Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 21m

L is for... Lithograph! A lithograph is a stone with an image drawn out in a greasy material, and the surrounding stone is etched out to create a water-receptive surface. The ink will only adhere to the drawing, allowing for printing of an image, as shown here in Breaking Ground.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 22h

K is for... Koala! One major threat to koalas is actually chlamydia infections, with some populations having up to a 70% infection rate. Luckily a new vaccine has just been approved to prevent further infections. Chlamydia has been responsible for nearly 50% of koala deaths in recent years.

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Reposted by Oxford University Museum of Natural History

oxon-mammal-group.bsky.social @oxon-mammal-group.bsky.social · 16d

Our Winter Lecture series is back for 2025/26! Our first talk is Monday 13th October, 7pm at Oxford's Natural History Museum. Dr Kat Almeida-Warren is going to be talking about chimpanzee cultures, archaeology, and conservation. It's going to be fascinating, hope to see you all there!

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 1d

J is for… Jade! Oftentimes rocks and minerals used for decorative purposes have a different classification in geology. Jade refers to two different minerals, nephrite, and the more valuable jadeite.

Jadeite display in our gemstones case. Features two polished pieces of jadeite, one green with near white veining, and one a light brown. In front of these are five shaped pieces of jade, four in differing shades of green and one pure white.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 3d

I is for... Ichthyosaur! This extinct marine reptile lived during the Jurassic, and this specimen measures nearly 6 meters long! It was found in Lyme Regis, Dorset and within it's fossilized skeleton you can see ammonite shells.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 6d

H is for... Hodgkin! Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin is still the only British woman scientist to have been awarded a Nobel Prize. She won the Nobel in chemistry in 1964 for mapping the structure of vitamin B12. She also mapped the structure of Penicillin and Insulin through X-ray crystallography.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 7d

Listen to Simon Armitage read the poem here, or visit our exhibition Breaking Ground

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - My Poetry and Other Animals, Birds and their ancestors

The Poet Laureate Simon Armitage meets birds and their relatives to inspire his new poem.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 7d

Recently, Emeritus Professor Paul Smith, Dr Emma Nicholls, Viv Kendall and Trisha Williams unveiled the poem which now stands at the community owned pub in Stonesfield, White Horse, the village where the fossils were originally uncovered.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 7d

Today is National Poetry Day and we thought it was a lovely day to acknowledge the poem written by Simon Armitage which was commissioned by the Museum to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the naming of the first dinosaur, Megalosaurus.

Four people, a man and three women, stand in front of a brick wall with a green plaque featuring the poem Megalosaurus by Simon Armitage

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 7d

G is for... Giant ground sloth! This extinct mammal lived during the Pleistocene in South America. It could weight up to 4,000 kilograms and reach 6 meters in length.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 8d

F is for... Flying fish! The flying fish can swim up to 70km per hour and launch itself into the air and glide above the water for more than 350 meters.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 8d

E is for... Elephant bird egg! This is the largest bird egg known to have existed. It is so large that it could hold the contents of up to 7 ostrich eggs. The elephant bird went extinct about 1,000 years ago not long after humans arrived on the island of Madagascar.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 10d

D is for... Dodo!

We hold the only known soft tissue remains of a dodo in our collections, but don't you know? We're much more than a dodo!

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 13d

C is for... Crocodile!

The Nile crocodile has the strongest bite force of any living animal, up to 5000 pounds per square inch!

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 14d

B is for... Blue morpho butterfly!

These butterflies live in the rainforests of South America and can have a wingspan of up to 20cm. If you look closely you can see the outline of the eye spots that are on the other side of their wings.

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Reposted by Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Pitt Rivers Museum @pittriversmuseum.bsky.social · 14d

Our next Autism-Friendly opening will take place from 9-10am on Saturday 18 October, offering the opportunity for families with members on the Autism spectrum to explore Pitt Rivers & @morethanadodo.bsky.social in a quiet environment. Booking is essential. More info at bit.ly/4pJlscQ.

