Australian Museum
News Stories

In conversation with Dr Noushka Reiter, winner of the 2023 Australian Institute of Botanical Science Eureka Prize for Excellence in Botanical Science.

Members of the Australian Museum Malacology team – Dr Frank Köhler and Dr Isabel Hyman – and Taronga Zoo colleague, Parnee Bonson, visited Phillip Island as part of the AM-led Norfolk Island expedition. The team were on the look-out for Critically Endangered snails, and the results were astounding!

In conversation with Associate Professor Ricky Spencer from the 1 Million Turtles Community Conservation Program, winner of the 2023 Department of Industry, Science and Resources Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science.

As part of her PhD research, Dr Amber Brown, with supervisors Dr Greta Frankham, Dr Maiken Ueland and Dr Barbara Stuart, assessed Shingleback lizard odour profiles across the species distribution. This resulted in a new method of detecting and identifying this highly trafficked and smuggled species.

Emeritus Professor Richard Frankham, an influential biologist, researcher and long-standing Research Associate of the Australian Museum, has recently been awarded the prestigious 2023 Ulysses S. Seal Award for Innovation in Conservation.

Our Photographic Archives team have uncovered lantern slides from a 1925 Ancient Egypt Lecture Series delivered by Museum Ethnologist, William Walford Thorpe.

At the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation 50th Anniversary dinner, Dr Anne Hoggett AM and Dr Lyle Vail AM were awarded the 2023 Australian Museum Research Institute Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of their tireless work in advancing our understanding of coral reef biology.

For the fourth year running, the Australian Museum hosted the Sydney Science Trail (August 14-19) – and with record-breaking numbers! Learn how our scientists, education and programming teams took part in this jam-packed program with primary and secondary students, teachers and families.

The ongoing identification of insect and spider specimens collected during the Australian Museum-led Norfolk Island expedition is throwing up a host of new family and species records & plenty of puzzles. The AM Arachnology & Entomology team tell us about these exciting finds and the work ahead.

Hidden in plain sight in the forests of Victoria’s Otway Plains and Ranges, we describe a new smooth frog to science, with an unusual reproductive mode.

The first global update on amphibians in almost two decades reveals the emerging threat of climate change, and a continuing decline in the status of frogs and other amphibians. The study finds 1 in 5 Australian species, and 2 in 5 global species, threatened with extinction.

Citizen scientists across Australia have helped uncover a frog species new to science in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and western Queensland. Find out more about this funny Aussie frog, which has a longer ‘laugh’ than the original tree frog species.

Now, more than ever, we must guide school students in developing a deeper understanding of STEM disciplines.

In conversation Anna Abela, Kate Johnson and Olly Dove, co-managers of the 14-person team awarded the 2023 Department of Industry, Science and Resources Eureka Prize for STEM Inclusion.

In conversation with Chase M. runner-up in the 2023 University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize - Primary