Research & collections
0 Page | Updated 4 weeks ago
The Western Australian Museum is one of the State's premier centres of excellence in the areas of natural sciences, anthropology, archaeology and history.
Museum scientists and curators work in the fields of Aquatic Zoology, Archaeology and Anthropology, Conservation, Earth and Planetary Sciences, History, Maritime Archaeology, Maritime History and Terrestrial Zoology.
Our staff have specialist, often internationally regarded expertise in their areas and work extensively with other museums and universities both nationally and overseas.
Museum staff carry out extensive research and field work and have produced some of the State's most exciting scientific finds including: the Gogo fish; ancient megafauna such as Thylacoleo carnifex; new species of frogs, reptiles and spiders; and an abundance of new marine species along the vast WA coastline.
This page contains a stream of all the most recently added and updated content from our researchers and scientists. All other content can be explored via the menus.
Featured Research Websites
Marine Life of the Kimberley Region
0 Online Exhibition
Marine Life of the Dampier Archipelago
0 Online Exhibition
0 Online Collection Resource
0 Online Collection Resource
-
The Western Australian Museum Fish Collection
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 2 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.
-
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.
-
Notes about the WA Checklist of Terrestrial Vertebrates
0 MuseumCollections blog | Updated 4 weeks 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:
-
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).
-
Creature Feature – Toxic Crabs
0 Aquatic Zoology blog | Updated 4 weeks 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.
-
Debt of Honour introduction by Paul Bridges
0 Video | Updated 2 weeks ago
-
Debt of Honour introduction by Stephen Anstey
0 Video | Updated 2 months ago
-
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.
-
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).
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.
-
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.
Anthropology and Archaeology Podcasts
0 Departmental resources | Updated 1 month ago
Moya Smith Interview
29/10/2011 - Steve Gordon talks to Dr Moya Smith.
© 6PR Perth. As heard on Steve Gordon's "The Way We Were" program, 6PR Perth.