8 Feb 2011Creature Feature: Zebra Mantis ShrimpAll seeing, all knowing: the Zebra Mantis Shrimp Lysiosquillina maculata (Fabricius, 1793)Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
8 Feb 2011Creature Feature: Peacock Mantis ShrimpFight Club: the Peacock Mantis Shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus (Linneaus, 1758) Mantis Shrimp belong to a group of crustaceans, called stomatopods, only distantly related to shrimps and prawns you would normally see on your dinner plate. They get their common name from the enlarged second limb, referred to as the claw, which is very reminiscent of the front legs of the praying mantis. Much like the praying mantis in your back garden, mantis shrimp also use these limbs for capturing prey, with which they launch lightning fast attacks. Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
7 Dec 2010Moving megamouthIn September this year we moved the mighty megamouth shark. He was living in a 7000 litre tank of ethanol at our Perth Museum. In 2011, demolition works were going to be performed at the nearby Francis Street Building, and 7000 litres of ethanol was a bit too dangerous to have so closeby. Thus, a monumental move was planned. Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
26 Nov 2010Creature Feature: Giant Marine SlaterWestern Australia’s Giant Marine Slater, Bathynomus pelor Bruce, 1986Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
12 Nov 2010Farewell Pompeii – Howdy MenagerieThe exhibition department always get to work on the cool stuff in the museum. After A Day in Pompeii exhibition closed to the public it was time for us to break it down. That included working with conservators and registrars to pack up and crate the objects ready for Singapore. A Day in Pompeii Image from WA Museum Image copyright of WA Museum Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
12 Nov 2010Wild About WetlandsWhen WA Museum’s Perth Education team was asked to present some Froggy Fun workshops at Herdsman Lake’s Biodiversity Bash, they hopped at the chance! The three-day event, run in October by the Herdsman Lake Wildlife Centre and the WA Gould League, celebrated wetland biodiversity with a range of exciting hands-on activities for primary school students, including hunting for water bugs, meeting some wetland birds and learning some Noongar hunting skills.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
5 Nov 2010Creature Feature: long-eyed swimmer crabPodophthalmus vigil (Fabricius, 1798), the long-eyed swimmer crab. There are approximately 100 species of swimming or paddle crabs in Australian waters, the most familiar being the tasty blue swimmer and mud crabs. The remarkable long-eyed swimmer crab is easily identified by its enormously long eye stalks – a feature not seen in any other species of Australian swimming crab. The long-eyed swimmer crab is found in shallow sandy or muddy areas in tropical regions of the Indo-Pacific, having been found from the Red Sea, South Africa to Japan and Hawaii.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
14 Oct 2010Gold from the vaultOne of our best kept secrets lies under the WA Museum Kalgoorlie-Boulder site. The recently refurbished gold vault provides the first glimpse of things to come with the redevelopment of the mezzanine area due to open early December 2010. Once again our talented exhibition designers used a mixture of application programs to design the layout and graphics for the fit-out. The objects were carefully propped in a secret location by the amazing Shaun Chambers after a new lighting system was installed to enhance the display. Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
1 Oct 2010This is what we call the poppet show…Last time we posted on the blog, we detailed how the slipway site, bogies and poppets were getting cleaned up by the incredible students at the Challenger TAFE. This next instalment is an update about what’s been happening on site recently. Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
30 Sep 2010Creature Feature - The Striated Hermit CrabThe Striated Hermit Crab, Dardanus arrosor (Herbst, 1796); or Lonesome No More!Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum