Natural History Museum Magazine Summer 2025

Join the search for extraterrestrial life.

Our new exhibition takes you out into space, via Mars, icy moons and asteroids.

Welcome

Is there anything out there?

This summer, the Natural History Museum is exploring one of humankind’s biggest philosophical questions: are we alone in the universe? With more evidence than ever before that some form of life does exist elsewhere in space, our new exhibition, Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? looks at the ingredients for life and considers what else could possibly be out there. Open until February 2026, the exhibition is free for our supporters – and, after you’ve visited, we’d love to hear your thoughts about alien life. Find out more on page 24.

In 2018, scientists claimed the ancestors of the modern-day octopus arrived on Earth from space. Despite their otherworldly appearance, Jon Ablett, who looks after the Museum’s cephalopod collection, is not convinced. This issue, he celebrates their astonishing intelligence, skill at using tools, and colourchanging abilities. Read about it on page 50.

Volcanoes are powerful agents of change. Eruptions can create new landforms or destroy everything in their path. Museum volcanologist Dr Chiara Maria Petrone is an expert at reading their moods. On page 30, she reveals how what goes on beneath a volcano’s surface a ects the ferocity of its eruptions.

With over 80 million objects in our collections, selecting just a few exceptional ones is no easy task. But the ones we’ve chosen for this issue (on page 44) come with the most

There’s more evidence than ever before that some form of life exists elsewhere in space

fascinating stories about where, how and by whom they were collected. Every specimen has a story to tell and our cetacean collection is no exception. When Dr Sophia Nicolov came across two huge blue whale vertebrae, her curiosity was piqued. As she worked to learn their stories, she discovered an unexpected legacy of the British Empire and the whaling industry. See page 38. In our changing world, nature is essential to our wellbeing. It’s time to recognise our role as contributors to nature’s challenges and as vital players in the search for solutions. With your support, we’re inspiring current and future generations to protect the needs of both people and planet.

Dr Tim Littlewood Director of Science

MAKE THE MOST OF BEING A SUPPORTER

The Anning Rooms

Named in honour of legendary fossil hunter

Mary Anning, this suite is exclusively for your enjoyment. Tuck into tasty lunches and snacks in the restaurant, take in the views from the lounge, or read a book in the study area.

Exhibitions

Get free, unlimited entry to all of the Museum’s ticketed exhibitions, such as Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?, and guaranteed entry to our free exhibitions and installations.

Exclusive events

Enjoy private exhibition views, workshops and a series of talks, Dig Deeper, led by Museum scientists. As well as discounted tickets you will also receive priority booking and access to a special Members’ Bar on the night.

Shop and café discounts

Receive a 20 per cent discount in the Museum’s shops – which are stocked with a wide range of inspiring gifts, books and clothes – as well as a 10 per cent discount in our cafés and restaurants.

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r Ti Littlewo d

Issue 58 Summer 2025

This issue’s experts

Amy Pollak Amy is an Interpretation Developer in the Museum’s Exhibitions and Galleries team. She worked on our new space exhibition.

James Ashworth

As Digital Content Producer for our website, James writes stories about research being done at the Museum.

Robin Hansen Senior Curator, Gem and Mineral Collections, Robin has studied gemmology, and is fascinated by the science of gems and the history of collections.

Meet a Glyptodon and other treasures on p44

Features

24 Are we alone in the universe?

For the rst time in our species’ history, we could be on the cusp of discovering evidence that will enable us to answer the fundamental question: is there life beyond Earth?

30 Inside the volcano

Volcanoes have inspired fear, awe and fascination throughout history. Dr Chiara Maria Petrone looks at the complex processes that cause eruptions and how we may be able to predict them.

38 The whale of Wembley

The Museum is home to the remains of ancient whales and dolphins. But how do we know where they came from? Dr Sophia Nicolov is on a mission to reveal how the expanding British Empire and whaling industry shaped this collection.

44 Museum treasures

Discover the fascinating stories behind 10 of the Museum’s many treasured specimens, from a giant sloth to a beetle that lives on Everest.

50 Deep thinkers

Octopuses are able to solve complex problems, use tools, build basic structures and recognise individual humans. Let’s meet these surprising ocean intellectuals.

56 Standing up for nature: Roy Dennis OBE

Roy is a conservation legend who’s played a key role in the reintroduction of species such as ospreys and white-tailed eagles to the UK, after they were driven to extinction here.

60 Spies, ies and high explosives

As VE Day marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe, we look at the Museum’s role in the war, as a protector of specimens and a location for secret meetings.

