Illustration of a long-legged crocodile-looking reptile looks at a mammal carcass on an ancient tropical islands
Research and Collections
How Ancient Crocodile-Like Predators Ruled the Islands of the Caribbean
NHM's scientist discovers that sebicids, ancient land-dwelling crocodile-like beasts, reigned over the West Indies as apex predators after vanishing from South America
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The lower jaw of a dire wolf from La Brea Tar PIts resting on a piece of paper with the words "Last known real dirw wolf in the world!!" Aenocyon dirus lower jaw 13,082 years old' written on it
Dire Wolves: Sorry, They’re Totally Still Extinct
NHM and Tar Pits experts weigh in on why dire wolves have not, in fact, been successfully cloned, and the surprising perils of de-extinction
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Bill Ludt
Science of SpongeBob: Micro Plastics, Major Problem
Pollution like microplastics is a major problem for our real-life sea creatures behind Bikini Bottom. Find out how you can help with fish expert Dr. Bill Ludt, NHM’s Curator of Ichthyology, and Rory Hu, Nick News Correspondent. Original video from 2023
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Woman smiling on the right side of the image, Gary the snail on the right giving a slimy green thumbs up above logos reading 'Our World' and 'Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County'
Science of SpongeBob: Shell Yeah, It's Earth Month!
Gary the Snail has a posse! Discover just how many mollusks are sliming it up out there and what the shell is going on with NHM’s Curator of Malacology Dr. Jann Vendetti. Original video from 2023
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A male house finch with a little red plumage around its beak and breast alongside otherwise gray feathers being held still by a person's hand
Research and Collections
Bird banding, Wildfire Smoke, and the Nature Gardens
Researchers band birds and collect feathers in the Nature Gardens to study the impacts of wildfire smoke on birds.
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A man shows a wolf skull to another man with a beard and a woman
NHM's Mammalogy Collection with NATGEO's Ronan Donovan & Dr. Xiaoming Wang
NHM's Vertebrate Paleontology Curator tours the photographer behind the Wolves exhibition through our collections
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Silhouette of two wolves howling at sunset
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Wolves Stalking the Collections
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Wolves Stalking the Collections
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best_slug_photo snailblitz 2020 banana slug on the ground
Congratulations, Banana Slugs!
California finally has a state slug, just in time for Snail Search 2025
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House Finch Collection Drawer
Wildfire Smoke in Bird Feathers
NHM researchers look at dirty feathers to understand the effects of wildfire smoke on birds
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Juniper seeds
Solving a Juniper Seed Mystery at La Brea Tar Pits
How identifying a mysterious fossil seed reveals Ice Age climate change
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