition spaces are important for museums because it is one of the ways we tell the stories of the world around us. However, most people don’t know that what you see on display is only a tiny fraction of the collection housed at the museum and public exhibitions are only a small part of the work of the museum.
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What's in a name?
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 3 weeks ago
As scientists we usually rely on a scientific name to describe a species. This is because, for the most part, each ‘type’ of fish has only a single, unique name. It is based on a binomial system, introduced by Linnaeus in 1753. Each name comprises two words: a Genus (capitalised and italicised) and a species (lower case and italicised) name. For example the humble Australian Herring is called Arripis georgianus.
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Notes about the WA Checklist of Terrestrial Vertebrates
0 MuseumCollections blog | Updated 1 month ago
In April 2012, we published our revised Western Australian Checklist for Vertebrate Fauna. There were a few questions about some of the details raised on Facebook and Twitter. This reply was written by Ornithology curator, Ron Johnstone in response to some of the birds listings in the checklist:
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Western Australian Salmon
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 1 month ago
Every Easter, hundreds of fishermen visit the south-west corner in the hope of catching a ‘salmon’. These are no ordinary ‘salmon’ – these are Western Australian Salmon Arripis truttaceus. It is an important distinction, because they are not true salmon, in fact not even vaguely related. They belong to a family of fishes (Arripidae) found only in Australia and New Zealand, and there are only four species. A sister-species, the eastern Australian Salmon Arripis trutta occurs in south-east Australia and New Zealand (where it is called Kahawai).
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The Loss of the Koombana
0 Photo Galleries | Updated 2 months ago
In March 2012, the Museum installed an exhibition The Loss of the Koombana in a small cottage next the Port Hedland Historical Society’s Dalgety House in Port Hedland. The exhibition was developed to commemorate the centenary of Australia’s worst civilian maritime disaster, the loss of the SS Koombana in a cyclone while on a voyage between Port Hedland and Broome. These photos were taken of the exhibition just before it opened.
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This is our Dogumentary
0 MuseumPrograms blog | Updated 1 month ago
This is our Dogumentary was a documentary produced as part of the Perth International Arts Festival created in partnership with ABC Open. The Western Australian Museum — Albany was proud to be associated with creation of this documentary, and invite you to see this piece about Albany's iconic Dog Rock.
This is our Dogumentary - http://open.abc.net.au/posts/this-is-our-dogumentary-95ft1iy
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Creature Feature – Toxic Crabs
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 1 month ago
Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and prawns are a major component of peoples’ diets around the world with eleven million tonnes caught or cultured annually. Despite a considerable diversity of crustacean species in Australia, only a handful of species are harvested as part of commercial or recreational fisheries. In Western Australia there are only about a half-dozen crab species that are commonly seen in seafood restaurants or fish markets, with the blue swimmer and mud crabs being the most common.
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Debt of Honour introduction by Paul Bridges
0 Video | Updated 3 weeks ago
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Debt of Honour introduction by Stephen Anstey
0 Video | Updated 2 months ago
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Debt of Honour introduction by James Dexter
0 Video | Updated 2 months ago
Harry Butler - Congratulations
0 MuseumPrograms blog | Updated 2 months ago
Congratulations to Dr Harry Butler on his recent appointment as a National Living Treasure.
The National Trust of Australia (NSW)’s National Living Treasures list recognises 100 individuals who’ve made an outstanding contribution to society.
Harry is known for his tireless naturalist and conservation work, having played a major role in the conservation and restoration of Australia’s environment over the past 50 years.
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Creature Feature: Pandarus rhincodonicus
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 2 months ago
Even the biggest animals have fleas, and the mighty whale shark is no exception. Pandarus rhincodonicus, is a small crustacean, barely reaching one centimetre in length, belonging to a group of crustaceans known as copepods which are normally known to be free-living and a dominant group within planktonic communities. However, many species are bottom dwellers or parasites of other marine animals, particularly fish. Pandarus rhincodonicus was first discovered in WA and was only named and formally described in 2000.
Vanessa Kredler
0 MuseumPrograms blog | Updated 3 months ago
UNESCO Program Specialist Vanessa Kredler gave a public lecture at UWA on Wednesday 29 February 2012 on the role of museums as agents for social change. This lecture was presented by UWA, with support form the WA Museum. You can hear her lecture through UWA's site: http://prod.lcs.uwa.edu.au:8080/ess/echo/presentation/23db7dfc-91ef-40ab-8b9c-64897e5d92d3
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Japanese Rubyfish - a new record for Western Australia
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 2 months ago
A photograph of an unusual fish was recently brought to our attention by fishermen on a popular WA-based fishing forum (www.fishwrecked.com). It certainly got us thinking, and after diving into the literature and speaking to colleagues, we are convinced that we have an exciting new record for WA. The fish is known as a Japanese Rubyfish Erythrocles schlegelii (Richardson in 1846), in the family Emmelichthyidae (bonnetmouths).
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City of Lights
0 Photo Galleries | Updated 3 months ago
On 20 February 2012 WA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of a very significant event. On that day in 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in the Friendship 7 spacecraft. The State Records Office of Western Australia and WA Museum, working with the City of Perth, the Hills Amateur Radio Group, the Amateur Radio International Space Station and NASA organised a free public event, which included a live feed from the International Space Station where young students got to ask a real astroanut a question. This photo gallery documents the event.
Creature Feature: Neopetrolisthes maculatus
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 3 months ago
On the tropical reefs of Western Australia the stunning Neopetrolisthes maculatus is always found living on or around large sea anemones. Like the clown fish, these spotty little crabs are protected from potentail predators by the stinging tentacles of the sea anemone. Only a single pair of crabs can be found on each host as the crabs will defend their territory from rivals. Despite their impressive claws these are not used for capturing food, but are probably used fend off potential home invaders.
Dr. Harry Butler – a living treasure
0 MuseumCollections blog | Updated 3 months ago
Naturalist, conservationist and Western Australian Museum Fellow Dr. Harry Butler has been nominated for the prestigious National Trust's 100 National Living Treasures list.
Dr. Harry Butler is a long time supporter and the name bearer of the WA Museum’s Harry Butler Lecture Series In The Wild West.
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Molecular Systematics Laboratory - An introduction from Alec Coles
0 Video | Updated 2 months ago
This video is an interview with WA Museum CEO Alec Coles, OBE, about the launch and development of the museum's Molecular Systematics Laboratory - officially opened on 2 February 2012.