Journal

12

New at the Museum

This issue we celebrate the Museum’s new permanent gallery, Fixing Our Broken Planet, reveal a new installation about our famous rst superintendent, Sir Richard Owen, and bring you an update on the National Education Nature Park.

16 What’s on Events for Museum Members and Patrons, plus a quick chat with Robyn Fryer of the Innovation Unit.

18 Science in focus:

New life, old specimens

How a neglected moth, collected almost 170 years ago by Alfred Russel Wallace, has been used to help describe 11 new species.

20 Inside story: Sandra Sterman

For 20 years, our learning volunteers have been creating unforgettable experiences with visitors.

22 Exceptional specimen: Green with envy

One of the most impressive clusters of emerald crystals, ‘Goliath’, is now on display at the Museum.

Every issue

6 View nder

Be amazed by three extraordinary images that inspired everyone at the Museum.

66 From the Archive

We look at the history of provisions for blind people and people with visual impairments at the Museum, which began in 1927.

Senior Editor Helen Sturge

Editorial team Kevin Coughlan, Josh Davis, Alessandro Giusti, Holly Murphy, Dr Peter Olson, Jennifer Pullar, Dr Helen Robertson, Professor Sara Russell, Dr Tom White and Colin Ziegler

For Our Media

Editor Sophie Stafford

Art Editor Robin Coomber

Production Editor Rachael Stiles

Account Manager Debbie Blackman

Creative Director Matthew Pink

Contributors Jon Ablett, James Ashworth, Max Barclay, Paul Bloomfield, Emma Caton, Roy Dennis OBE, Robyn Fryer, Robin Hansen, Andrea Hart, Laura Jacklin, Marc Jones, Rebecca Keddie, Dr David Lees, Dr Tim Littlewood, Beau-Jensen McCubbin, Lucy Minshall-Pearson, Dr Sophia Nicolov, Dr Chiara Maria Petrone, Amy Pollak, Lizzie Raey, Dr Alex Schnell, Karolyn Shindler, Mark Sterling, Sandra Sterman, Alex Waters

With thanks to Simon Dade, Lottie Dodwell-Williams, Lucie Goodayle, Naomi Holmes, Aimee McArdle, Lauren O’Brien, Kathryn Rooke

The views expressed in Natural History Museum magazine do not necessarily reflect those held by the Natural History Museum. Produced in association with Our Media. ourmedia.co.uk

All photographs and copy © 2025 The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London unless otherwise stated. If you would like copies of any Museum images please contact the Museum Picture Library on 020 7942 5401.

ISSN 2044-7582

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Viewfinder

Extraordinary images of our natural world

Incredible journeys

Sharks embark on some of the most extraordinary migrations in the animal kingdom. Some journeys are feats of endurance, spanning thousands of miles and taking weeks or even months to reach their destinations. Others are vertical migrations, rising up from the depths by a mile or more in a single day.

One of the most astonishing aspects of shark migration is their ability to navigate vast and featureless oceans with precision. Sharks possess a unique ‘sixth sense’ – the ability to detect electromagnetic elds. This adaptation not only identi es the electrical activity in the muscles of their prey, it enables them to sense the Earth’s geomagnetic eld, a biological compass guiding them across immense distances.

Shark migrations are fraught with danger. Over shing, driven by the demand for shark ns, poses a signi cant risk to populations. Migratory species are particularly vulnerable, as they often traverse international waters where regulations are weak or poorly enforced.

BUY THE BOOK

Sharks: Ocean Travellers by Michael Bright, priced £16.99, is available from July 2025 in the Museum’s Shops and online at nhmshop.co.uk. Members and Patrons get a 20 per cent discount.

of Birmingham

Dinosaur highway

The UK’s biggest-ever site of dinosaur footprints has recently been discovered in a quarry in Oxfordshire. Multiple trackways comprising more than 200 footprints reveal the comings and goings of these ancient reptiles as they wandered across this area during the Jurassic Period.

The impressions were made over 166 million years ago. They form ve extensive trackways, with the longest stretching for more than 150 metres. Four of the trackways were made by a species of gigantic, long-necked, herbivorous sauropod. Researchers believe the most likely candidate is Cetiosaurus, an 18-metre-long cousin of Diplodocus. The fth was made by Megalosaurus, a ferocious carnivore and agile hunter that walked on two legs. At around six to nine metres long, it was the largest known predatory dinosaur in Jurassic Britain. Detailed 3D models of the site have been built using drone photography to document the footprints in detail for further research. ‘Trackways are important because they preserve fossilised behaviour, something we’re unable to get from individual footprints or the bones of an animal alone,’ says Museum palaeontologist Dr Susannah Maidment.

