Have you seen or found something in nature, but you just can't figure out what it is? Or do you have a pressing nature question you can't find the answer to? Naturalis' question service can help.
E-mail us: Natuurvraag
We are happy to help you find the answer to ‘what is this?’ questions. For example, if you have found a bone or rock, send us an e-mail with some sharp photos - preferably next to a ruler - and tell us where you found it. Every year, we receive around 2,500 questions about nature. Thanks to all the help of our collection managers, researchers and guest staff, we manage to answer most questions within a week, although sometimes it takes a bit longer.
Bestnature questions
Information specialist Alice van Duijn runs Naturalis' question service. She enjoys helping to name nature finds that you can't figure out yourself after a bit of detective work, and gets help from colleagues. On Nature Today, Alice has listed the best nature questions of recent years:
De beste natuurvragen van 2023
De beste natuurvragen van 2022
Browsing throughDutch nature
A special tool for answering nature questions is the extensive reference collection of Dutch nature, which can also be consulted in LiveScience outside consultation hours. On the shelves you will find breeding birds and mammals found in the Netherlands. The metal cabinets with a total of 128 drawers are full of insects, feathers, bones, shells, fossils, minerals and rocks. The collection also contains extraordinary fossils from sites across Europe that give a picture of different geological eras. This public collection has been assembled with great care and visitors to the hall are free to browse it to identify their own natural finds.
DIYtips
A special platform exists for assessing finds from the Maasvlakte beach, managed by Naturalis since 2020.
Oervondstchecker
Found a bone? Try the Nature Guide determination key to find out where it belongs in the body and which animal it belongs to.
Determinatiesleutel botten
Recognise a wild animal, plant or mushroom in one click with image recognition in the ObsIdentify app. Take a picture and find out what it is. Your observations and those of others are part of research into these species. Every observation counts!
ObsIdentify app
Especially for children, the 'Dierenzoeker' has been developed for recognising critters in your own habitat.
Dierenzoeker
Soortzoekers en zoekkaarten
The digital species finders and search cards of the Dutch Species Register are also a useful tool for naming garden bees, ladybirds, land snails, crayfish and dozens of other animal groups.
Nederlands Soortenregister soortzoekers
Nederlands Soortenregister zoekkaarten
Eis zoekkaarten
Morewebsite tips
Geologie van Nederland
A time travel of 500 million years with reconstructions of the Netherlands during the different time periods and descriptions of Ice Age animals and other fossils.
Natuurtijdschriften
Free to download - old but also new - articles from about eighty different nature magazines.
Paleontica
Knowledge and communication platform in the field of geology and palaeontology with determination forum.
Stranding
This is the place to report your sightings of stranded seals, whales and dolphins along the Dutch coast.
