This first ‘Specimen of the Month’ for 2022 is the organ pipe coral (Tubipora musica). This specimen is of great significance to the UNE Natural History Museum; it was collected as part of the first coral survey ever conducted in Australia by the ‘godfather of...
This month’s UNE Natural History Museum’s specimen of the Month is the European Mole (Talpa europea). European moles are small burrowing or ‘fossorial’ mammals that live across most of Europe, commonly in England, Wales and Scotland. Their distribution extends from Britain east to central Russia,...
This month we will look at the Nine-Banded Armadillo, scientifically known as Dasypus novemcinctus. The name translates from Greek to nine-banded (novem: nine, cinctus: bands) turtle-rabbit (Dasypus). Contrary to its name the nine-banded armadillo can have 8-11 movable bands across its back, forming part of...
The cane toad (Rhinella marina) is a large species of toad originally from South America, but now found throughout the Pacific, the Caribbean and tropical areas of north-eastern New South Wales, Queensland and across northern Australia. Cane toads famously have poison glands that exude a...
This month’s specimen is the Long-nosed Bandicoot, known scientifically as Perameles nasuta. The name translates from Greek and Latin as ‘long-nosed pouched badger’ – but of course, bandicoots are marsupials, raising their young in a pouch (incidentally, the common name ‘bandicoot’ comes from a large...
In keeping with the Monotreme theme of last month’s specimen, this month we will take a closer look at the platypus. Australia is home to two monotremes (egg-laying mammals) – the short-beaked echidna and the platypus....
This wonderful old display specimen from the UNE Natural History Museum is a teaching tool that has allowed generations of students to see the forelimb structure and pectoral girdle of the short-beaked echidna – Australia’s only echidna species, and one of two monotremes (egg-laying mammals)...
Don’t be fooled (did you see what I did there?) by the beauty of the textile cone – like all cone snails, they are predatory, using their harpoon-like radula to pierce their prey – mostly other snails – immobilising them with an injection of powerful...
These specimens are used entirely for teaching, allowing zoology students to see up close the structure of the bill of different water birds. The great strength of natural history collections – including our wonderful UNE Natural History Museum – is that they allow people to...
Big, hairy and scary, and with venom to match its fierceness, the name ‘formidabilis’ was well chosen for this impressive spider that rears up to display its fangs when confronted. They’re not bluffing either – their venom is similar to the related Sydney funnel-web spider...