©Mark Witton ©Emma Nicholls/OUMNH

Nature’s Olympians

Beating the competition is everything. It has forced some species of butter y and moth to grow faster, higher, stronger and bigger to win rst prize in the survival stakes.

Skippers are natural sprinters. They can reach speeds of up to 37 miles per hour and get their name from their quick ight patterns. Researchers have recently discovered that when skippers are startled, they react at least twice as quickly as a human does. ‘Fast reactions and ight speeds help skippers avoid danger such as predators,’ says Museum lepidopterist Dr Blanca Huertas.

The British Isles has eight resident skipper butter ies, including the large, dingy and chequered (pictured), but many are declining due to habitat loss and agricultural intensi cation. So it’s more important than ever to help scientists gain a clear picture of how butter ies are faring so they can be safeguarded.

You can help by joining in with the Big Butter y Count from 18 July to 10 August 2025. Find out more and download a free ID guide: bigbutter ycount.org

Journal

A world of discovery awaits you in our round-up of Museum news

Fixing Our Broken Planet

Our new gallery explores the nature crisis and the hopeful solutions that could create a more sustainable world.

Earlier this year, the Museum opened its rst new permanent gallery in almost a decade. Packed with contemporary science from our world-leading scientists, Fixing Our Broken Planet explores practical, nature-based solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the planet today.

The gallery delves into topics such as the food we eat, the energy we consume, the stu we use and

Above and top right

The objects on display were chosen by scientists to show ways to repair our relationship with nature.

the impact of all of this on our health. Meanwhile, a special selection of more than 250 specimens –from a Sumatran rhino to an ancient cow skull – tell the story of our impact on the natural world and explore the opportunities we have to save it.

Find out what whale earwax tells us about ocean pollution, how wheat is being bred to help to cope with a hotter climate, or how European bison are helping us to store carbon. Plus, if you’ve ever wondered about the carbon footprint of your pet, or what local lichen can tell you about air pollution in your area, we’ve got all the answers.

Research on display shows how wheat is being bred to help to cope with a hotter climate, how bacteria can be used to extract copper from mine waste, and how vital DNA analysis on mosquitos is being used to ght mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria.

‘Our scientists have been working to nd solutions for and from nature,’ says Museum

Fixing Our Broken Planet can be found in the Museum’s Blue Zone.

Find out what whale earwax tells us about ocean pollution, and how bison are helping us store carbon

Director, Dr Doug Gurr. ‘Fixing Our Broken Planet places this research at the heart of the Museum, allowing us to o er visitors positive ways in which they can act for the planet.’ Hear from our researchers, as well as leading environmentalists and young changemakers, how we can better care for the planet and its future – and discover all the ways we can make a di erence, as both individuals and communities. You can also have your say with our interactive conversation starter.

A wide variety of trusts, foundations, companies and individuals are supporting the Fixing Our Broken Planet gallery and programme, including Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UK Research and Innovation, Wellcome, GSK and Ørsted.

Fixing Our Broken Planet is the rst milestone for NHM150, the Museum’s plan to transform its South Kensington site from a catalogue of natural history to a catalyst for change ahead of the Museum’s 150th anniversary in 2031. To nd out more, email development@nhm.ac.uk

YOUR MUSEUM IN NUMBERS

15,000

New research suggests some Homo sapiens were living in tropical forests at least 150,000 years ago. Previously thought to be a barrier for our ancient relatives, rainforests may have provided a home for more than twice as long as expected.

149 mya

A new species of ancient bird, Baminornis zhenghensis, is the oldest known bird with a short, modern tail. Found in Fujian Province, China, it shows that early birds already had some of their characteristic features some 149 million years ago.

Flower Day:

A story of 24 hours and 24 oral lives

This illustrated hourly guide by Museum botanist Dr Sandra Knapp spotlights 24 owers as they attract pollinators, resist predators, and survive on our changing planet. Each chapter introduces a single ower during a single hour, highlighting 24 di erent species from around the world. For each hour in our ower day, artist Katie Scott has depicted these scenes with pen-and-ink illustrations. Working closely together to narrate and illustrate these unique moments in time, Sandra and Katie have created an engaging read that is a perfect way to spend an hour or two for amateur botanists, gardeners and anyone who wants to stop and appreciate the owers.

We have 10 copies of Flower Day to giveaway.

4

The surface of the ocean is warming four times faster than it was 40 years ago, scientists have warned. As the Earth absorbs more heat and re ects less back into space, this increase is only set to grow without urgent action.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy, simply tell us the common English name for Ipomoea alba.

To enter, send an email with your name, address, phone number and answer to magazine@nhm.ac.uk and put ‘Flower’ in the subject line. Or post your answer to ‘membership’ at the address on page 3. The closing date is 31 October 2025.

