NEWS

The Museum’s Citizen Science Unit connects scientists and those who are curious, concerned or motivated to make a difference in their corner of the world. Museum citizen science volunteers collect data to support scientific research by making observations and documenting changes in nature. As we face global challenges, scientists need more eyes and ears than… Read More >

The Museum’s exhibits team constructing the Dueling Dinosaurs teaser wall. Dueling Dinosaurs Teaser Wall; Changing Oceans Exhibit Closed for Renovations These are exciting times at the Museum! In mid-June, the exhibits team built a wall across the first floor of the Nature Research Center at the Museum’s downtown location in preparation for construction to start… Read More >

Dr. Bryan Stuart taking a non-lethal skin swab from a Carolina Pigmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) in Onslow County, NC, for use in the study. Photos: Jeffrey G. Hall/NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Just published in Herpetological Review, this paper summarizes an extensive effort to survey for four emerging diseases of reptiles and amphibians (Ranavirus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis,… Read More >

Golden-backed Snipe Fly. Photo: B. Waller. All That Glitters Might Be Gold By Colin Brammer, Coordinator of the Natural World Investigate Lab Recently, one of our sharp-eyed visitors at Prairie Ridge Ecostation noticed a fly “adorned with gold filagree-like structure on its back.”  What they saw was a Golden-backed Snipe Fly, Chrysopilus thoracicus.  The name… Read More >

The Museum’s Research Curator of Paleontology, Christian Kammerer, has co-authored a new paper: “Cranial anatomy of Bolotridon frerensis, an enigmatic cynodont from the Middle Triassic of South Africa, and its phylogenetic significance,” published in the journal PeerJ on June 16, 2021. Bolotridon was historically one of the most poorly-known cynodonts (a group of synapsids, or… Read More >