An elephant, tapir, saber-toothed cat, llama, and pecarry face off with a pair of giant sloths, a pair of armadillos, a big rodent, and a terror bird, the former on the North American side and the latter on the South America; a globe is in the top left
Research and Collections

10-million-year-long Mammal Layover in Mexico Primed the Pump for the Great American Biotic Interchange Between North and South America

Published in the journal Science, a new study by NHM researchers shows that Mexico acted as a biodiversity "holding pen" for 10 million years ahead of the Great American Biotic Interchange that opened the floodgates between North and South America 2.8 million years ago.
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Native CA insects arranged into a mandala

New Study More Than Triples the Estimates of Insect Species From 6 Million to 20 Million

Ground-breaking study explodes the number of estimated insects, emphasizing the need for conservation and natural history collections
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A high school building with the words 'San Pedro Pirates' surrounding an image of a pirate mascot on the building. Signs of construction surround the building

Fossils Under San Pedro High School Reveal a Pleistocene Beach in a Miocene Sea

Discover some of the last fossils and the lasting impact of the bone beds beneath San Pedro High School
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An orca jumping out of the water

Orcas: Culture Beneath the Surface
Dive into the matriarchal culture of orcas
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Person on one knee looking at a taxidermy coyote
Research and Collections

From the David Attenborough of Queens to the First-ever Curator of Community Science, Meet Dr. Christine Wilkinson

Explore some of the common misconceptions about coyotes with our new Curator of Community Science
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two garden snails, one left-spiraling, one right-spiraling, held in a person's palm

The SNERCH for True Love: A Sinistral Snail Tale

This Snail Search season, be on the lookout for snails with counter-clockwise shells
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A small coquÍ frog in some beautiful foliage
Research and Collections

The Songs of the Coquí Frog

The soothing sounds of home or a sonic menace? How you feel about the coquí's call depends on context, but when coquí frogs call in L.A. County, NHM's Herpetology Curator Dr. Greg Pauly answers.
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A life-like painting of a large lizard lurking over a nest of dinosaur eggs with one already in its mouth

2025 Excavated: A Look Back at Some of the Biggest NHM Discoveries

From prehistoric giant lizards and ancient raccoons to newly discovered spiders and heroic extinct dugongs, NHMLAC researchers had a busy year describing new species. Meet some of the coolest creatures our researchers described this year, along with other inspiring discoveries.
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Dr. Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas holding specimens in a jar and wearing a head lamp at night
Research and Collections

Sumérgete en el mundo los Arácnidos con nuestro nuevo Curador de Entomología, el Dr. Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas

Conoce a uno de los dos nuevos curadores de Entomología del Museo de Historia Natural, NHM y explora con nosotros la biodiversidad de arácnidos secreta en las entrañas de la tierra.
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Dr. Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas holding specimens in a jar and wearing a head lamp at night
Research and Collections

Cave Dive Into Arachnids With Dr. Rodrigo Monjaraz-Ruedas, Our New Entomology Curator

Welcome one of NHM’s two new Entomology Curators and explore the secret biodiversity of arachnids deep below the Earth’s surface
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