Painting of fish market
January 16th, 2020

The determination of fishes is a piece of art

Learning about the biodiversity of fishes is a fine piece of art. And now literally, thanks to a crowd-sourcing project where you can identify fish by analyzing old paintings and drawings. Thanks to the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the Leiden…
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Baliem Valley New Guinea. Getty Images
January 8th, 2020

Scientists in action for insect conservation

Many plants on the island of New Guinea are being threatened with extinction. The indigenous languages and customs associated with the plants run the same risk of disappearing. An international team of biologists, including from Naturalis Biodiversity…
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Baliem Valley New Guinea. Getty Images
December 23rd, 2019

Naturalis ontvangt 275.000 bezoekers in 4 maanden

Many plants on the island of New Guinea are being threatened with extinction. The indigenous languages and customs associated with the plants run the same risk of disappearing. An international team of biologists, including from Naturalis Biodiversity…
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Atlanta vanderspoeli sea snail
December 14th, 2019

Marine gastropod named for discoverer after 47 years

47 years after plankton expert Siebrecht van der Spoel caught a number of sea snail in his net in the South Pacific, the snail he discovered has at long last been declared a new species. Using modern techniques, Naturalis Biodiversit Center biologists were…
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Cepaea nemoralis in different shapes and colours
November 22nd, 2019

Invasive coral is old acquaintance

A presumed invasive coral species that was discovered in the reefs around Curaçao is not invasive after all. The coral is in fact a native species that normally resides in deeper water, but has migrated to more shallow waters. That is the conclusion of of…
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Gebouw naturalis buitenkant donker
August 27th, 2019

New Naturalis future-proof

The place where all aspects of biodiversity come together On Saturday, August 31, Naturalis will reopen to the public. The renovated institute for biodiversity in Leiden is the place for everyone, where both scientists and museum visitors can discover more…
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Cepaea nemoralis in different shapes and colours
July 23rd, 2019

Hot cities shape snail evolution

Citizen science project in Communications Biology The living conditions in cities influence the evolution of urban-dwelling plant and animal species. So-called urban heat islands – pockets of higher temperatures in the city center resulting from a…
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