8 Feb 2024Best specimen of the rare Night Parrot on display in the world.Once thought to be extinct, a specimen of the elusive Night Parrot is now on display for the first time at the WA Museum Boola Bardip. The Western Australian Museum’s recent acquisition of a whole specimen is the most significant one collected since the 1800s and only the 4th complete specimen collected in Western Australia. It is also the best representation of the Night Parrot in any museum around the world and will provide a significant opportunity for WA Museum visitors to view the elusive bird up close.Read more News Flora Perrella
22 Jan 2024New scientific paper disputes body shape of extinct megalodon sharkThe Western Australian Museum was part of an international team of 26 leading shark palaeontologists and neontologists who have challenged a recently published interpretation of the body shape of the megatooth shark Otodus megalodon.Read more News Flora Perrella
8 Dec 2023Two new species of trapdoor spiders discovered in Western AustraliaA research team led by Dr Mark Harvey from the Western Australian Museum’s Terrestrial Zoology department has discovered two new species of trapdoor spiders, bringing the total of named trapdoor spiders to over 200 in WA. The other researchers, Dr Jeremy Wilson from the University of Western Australia, and Dr Michael Rix from the Queensland Museum, assisted in the study.Read more News Flora Perrella
19 May 2023One of the world’s largest public sculpture projects hits PerthOne of the world's largest public art projects has arrived in Western Australia to raise awareness about endangered animals. 'Wild About Babies' is designed by artists Gillie and Marc and features 21 bronze sculptures of endangered species from across the globe. The free exhibition is launching on International Endangered Species Day.Read more News Robyn Ambrosius
18 May 2023Saving the World… Museums, Sustainability and Well-beingInternational Museum Day Opinion Piece by Alec Coles, CEO WA Museum On May 18th we celebrate International Museums Day. Since 2020, the theme for this annual celebration has supported the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s theme Museums, Sustainability and Well-being, focuses on the following three goals:Read more News Robyn Ambrosius
31 Mar 2023Giant marine reptiles rule the WA Maritime MuseumMillions of years ago, while dinosaurs ruled the land, ferocious reptiles over 20 metres long hunted and ruled the sea. Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Ocean Predators exhibition opens at WA Maritime Museum tomorrow, Saturday 1 April, and is set to scare and amaze visitors with its life-sized casts from real specimens and fossils never-before-seen in WA. Sea Monsters features more than 70 exhibits and tells the fascinating story of these once land-dwelling creatures that adapted to the sea.Read more News Madeleine Pengelly
10 Nov 2022 The fishy work of WA Museum’s fish scientistDr Glenn Moore is the Curator of Fish at WA Museum and the State-recognised authority for the identification and taxonomy of marine and freshwater fish. He is regularly involved in scientific projects to grow our understanding of Western Australian biodiversity and biogeography. In his role as Curator, Glenn is responsible for maintaining the quality, documentation and development of the State’s fish collection, which includes almost 200,000 specimens from around the world. Read more News Kasper Johansen
12 Oct 2022Life as an Aquatic Zoologist: The important work of Dr Lisa KirkendaleHave you ever wondered what interesting facts slimy aquatic snails and underwater creatures can tell us about the world they live in? Also known as “molluscs”, these gastropods are the second largest phylum (or group) of invertebrate animals in the world. Although some can measure just a few millimetres, these mighty molluscs are powerhouses of information and provide important insights into aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.Read more News Kasper Johansen
16 Sep 2022WA Museum fieldwork research on pseudoscorpions, assassin bugs and bandicoots on Wunambal Gaambera CountryA recent fieldtrip with Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC), saw some of our scientists carry out exciting research on Wunambal Gaambera Country in the far north of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Joining the fieldtrip from the Western Australian Museum was Head of Terrestrial Zoology and Curator of Arachnids and Myriapods Dr Mark Harvey, Curator of Mammalogy Dr Kenny Travouillon, Curator of Entomology Dr Nikolai Tatarnic, and Technical Officer Jenelle Ritchie.Read more News Yoshika Kon
14 Sep 2022Precious black cowrie shell donated to WA Museum Boola BardipIn a generous act of philanthropy, an incredibly rare and valuable black cowrie shell found in Western Australian waters was recently gifted to the Western Australian Museum’s Aquatic Zoology department. Hailing from the Mollusc phylum, the Leporicypraea geographica rewa form rovae cowrie shell was found off the coast of Exmouth in a 24-metre-deep sea sponge garden. More commonly known as sea snails, cowries are nocturnal by nature, living in underwater caves and hiding under rocks during the day and feeding on coral and algae at night.Read more News Yoshika Kon
