Andrea Hart

Black-and-white historical illustration titled "Models of Laelaps Restored" showing two detailed dinosaur models. One dinosaur is depicted in mid-air, seemingly leaping or attacking, with a long tail, textured skin, and visible claws. The other dinosaur lies on its back beneath, with an open mouth and raised limbs, suggesting a defensive or defeated position. The scene is set on a rectangular base, with textured ground beneath the dinosaurs. The image has a caption crediting the American Museum of Natural History and Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn, dating from 1910.

🦕 Extinct monsters and creatures of other days
London: Chapman & Hall, 1910.

[Source]

BIG NEWS: For the first time in six years, Britain's rarest breeding bird has successfully nested in the UK!

A pair of Montagu's Harriers have raised four healthy chicks, all of which have taken their first flights.

One of the cuddliest, fluffiest predators on the planet.

Hyperechia consimilis (Asilidae), female. This beauty was collected from Mulanje Massif, or Mt Mulanje in southern Malawi. She is over a hundred years old....

@dipterists.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social #digitising

I’m getting “oh really” or “do I have to listen to this for the umpteenth time” vibes from this marmoset drawn by Weber in Wagner’s Die Säugthiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur (pl.13, supplementband, 1855). #animalexpressions #specialbooks #illustration

Richard Owen was born #OTD 221 years ago .. Also born on 20th July: Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), Jimmy “Teddy Bears’ Picnic” Kennedy (1902-1984), Mad Dog Coll (1908-1932), Edmund Hillary (1919-2008), Ted “3-2-1” Rogers (1935-2001), Diana Rigg (1938-2020) and Chris Cornell (1964-2017) #birthdays

You can also now see it as part of the Richard Owen: A Natural Legacy display in the @nhm-london.bsky.social ‘s free Images of Nature gallery alongside other original #illustrations from Owen’s fascinating drawings collection #naturalhistory #art #gallery #echidna #anatomy

Currently prepping these wooden beauties for a new display on Richard Owen’s science, art and legacy going into the NHM’s Images of Nature gallery tomorrow! #woodengraving #megatherium #bones #specialcollections

Fantastic news Paul! Congratulations 🥳

A quokka standing on its hind-legs

One of the earliest European accounts of an Australian mammal was of a #quokka, by Willem de Vlamingh in 1696, here on #Rottnest - in fact, he named the island after them (Rottnest means Rat's nest in Dutch - of course it already had a Noongar name: Wadjemup). The account of the voyage... 1/2

YouTube video by Natural History Museum Creating a bronze dinosaur for the Natural History Museum gardens | The story behind Fern

Celebrating the first anniversary of Fern the Diplodocus in our garden @nhm-london.bsky.social , here's a little movie explaining exactly how we did it, starring yours truly: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Xb...

A true privilege to be able to observe such iconic wildlife up close in the wonderful Galápagos Islands - especially my all time fav, the blue footed booby. So very special to appreciate how humans and wildlife can thrive together #santacruz #sancristobal #respect

hello. if you work at a university please ask your library to buy my book. it is all about books and libraries and also plants, museums, the Royal Society, and the ways we learn. I think it will be interesting to lots of people, hopefully. thank you www.cambridge.org/gb/universit...

Morning all. Meet Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae, a new neornithishian dinosaur from the Morrison Formation. It goes on display @nhm-london.bsky.social from tomorrow. Paper by @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social and I in @royalsocietypublishing.org Open Science.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

The fab jackdashby.bsky.social is giving us @nhm-london.bsky.social’ers a talk on the topics in his new book ‘Nature’s Memory’

The history of how collections develop is not always pleasant - some have a dark past -check out the publication below & read his book!

www.natsca.org/sites/defaul...

‘Natural history museums can save the world’: anti-colonialism, conservation and climate change Zoologist Jack Ashby explains why it’s vital to invest in protecting specimens stored in scientific collections.

