28 Jun 2012Whale Shark for LunchMuseums are wonderful places, with collections that are full of history and from time to time real gems and interesting stories pop up among the artefacts and specimens. Among the Western Australian Museum’s large fish collection, we have a few shelves of dry material – mostly skulls, bones and teeth. We recently had a research visitor to the museum working with our Department of Palaeontology: Dr.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
25 Jun 2012Why freshwater crayfish don’t need milk for healthy bonesTwo curious looking ‘stones’ collected from a dam near Lake Yindarlgooda out in the Goldfields were brought into the Museum by inquisitive members of the public. These mushroom shaped stones are made of calcium carbonate, the main mineral in human bones, coral skeletons and the shells of oysters and abalone.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
18 May 2012Creature Feature – Stephenson’s Mantis ShrimpStephenson’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!Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
15 May 2012The Western Australian Museum Fish CollectionWhen 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.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
27 Apr 2012What's in a name?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. Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
5 Apr 2012Western Australian SalmonEvery 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). Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
16 Mar 2012Creature Feature – Toxic CrabsCrustaceans 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.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
5 Mar 2012Creature Feature: Pandarus rhincodonicusEven 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.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
29 Feb 2012Japanese Rubyfish - a new record for Western AustraliaA 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).Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
16 Feb 2012Creature Feature: Neopetrolisthes maculatus 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.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
19 Nov 2011Tides & Islands – Day 12 – Rodrigo and the Darlek These video diaries document the October 2011 field trip into remote areas of the Kimberley. This field trip was part of the Marine Life of Kimberley project to study and understand the marine biodiversity of the area. Read more Video Danny Murphy
19 Nov 2011Tides & Islands – Day 12 – Sap Sucking SlugsThese video diaries document the October 2011 field trip into remote areas of the Kimberley. This field trip was part of the Marine Life of Kimberley project to study and understand the marine biodiversity of the area. Read more Video Danny Murphy