17 Aug 2022Seven pseudoscorpion species believed to be new to science discoveredSeven pseudoscorpion species believed to be new to science have been discovered by our Head of Department and Curator (Arachnids and Myriapods) Dr Mark Harvey on a Bush Blitz expedition in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia. The discovery was made at Charnley River Station, an Australian Wildlife Conservancy property, and at Wunaamin Conservation Park.Read more News Yoshika Kon
12 Aug 2022Herpetology – the study of amphibians and reptiles in action at the Museum of GeraldtonAs part of National Science Week 2022, the Museum of Geraldton are featuring three Western Australian herpetologists for Public Talk: Wildlife Research in Action on Wednesday 17 August. Herpetology is the study of amphibians and reptiles, and new and exciting discoveries within the Western Australian Museum Collections and Research continue to be made every year.Read more News Yoshika Kon
5 Aug 2022Rare Ruby seadragon donated to the WA Museum It is not every day you stumble across the rare Ruby seadragon but for one Denmark local, Annika Engstrom, the perfectly intact specimen was a lucky find in March 2022. Annika spotted the colourful creature on the sand directly in front of the Denmark Surf Club and caught the eye of Bernie Wong who was on lifeguard patrol and who instantly recognised it as a Ruby seadragon. The Ruby seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea) was discovered and identified as a new species in 2015 by a team that included the WA Museum’sRead more News Yoshika Kon
20 Apr 2022Protection of Cultural Objects on Loan (PCOL) – Dinosaurs of PatagoniaThe information below describes the objects borrowed by the Western Australian Museum for the Dinosaurs of Patagonia exhibition from the Museo Paleontologico Egidio Feruglio. Dinosaurs of Patagonia will be on display at the Western Australian Museum Boola Bardip, in the Perth Cultural Centre, Perth WA 6000, from the 2nd of July 2022 until the 23rd of October 2022.Read more Article Katherine Jeffries
16 Mar 2022Stunning photographs of the natural world to go on show at the Museum of the GoldfieldsThe Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year exhibition will open at the Museum of the Goldfields this Saturday, 19 March. The annual Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition celebrates the unique beauty of the flora, fauna and landscapes of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea bioregions through the lenses of professional, emerging and junior photographers. Every year the finalists and winners of the competition are featured in an exhibition produced by the South Australian Museum.Read more News Yoshika Kon
13 Mar 2019WA and UK researchers discover new species of extinct Australian mammal A team of researchers led by the Western Australian Museum and the Natural History Museum in London has discovered a new species of very small, incredibly fast extinct Australian Pig-footed Bandicoot. Dr Kenny Travouillon, Curator of Mammalogy at the WA Museum, said the discovery of Chaeropus yirratji is a breakthrough for science as little was known about the mammal previously.Read more News Hillary Henry
9 May 2018Five new species of lizards discovered in the Kimberley, Pilbara and Northern TerritoryFive new species of lizards from the Kimberley, Pilbara, and Northern Territory were recently described by a scientific team led by Western Australian Museum curator of herpetology Dr Paul Doughty. Dr Doughty said the descriptions include three new gecko species of the genus Gehyra, from the north-west Kimberley region: the Southern Spotted Gecko (Gehyra pseudopunctata); the Kimberley Granular-toed Gecko (Gehyra granulum); the Northern Kimberley Gecko (Gehyra pluraporosa).Read more News Flora Perrella
15 Apr 2017The BilbyMacrotis lagotis This grey to cream furred marsupial has a long, pointed nose, large ears, and a half black, half white tail. A male of the species can weigh up to 2.5 kilograms. As a nocturnal animal, the Bilby spends the night foraging for insects, seeds, bulbs, fruit, and fungi. During the day, a bilby will retreat to a burrow that may be up to three metres long, often constructed beneath a shrub, termite mound or spinifex tussock.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
27 Sep 2016Three New Gecko SpeciesRecent WA Museum-led research has described three new gecko species – the smallest geckos to be found in Australia. Geckos are a type of lizard found in warm climates all over the world. There are about 1500 species of gecko worldwide, most of which are nocturnal and lack eyelids. The Cape Range Clawless Gecko (Crenadactylus tuberculatus) is Australia’s smallest gecko, reaching just over 4cm in length, including the tail.Read more Article Western Australian Museum
20 Sep 2016No Dissection NecessaryEarlier this year, Western Australian Museum Technical Officer (Molluscs) Corey Whisson and fellow scientist Dr Abraham Breure published a research article called "A new species of Bothriuembryon (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Bothriembryontidae) from south-eastern Western Australia" in ZooKeys.Read more Article Western Australian Museum