Journal Museum news

The father of the Museum

This July sees a new display that celebrates and explores the science, art and legacy of the man to whom the Museum owes its very existence – Richard Owen.

Richard Owen was born in Lancashire, in 1804, to Richard, a cloth merchant, and Catherine, the daughter of Huguenot refugees from Provence. He worked as Assistant Conservator of the Hunterian Collections at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1827, before taking charge of the Natural History Departments at the British Museum (initially at Bloomsbury and then at South Kensington) from 1856 until his retirement in 1883.

It was a career that would parallel the maturing of the natural sciences in England and during a

period of scienti c growth in which he would play a signi cant and sometimes central role.

The new display will explore some highlights of his extensive artwork collection, which comprises more than 3,500 illustrations. These were amassed throughout his career and include the work of some of the best natural-history artists of the day, as well as his own sketches and illustrations used in his scienti c study. Much of it has never been on public display before.

From whales to dodos, dinosaurs to wombats, visitors will explore the vital role that Museum collections and the study of comparative anatomy play in describing new species and, ultimately, our understanding of the natural world.

Among the scienti c community Owen was a divisive gure. His opposition to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection was well-aired and he was accused of taking credit for others’ work. Despite these controversies, his dedication to the public awareness of natural history and to realising his vision of a Museum have left a lasting impact.

Opens on 18 July 2025

The display can be found in the Images of Nature gallery in the Museum’s Blue Zone.

It comprises two sixmonth rotations.

As we approach our 150th anniversary, this display is also a timely reminder of his original vision and the work the Museum has achieved as part of his legacy. It is also a chance to re ect on how the role of the Museum has changed. The Museum’s collections continue to accelerate scienti c discovery and inspire visitors, but today our role is more important than ever in the face of the planetary emergency and the need for us all to nd solutions from and for nature.

Above An oil painting of Richard Owen holding a moa bone.

Right An illustration of Megatherium from Owen’s drawings collection.

NEWS SHORTS

Dinosaur origins

The remains of the earliest dinosaurs could lie under the Amazon and the Sahara desert. New research suggests dinosaurs evolved in a much hotter and drier part of the world than realised, and early fossils are yet to be found.

Glowing birds

Many birds-of-paradise emit light from special patches on their head, feet and inside their mouths, new research has revealed. This ‘bio uorescence’ helps the birds stand out or hide in the forest.

Eyes on you

New research proves big-eyed conch snails use vision to jump away from predators. Thanks to eyesight as good as some vertebrates, protective shells and acrobatic leaps, these marine snails are able to evade predators.

Boosting biodiversity

The National Education Nature Park programme, led by the Museum, continues to go from strength to strength, with thousands of schools, nurseries and colleges taking part across England.

As well as nurturing children and young people’s connection to nature and developing skills, one of the aims is to boost biodiversity. To achieve this, we rst need to understand how much biodiversity exists there to begin with. By creating a baseline, we can then measure the impact the Nature Park programme is having on wildlife.

Over the spring and summer, students have been taking part in a key step in this process – creating digital maps of the habitats in their outdoor spaces. As the data builds up and we can identify the habitats present, Museum scientists will use previous

OWN A PIECE OF TIME

The Museum has released a special limited-edition collection of home décor items, crafted from rocks used to create the Evolution Timeline wall.

Found within the Evolution Garden, the immersive canyon of ancient rocks tells the story of geological time, from the oldest rocks in the UK to

biodiversity estimates from similar habitats to estimate biodiversity levels across the sites taking part in the Nature Park programme.

This will give us a baseline for measuring change, so that when new habitats, like a pond or a wild ower area, are added or improved through the Nature Park programme, we can estimate the increase in biodiversity that we expect to see as a result of making these improvements.

You can keep up to date with the programme and get involved here: educationnaturepark.org.uk

The National Education Nature Park is part of the Museum’s Urban Nature Movement. We thank all our funders to the Urban Nature Movement, and in particular express our gratitude to Elgol Fund for Nature and Tioc Foundation.

the present day. Each rock was sourced from England, Scotland or Wales by Museum scientists.

Every one-ofa-kind decorative object has been individually numbered and expertly assembled in the UK using highquality materials, making a soughtafter collector’s

piece. Each piece is accompanied by an informative fact card, giving insights into the provenance and composition of the geological specimen.

The range is priced from £80 and is available in the Museum’s Shops and at nhmshop.co.uk.

Members and Patrons get a 20 per cent discount.

Journal What’s on

Exhibitions

Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?

