Queensland Museum arachnologist Dr Robert Raven travelled to the Central Highlands of Tasmania in February surveying spiders as part of a Bush Blitz survey. And it was during this survey that uncovered two new species of spiders in one night! Dr Raven tells the story of these great discoveries.
Continue reading Dr Robert Raven tells the story of two great spider discoveries in Tasmania
By Dr Christine Lambkin
Did you know that during 2012-13, the Queensland Museum had nearly 13,000 enquiries through the Discovery Centre alone, that’s not including the number of people who contact staff directly. Of these enquiries, the highest numbers were for insects with nearly 3000. The next were reptiles with over 2000 enquiries. Based on this enormous number, the Queensland Museum decided to offer an Animal ID day as part of National Science Week Celebrations with a focus on these two groups.
Continue reading When is a bug not a bug?
Written by: Dr Barbara Baehr, Research Scientist, Terrestrial Environments (Arachnida)
Minute goblin spiders with orange armour are widely distributed but hidden! Goblin spiders have a worldwide distribution but are most common in the tropics and subtropics. Goblin spiders are mega diverse however most of the species are short range endemics living in habitats ranging from forests to deserts. The name Goblin spiders was chosen only a few years ago because of their grotesque body shape. Most of the Goblin spiders are orange colored with an armored body.
Continue reading 71 new Australian Goblin spider species named by QM researcher
Written by: Susan Wright, Collection Manager (Insects)
Enter the depths of the insect collection and you never know what you will find.
Continue reading What’s it like to be the Collection Manager (Insects)?
Written by: Christine Robertson, Corporate Communications Officer
The fabled explorer Ludwig Leichhardt occupies a unique place in the Australian cultural imagination.
Written by: Dr Robert Raven, Head, Terrestrial Environments
In September I travelled with a team of scientists to Cape York to search for and collect Thick-legged Eastern Coastal Tarantulas, more commonly known as Whistling Tarantulas.
Continue reading Collecting and studying tarantulas in Far North Queensland
Written by: Alex Richards, Digital Marketing Coordinator
Our Collection Imager Geoff Thompson recently won several awards at the Australian Institute of Medical and Biological Illustrators (AIMBI) Awards 2013 and we’re very happy to be able to share some of his work with you here! Continue reading Award-winning images of specimens from the collection