View into a large high-ceilinged gallery space with densely packed glass display cases in rows and spotlights shining down from the ceiling.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 15d

A is for... Archaeopteryx!

While this was not the first feathered dinosaur, it was probably one of the earliest to use its feathers for flight. The fossils of this creature were first found in Germany in 1861.

A model of an archaeopteryx, a small feathered dinosaur about the size of a magpie, it has a distinctly dinosaur like face with feathered wings for flight or perhaps gliding, featuring clawed fingers sticking out from the wing joint at the top.

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Reposted by Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Joanna Bagniewska @joannabagniewska.com · 16d

Calling all chimp enthusiasts!
Oxon Mammal Group winter seminar season kicks off with a talk by @pintsizedprimate.bsky.social from @oxford-anthro.bsky.social on chimpanzee cultures, archaeology and conservation.
13 Oct, 7pm, at @morethanadodo.bsky.social.
Free for members, 3GBP for non-members.
🧪🐵

oxon-mammal-group.bsky.social @oxon-mammal-group.bsky.social · 16d

Our Winter Lecture series is back for 2025/26! Our first talk is Monday 13th October, 7pm at Oxford's Natural History Museum. Dr Kat Almeida-Warren is going to be talking about chimpanzee cultures, archaeology, and conservation. It's going to be fascinating, hope to see you all there!

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 20d

Our talk by Prof Emily Rayfield, Digital Fossils, is now online!

She discusses how far palaeontologists can make statements about the behaviour of extinct animals, drawing together evidence from fossils, living animals & using X-rays & methods co-opted from engineers.

youtu.be/aumv_UamW5E

Digital Fossils with Professor Emily Rayfield

YouTube video by Oxford University Museum of Natural History

youtu.be

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 20d

We're so grateful to be among some really wonderful exhibitions for the Exhibiting Excellence Prize! Breaking Ground has been a very exciting exhibition for us all around, as it showcases a recent acquisition to our archive that was years in the making, as well as the first described dinosaur fossil

BSHS @bshsnews.bsky.social · 28d

🏆 Joint Winner of the BSHS Exhibiting Excellence Prize 2024 (Large Exhibition):
Breaking Ground @ Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
Exploring fossils, palaeontology networks, and the hidden contributions of women, labourers and miners in 19th-century science. Learn more below 🧵

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 21d

Thirty relatively intact iguanodon skeletons were found in a coal mine in Belgium in the late 1800s. Louis Dollo, who supervised the first assembly of these fossils, believed it was a biped, as it is shown here. We now know that this was a quadruped, meaning it walked on four legs instead of two.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 21d

Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was a scientific illustrator most famous for her 'Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium'. In this book filled with beautifully illustrated plates she explored the then poorly understood concept of insect metamorphosis.

Owl butterfly in all its life stages on a branch of cardinals guard that has twisting red flowers. The butterfly, shown in two positions, has large golden brown eyespots on the outer part of the wings whereas the inside are blue and brown. The caterpillar is orange with grey hairs, and the chrysalis is light green and pink with a slight fishhook shape. The butterfly’s eggs are also shown on the leaves of the plant. A small dark red wasp flies in the background

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 23d

It was long thought that all coelacanths went extinct millions of years ago until one appeared in a fishing net in the Indian Ocean in 1938. The fish was identified by Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer who was a keen naturalist born in South Africa.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 27d

Did you know that instead of blood, insects have a fluid called hemolymph. Instead of carrying oxygen through the body of the insect, hemolymph carries nutrients to tissues.

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Oxford University Museum of Natural History @morethanadodo.bsky.social · 27d

Unearth the real behaviours of prehistoric animals as we join acclaimed palaeontologist, author, and TV presenter Dr Dean Lomax on a remarkable journey through the grand cycle of life in deep time.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A and a book signing

10 Oct at 7PM

oumnh.ox.ac.uk/event/the-se...

The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs

Unearth the real behaviours of prehistoric animals as we join acclaimed palaeontologist, author, and TV presenter Dr Dean Lomax.

oumnh.ox.ac.uk

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