Until 22 February 2026, normal Museum opening times

From £14 Adult / £7 Child / Concession

£11.20

Members and Patrons go free

There’s more evidence than ever before to suggest that there’s life beyond Earth. Our newest exhibition explores the big question: are we alone in the universe? Snap a sel e with a piece of Mars and touch a moon fragment. nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/ space

Our Story with David Attenborough

Until 18 January 2026

From £20 Adult / £10 Child

Members and Patrons from £10 Adult / £5 Child

Immerse yourself in the epic tale of people and planet in this new 360° experience and listen to Sir David as he re ects on his lifetime exploring our planet. nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/ our-story-with-davidattenborough

Other activities

Dino Snores for Kids

Every month, 18.45–10.00

£85 non-members / £76.50 members

Ever wonder what happens in the Museum when everyone’s gone home?

During this action-packed sleepover, you’ll take part in fun, educational activities, discover a T. rex hidden in the shadows of the Dinosaurs gallery, and experience a live science show. In the morning there’s breakfast and a trail of the galleries. For ages 7–11. nhm.ac.uk/dino-snores

Dino Snores for Grown-ups

Various dates, 18.30–9.30

£220 non-members / £198 members

Pull an all-nighter at the Museum for an unforgettable evening of comedy, food, science and cinema. Enjoy live shows, a delicious three-course dinner, live music including a harpist and Museum pub quizzes, followed by a hot breakfast the next morning. For ages 18 and over. nhm.ac.uk/dsgu

VISIT

THE MUSEUM

Visions of Nature: A mixed reality experience

Open daily, 10.15–16.45

£9.95 non-members / £7.95 members

Our future is full of hope, we just need to see it to believe it. Be transported a century into the future to explore what could lie ahead for the planet, from forests to oceans. Journey around the globe and become visually and audibly surrounded by the awe and wonder of the future natural world. nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/ visions-of-nature

Gardens Tour: Journey Through Time and Nature

Various dates, 10.00–11.00, 13.00–14.00 and 15.00–16.00

£18 non-members / £12 members

Join us on an immersive tour of our new gardens. Trace the footsteps of the past, unlocking a new chapter of our evolutionary history with every step. Having seen where we’re from, step into the present and consider where we’re going and our collective future. nhm.ac.uk/events/gardenstour-journey-through-timeand-nature

Museum Highlights Tour

Various dates and times

£15 non-members / £12 members

From the awe-inspiring blue whale skeleton suspended from our ceiling to the largest blue topaz gemstone of its kind, the specimens we care for are full of wonder. Join one of our knowledgeable guides to explore our best highlights. nhm.ac.uk/events/museumhighlights-tour

Find out what’s on at the Museum, and plan your next great day out, by visiting nhm.ac.uk/whats-on

Behind the Scenes Tour: Spirit Collection

Various dates, 15.00–15.45

£25 non-members / £22 members

Go behind the scenes in the Museum’s Darwin Centre for a look at our fascinating zoology collection preserved in spirit. Explore some of the treasures hidden among the 22 million animal specimens. nhm.ac.uk/events/behindthe-scenes-tour-the-spiritcollection

Members events

Members Family Workshop 5 July and 13 September, 11.00–11.45, 12.15–13.00, 14.00–14.45, 15.15–16.00

Bring the children along for a fun, interactive session to learn about some of natural history’s legends, from fossil hunter Mary Anning to history’s most famous biologist, Charles Darwin.

Dig Deeper: Space

8 July, 18.30–20.00

Join us for this space-themed talk to celebrate the opening of our latest exhibition, Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?

Dig Deeper:

Discovering a New Species 9 September, 18.30–20.00

Join us for a discussion on an exciting new discovery.

Members Preview Hours: Wildlife Photographer of the Year 61 17 October, 18.30–20.30 and 18 0ctober, 9.00–10.00

Join us for a private view of the newly opened exhibition.

Please note: Some dates and times are subject to change. For further information on members events, visit nhm.ac.uk/membership

Buzz along to the Hive

An exclusive digital hub especially for our supporters, the Hive is lled with exciting videos, articles and activities to help you stay connected with nature and the Museum. Here you’ll also nd an exclusive virtual events programme, bringing you closer to our world-leading scientists through a series of lectures and workshops. Discover it all at nhm.ac.uk/the-hive

60 SECONDS WITH… ROBYN FRYER

By Lucy Minshall-Pearson

Patrons events

In addition to Members events, Patrons enjoy a speci cally curated programme.

Patrons Private View: Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?

Open to All Patrons

8 July, 18.30–21.00

Following Dig Deeper, join us for a private view of our latest temporary exhibition. Lay your hands on a meteorite older than Earth and get up close to a piece of Mars in this immersive and interactive experience.

