Purple is relatively rare in nature - but there are some powerfully purple species across the globe! 💜 Let’s meet some of the purplest players seen in the natural world ⬇️

Sea turtles are remarkable specimens of evolution - but how much do you really know about them? 🐢 Take a second to get to know these marine marvels with our top 5 sea turtle facts 🌊

🦕 A new dinosaur species from the Late Triassic has been discovered in Zimbabwe! It’s thought to be an early relative of Diplodocus, although it walked on two legs instead of four. Find out what this fossil tells us about early dinosaurs from this region. 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Musango: The new Zimbabwean dinosaur discovered from a boat | Natural History Museum

Musango matusadonaensis is the fifth dinosaur ever named from Zimbabwe.

nhm.ac.uk

It’s going to be another scorcher few days in London! ☀️ If you're visiting us during this hot weather, please take extra care as our galleries can get quite warm and busy. Explore at your own pace, stay hydrated and speak to a member of staff if you need any help. 🦕

Liopleurodon was a fearsome marine predator that lived during the Jurassic Period. 🌊 It was famously portrayed in the 1999 BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs as reaching lengths of up to 25 metres, but recent estimates suggest it was more likely around 6 metres long.

What do ducks and camels have in common? 🦆🐪 The answer is ‘afoot’ in this week’s #SurprisingScience 😉

The Museum will be closed on 9 October 2026 as we are hosting a charity gala. 🦖 We rarely close to the public however, hosting events like this helps us to continue our vital work, including our +350 scientists’ research. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Did you know that there’s a 1,300-year old tree slice in the Natural History Museum? 🌳 Find out more about the giant sequoia in our new series, Natural History Museum Showstoppers. 👇

In seahorses, it’s the male who becomes pregnant! Females transfer their eggs into a special brood pouch on the male’s body. The male then fertilises the eggs and carries them for around 25 days before giving birth to over 1000 young! Find out more ⬇️

Meet Coelophysis, one of the earliest known dinosaurs! 🦕😮 This small, slender meat-eater had sharp claws and teeth! Have you spotted it in our Dinosaurs gallery? Let us know in the comments! 👇

A new study suggests that sturgeon once bred in the UK! 🐟 While sturgeon have been recorded in British waters for centuries, it has remained unclear whether they bred here or were simply passing through to feed. To investigate, researchers combed through newspaper archives and museum collections.

Even though you may have heard that camels store water in their humps, this isn’t technically true! 💦 In Surprising Science, we find out what these iconic adaptations are really used for!

Scientists have discovered a 518-million-year-old fossil that has the earliest known evidence of spiders’ fangs! 🕷️ Using X-ray analysis, researchers found two pincer-like limbs emerging just behind the animals’ eyes, which are thought to be precursors of the fangs used by modern spiders.

Have you ever spotted Sophie in the Museum? Discover more about Stegosaurus in our new series, Natural History Museum Showstoppers. 🦕🐋

The pangolins’ iconic pinecone-shaped scales have made them targets of wildlife trafficking. New DNA analysis has revealed that populations of Chinese pangolins living in the Himalayan foothills are actually a separate species. This distinction could be vital in helping to stop illegal poaching!

Just a moment of appreciation for our Minerals gallery! 😍💎 From sparkling gems to striking minerals from around the world, there’s so much to explore! Did you know that the specimens are displayed in original 19th century oak cabinets?

The first dinosaur fossil ever discovered in Antarctica is a titanosaur! 🦕 The fossil was collected during an expedition in 1985 and was initially thought to be a marine reptile. Now scientists have re-examined the specimen. Learn more 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

First ever dinosaur fossil discovered on Antarctica identified as a titanosaur | Natural History Museum

Antarctica was once a thriving, forested ecosystem filled with a diversity of dinosaur life.

nhm.ac.uk

The smallest centipedes have 30 legs, while the largest ever discovered had 382 👀 🐛 Despite the name, no centipede with exactly 100 legs has ever been found. Surprising science explains why!

It’s going to be another scorcher few days in London! ☀️ If you're visiting us during this hot weather, please take extra care as our galleries can get quite warm and busy. Explore at your own pace, stay hydrated and speak to a member of staff if you need any help. 🦕

Have you ever noticed the minerals and rocks displayed along the Hintze Hall balconies? 🪨 Take a look at their colours and shapes during your next visit!

Have you ever said hi to Charles Darwin in Hintze Hall? 😮 This 2.5 tonne marble statue was unveiled in 1885, only a year and a half after the Museum opened. After being moved to make way for a statue of Richard Owen, it took centre stage in Hintze Hall in 2008!

We love our beautiful 1930s blue whale model! 🐳 This is a particularly impressive model, as it was built at the time when living whales weren’t studied. To make it, its makers had to rely on images of carcasses stranded on beaches. Have you seen it before?

Have you ever seen a red deer? What about a pink flamingo, or a blue shark? 🦩🦈 You can see them plus dozens of others in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition! Find out more and book your tickets: brnw.ch/21x3iO4 The exhibition is supported by Lead Corporate Sponsor, Nuveen.

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in the Museum? Dig into the ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and other marine reptiles we look after ⬇️

Did we miss any? 🌊 For #WorldOceansDay, we're highlighting the monsters of the deep that once swam in our oceans 😮💦 You can find more legends of Earth’s prehistoric oceans in our latest exhibition Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep.

Was the ancient reptile Eunotosaurus africanus an early turtle ancestor? 🐢 Scientists initially thought so because of its wide, flattened ribs resembling an early turtle shell. But new analysis of their fossils is reshaping the reptile family tree. Learn more 👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

New fossil analysis rewrites the origin of turtles | Natural History Museum

An ancient reptile once thought to be an early turtle ancestor actually belonged to an entirely different group.

nhm.ac.uk

Do you know what this is? It’s an enormous fossil of a pincer that’s 16 centimetres long – and it belongs to the world’s largest ever scorpion!

Have you heard of a gogotte? ⏳ It's a rare type of sand concretion. Millions of years ago in northern France, superheated water filtered through pure sand, creating the grooves you can see on this specimen. You can find it in our Lasting Impressions gallery!

Over half a billion years ago, the distant ancestors of many of today’s animals suddenly appeared. New research, however, shows that complex life had already started to sense the world around it in the years before this major event. Find out about these early animals👇 www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Animals were developing their senses long before the Cambrian Explosion | Natural History Museum

Tracks left by some of the earliest complex animals are giving new insights into how they experienced the world.

nhm.ac.uk

For this month’s news roundup, we’re focusing on the awesome invertebrates that have hit the headlines in May! Join us to discover deep sea creatures, shiny beetles and Sir David Attenborough’s own wasp! (1/4)🧵