Well this is exciting! Here's an interview I did for @nature.com about #NaturesMemory - talking about how natural history #museums can help save the world, as the best evidence we have for understanding environmental change, plus colonial legacies, male bias, and more:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Possibly one of my favourite depictions of a pigeon for #NationalPigeonDay From: A treatise on domestic pigeons; comprehending all the different species know in England ... by John Moore, printed and sold by C. Barry, 1765. #rarebooks #specialcollections #birb

A smidgen of pigeon for National Pigeon Day.

⬆️Learn more about our collections and how to visit us via the link in our bio.

#NaturalHistoryMuseum #SpecialCollections #Birds #NationalPigeonDay #NaturalHistoryIllustration #NatureInArt #SciArt

Illustration of Columba Turtur pigeon perched on branch full page in open book

Illustration of Columba Francix, white red and black feathers perching on a branch full page in open book

Illustration of Columba Vinacea pigeon perching on a branch looking down on full page of open book

Illustration of Colombe Jounud pigeon perching on a branch full page in open book

Coenraad Temminck's (1778-1858) Les Pigeons text was accompanied by illustrations by French artist Pauline Knip (1781-1851). Giving her full control over the engraving and printing process, she controversially re-titled the work “Les Pigeons par Madame Knip”, crediting him by misspelling his name!

The Jill Smythies Award The Jill Smythies Award

Each year we recognise an outstanding botanical artist with the Jill Smythies Award.

The winner, whose work must involve diagnostically relevant, published illustrations, receives a medal and £1,000.

Send in your nominations by 30 September.

Find out more: www.linnean.org/the-...

Opening soon! Don’t miss this unique exhibition revealing the remarkable world of wasps and find out why we should all appreciate these incredibly fascinating, ecologically important animals. #WaspLove

John Abbot (1751-1840) spent most of his life collecting and drawing the #birds and #insects of Georgia. He was born on either May 31 (parish records) or June 1 (Abbot's choice). See his birds tomorrow! #SpecialBooks #NaturalHistoryMuseum #otd

Alt text: A reel showing drawings of insects

The Unnatural History of Extinction You are a survivor of many great dyings. How did we come to think of ourselves as survivors in a world where species can vanish forever?

Join @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social as she unravels how the concept of extinction is deeply political - shaped by empire, science, and survival - and why it matters now more than ever as we face the possibility of a sixth mass extinction.

June 26, 6–8:15pm, Linnean Society

Book here: bit.ly/3T194pc

Today I give you happy anteaters, a happy chameleon and a happy (dancing?) sloth all courtesy of volume 1 of @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social coloured copy of Albertus Seba’s wonderful/curious masterpiece Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri (1734-65). “Accurata” is also in the title.. #rarebooks

We're hiring!
SENIOR DIGITISER, Library and Archives
🔎Based: South Kensington, London
🔎Fixed term contract (23 months)
🔎Hours per week : 36
🔎Closing date: 08/06/2025
⬆️Full details: see link in bio.
#NaturalHistoryMuseum #GLAMJobs
#LibraryJobs #ArchiveJobs

Alt text: Reel of man digitising artwork.

A very happy #birthday to the absolutely wonderful and inspirational Sir David Attenborough! I have truly treasured each time I have had the privilege of meeting you and talking with you about @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social ‘s collections and the natural world 🪰🦀🐡🐋🍄💚

The wrong kind of fish is ending up in seabirds. Soy sauce throw away package from a Sable Shearwater.

Join artist Rob Kesseler at 6pm on 5 June for an in-person in-conversation exploring how microscopic imagery influences contemporary art. Discover how Rob's striking microscope art unlocks hidden plant worlds - merging science and creativity amid climate change.

Book here: bit.ly/4manReO

❤️

The cover of Nature’s Memory – a green snail shell on a black background

Big day... My book #NaturesMemory: Behind the Scenes at the World's Natural History #Museums is published TODAY.🤩
Over the last 20+ years of working in these incredible institutions, I've noticed some surprising things about them, and this book shares some of these "secrets", as an insider's guide.🧵

A New Future for the Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. A global consortium of over 660 contributors, BHL has made more …

Change is in the air for BHL! In 2026, BHL hosting will transition away from the Smithsonian, opening doors to reimagine our future. Rest assured, our 63 million pages of biodiversity knowledge remain secure and accessible.
Learn what's next for BHL ➡️