Patrons Night at the Museum: Innovating to Shape the Future

Open to All Patrons

16 September, 18.30–21.30 How can cutting-edge

research and scienti c discovery be transformed into real-world solutions for nature, from nature? In this event, meet the Museum’s Innovation Unit, a dedicated team who are working to answer that very question. Find out more about its work in our Q&A (right).

The 61st Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition Launch

Open to Gold, Platinum and Family Platinum Patrons

15 October, 19.00–22.00

Be among the rst to see the 61st Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, with a drinks reception to celebrate its launch in Hintze Hall.

Please note: Some dates and times are subject to change. If you have any questions about upcoming events, please contact patrons@nhm.ac.uk

What do you do?

I’m the Science Commercialisation and Innovation Manager for the Museum’s Innovation Unit. I identify commercially minded colleagues, and help nurture their ideas into commercial proposals.

What is the Innovation Unit?

Our mission is to help translate our world-leading science into tangible social and economic impacts. We provide the expertise to help create commercially viable solutions to realworld problems. We’re the go-between for academia and industry.

What are the bene ts to the Museum in delivering these innovative projects?

We scale the use of our science – taking it out of the academic realm and putting it into the hands of businesses, government and charities. The bene ts are twofold. The rst is that our science is being used more widely, creating more impact and raising the pro le of our science and scientists. The second is that it diversi es our revenue –the income goes straight back into our scienti c mission: creating solutions for nature, from nature.

What’s a project the Museum is working on?

Rolls-Royce is the Museum’s main customer for our ‘Bird strike’ services. This uses the knowledge of Museum experts Claire Gri n, Andrea Waeschenbach and Hein Van Grouw in molecular analysis and bird morphology to provide forensic identi cation of bird remains following collisions with aeroplanes or windfarms. To improve safety, aviation companies need to know what’s hitting their engines.

What’s next?

We have loads of exciting projects in the pipeline, with implications for conservation, carbon storage, nutraceuticals, food dyes and more. We’re always looking for the next idea, from science, businesses or individuals – the IU can help in providing naturebased solutions.

FIND OUT MORE

You can hear Robyn Fryer and colleagues discussing the work of the Museum’s Innovation Unit on 16 September. See left for details.

Journal Science in focus

The lowdown

What?

The Museum’s butter y and moth collection, known collectively as the lepidoptera, contains roughly 13.5 million specimens.

How much?

Lepidoptera account for around 10 per cent of the total described species of living organisms on Earth – nearly 174,000 have been described.

Who?

On Alfred Wallace’s expeditions, he collected more than 100,000 specimens, including beetles, birds and butter ies, which contributed to scienti c knowledge as well as to the Museum’s collections.

New life, old specimens

Genetic analysis of an ancient moth collected by Alfred Russel Wallace has led Museum scientists to discover 11 new species of moth. Science Communications Manager Jen Pullar explains.

In 1858, Alfred Russel Wallace revolutionised science as the co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection, alongside Charles Darwin. More than 160 years later, his work is still contributing to cutting-edge scienti c research that helps us understand the natural world. He spent the Christmas break of 1855 in Sarawak at Rajah Brooke’s Peninjau hill, overlooking the rainforest. Here, he made a substantial collection of 1,386 moths over 26 nights. In his

book The Malay Archipelago he explains that this was the only important moth collection he made during these travels.

In 1863, Francis Walker described a small white moth collected in Sarawak as Topiris candidella. Sometime between 1863 and 1927 this specimen got badly damaged – all but the thorax, two forewings and a couple of legs were destroyed.

In 1927 leading lepidopterist Edward Meyrick condemned it as ‘better [left] neglected’.

Fast fact

The newly described moths include species named after Snow White and Cinderella, plus one named in honour of environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Its sad remains were neglected and lingered unnoticed in the Museum’s collection for nearly a century.

Then, in 2019, two Museum scientists started looking at the evolutionary diversity of small moths found scattered across tropical Asia. Analyses showed

many of these moths belonged to the same group or genus - the arrangement of the veins in their wings looked very similar to the forewings of Topiris candidella Sadly, the research faltered due to the lack of a DNA sequencing technique that could handle such old specimens.

A breakthrough arrived in November 2022, when the Museum piloted a cuttingedge ‘third generation’ DNA sequencing method known as genome skimming. The specimen of T. candidella was selected as a suitably challenging candidate to test the new technique, which turned out to be the key to unlocking data from historical museum specimens.

As the moth’s labels were removed, a small white disc with the words ‘SAR’ was revealed. This is the characteristic label used by Wallace for his Sarawak insects, written in the sloping hand of his assistant, Charles Allen. It told us that this was a previously unrecognised Wallace specimen from Sarawak.

Genetic material was extracted from a minute fragment of one of the specimen’s remaining legs. This showed that some 200 of the small white moths belonged to Wallace’s genus Topiris and that his specimen closely matched modern specimens collected in Brunei and three more previously unrecognised Wallace specimens. The resurrected genus Topiris now consists of 14 species, of which 11 are new to science.

‘This discovery highlights the incredible potential of modern DNA analysis to reveal the evolutionary history of species, even from fragmented and long-forgotten specimens,’ says Dr David Lees, Senior Curator for Microlepidoptera (pictured).

‘By applying this innovative sequencing technique, we’ve not only revived Francis Walker’s species Topiris candidella from 1863, but also expanded our understanding of an entire group of small white moths.’

From dust to discovery

It can be hard to recover genetic information from Museum specimens, due to the fragmented nature of old and poorly-preserved DNA. Now, a new technique called genome skimming needs only the smallest pieces of material to generate a genetic signature for a species from old museum specimens.

Analyse the morphology

To determine the species, we compared key characteristics of the moths, particularly in their wings and genitalia. These moths were prepared by imaging their right-hand wings to show the arrangement of the veins within the wing. For more modern specimens, the genitalia was removed from the abdomen and then mounted on a slide for further analysis.

Search for matches

The genome-skimming technique is so sensitive it picks up DNA contamination from the surrounding environment, such as the person handling the specimen or the last organism to be sequenced. It’s helpful to have a reference sequence from a related species to lter out this noise. By searching for where the DNA code overlaps with the known genome for Topiris salva, scientists reconstructed a DNA barcode for these moths.

Swap legs for data

The reconstructed DNA barcode from the Alfred Wallace fragment matched almost perfectly with modern specimens collected in Brunei. Not only that, the genitalia of the male Brunei specimens proved a dead ringer for one of the other previously unrecognised Topiris candidella specimens collected by Wallace. The results proved the link between Topiris candidella specimens and the 11 new species. 1 3 2 4

A small fragment of a remaining leg was removed from Wallace’s specimen for sequencing. For the other moths, two legs were removed. In the past it was hard to obtain a reliable DNA sequence from very old specimens, but genome skimming is perfect for badly degraded museum specimens – because it’s so sensitive it can pick up millions of pieces of DNA from even very small samples.

Reveal the results

Journal Inside story

‘I

love the conversations I have with visitors – every moment

is a joy’

As the Museum’s Learning Volunteer Programme celebrates 20 years, Sandra Sterman tells us about two decades spent exciting visitors about nature.

My life in a nutshell

I have a close-knit family. I was married for 58 years. I have four children and four grandchildren.

My rst job was as a lab technician in a microbiology laboratory.

I enjoy archery, botanical drawing, classical music, dressmaking, gardening, ri e shooting and small ship cruising.

I volunteered as a scout leader for 45 years, helping young people to be the best version of themselves.

What do you do at the Museum?

I am proud to be a learning volunteer. My role involves using objects from the natural world to interact with and inspire visitors of all ages and levels of understanding. From animal skulls to minerals, and meteorites to arthropods, you’ll nd me on the gallery oor discussing the beauty of nature and advocating for its protection. Together with visitors, we explore the identity, function and conservation of all things natural history.

I’ve been a learning volunteer here for 20 years – since the programme’s very start – and every moment has been a joy. I’m a keen supporter of the Natural History Museum, I love to champion the Learning Volunteer Programme (LVP) and I adore encouraging visitors to appreciate our fascinating, beautiful and fragile planet.

What skills are needed to interact with visitors?

As a science teacher in junior and secondary schools, a scout leader and a scout leader trainer, I already had many of the skills needed for interacting with children and adults, both individually and in groups. The training and support I received from the LVP has helped me to develop my skills working with Museum visitors. I was also a Red Cross rst aid trainer for over a decade. This experience gave me

another opportunity to interact with the public and built my skills of engagement.

What has kept you at the Museum for so long?

Working on the gallery oor is a great way of introducing visitors to the wonders of the natural world. I give a silent cheer when a self-confessed arachnophobe feels able to pick up a spider (in resin, of course). I love listening to a child who’s an expert on their favourite topic when they’re given the chance to talk about it with me. I am constantly amazed at the depth of knowledge of young people and it’s a joy to hear them enthuse.

The enrichment programme for learning volunteers has expanded my knowledge of the work done at the Museum. Visiting the secret store, extracting our own DNA, learning about minerals, and touring Kew have been a few of my highlights. The best was when the Darwin Centre opened and a group of us were trained in preparing specimens for an electron microscope to produce images.

I cherish the support and friendship of my fellow volunteers. In times of stress, they and the LVP management team are so kind and considerate. This was especially apparent when my husband fell ill. The support I received was so sincere and caring – I don’t exaggerate when I say it saved my life.

What’s your favourite part of the Museum?

The Creepy Crawlies gallery (Green Zone). I love the conversations I have with visitors about arthropods! I also love how, as learning volunteers, we get to co-develop the activities we deliver. This gives us a sense of pride and enables us to talk con dently about our passions and areas of expertise. I helped develop our ‘Seeds’ activity, which physically demonstrates to visitors how di erent types of seeds travel, such as by wind, gravity, water and animals.

Would you recommend volunteering to others?

Yes, and I do constantly. The programme is wonderful for both volunteers and visitors, and the managers make each session so welcoming and interesting. I introduced the programme to my late husband when he kept wondering where I was going and why I was having so much fun. Three of my grandchildren have participated as junior volunteers, too! I’ve introduced many people to the programme, including Martin How, who we sadly lost last year. He’s a much-missed member of our volunteering family. O

Find more about the Learning Volunteer Programme at bit.ly/nhm-lvp

Journal Exceptional specimens

Green with envy

Emeralds are miracles of geology. ‘Goliath’ is an impressive cluster of natural emerald crystals, and a one-of-a-kind natural treasure.

Scienti c name

Beryl, variety emerald

Chosen by Robin

Hansen

Science Background

Senior Curator, Gems and Minerals Collections

Emeralds only grow when chromium-rich rocks and beryllium-rich rocks are brought together through geological action.

Nicknamed ‘Goliath’ for its huge size, this specimen was discovered in 2010 at the Kagem deposit in Zambia, believed to be the world’s single largest emerald-producing mine. It’s composed of multiple bright-green emerald crystals, intergrown in a sparkling black metamorphic rock called schist. Emerald is the vibrant green variety of the mineral ‘beryl’: a beryllium aluminium oxide. Other varieties of beryl include blue aquamarine and pink morganite. Emerald is not as common as other varieties because it requires unique geological conditions to grow. Beryllium is an element found in the Earth’s crust. It’s normally only found in concentrations high enough for beryl to grow in rocks of granite and pegmatite (an igneous rock with large intergrown crystals).

Emerald, however, also contains the elements chromium and/or vanadium as impurities –these are the cause of the unique green colour.

What makes this specimen so special is the sheer number of emerald crystals, their large size and well-formed shapes

The lowdown

Revealing crystals

Goliath contains more than 100 individual emerald crystals within the mica schist host rock. It was extracted and prepared for display by removing the encasing matrix rock to reveal the crystals.

Chromium is found in very di erent types of rock to beryllium, and usually occurs much deeper in the Earth. Emeralds can therefore only grow when geological action brings these di erent rock types together.

Hydrothermal uids circulate between the rocks, carrying the dissolved elements and, if the temperature and pressure conditions are right, emeralds will begin to crystallise from the uids. At the Kagem deposit, emeralds are found in a zone up to three metres wide, between black chromiumcontaining mica schist (metamorphic rock composed of mica minerals) and beryllium-containing pegmatites that have intruded into the schist.

Emerald crystals are usually mined to be cut up for gemstones, but occasionally they are retained for their beautiful crystals, which make collectible specimens. At the Kagem deposit, superb emeralds are found enclosed in white quartz and, as seen here, within the dark sparkling schist rock.

What makes this specimen so rare and special is the sheer number of emerald crystals that have grown together in one place, as well as the large size and well-formed shapes of the individual crystals. Many of the emeralds have translucent areas that would be considered of suitable quality to be made into a gem, but also darker areas where small minerals from the schist have been incorporated into the emerald crystals.

The nal stages of emerald mining at Kagem are carried out by hand by an expert team of ‘chiselers’. That is the reason why this specimen has survived intact and was able to be extracted in one piece.

The specimen has been kindly loaned to the Museum by the mining company Gem elds and will be on display for two years. O

Heavyweight

This enormous emerald specimen weighs 33kg and measures 65cm wide and 35cm high. It’s so large that a special plinth had to be designed to support its weight inside the display case.

Light molecules

Elements that cause colour in minerals are called chromophores. Emeralds get their range of colours – from yellow-green to bluegreen – from the chromophores vanadium and chromium, plus iron.

Geological event

These crystals formed around 500 million years ago, when the pegmatites intruded into the much older (c. 1.6 billion years old) schist, and the conditions were right for emeralds to grow from circulating uids.

VISIT THE MUSEUM

See Goliath in The Vault at the end of the Minerals gallery (Green Zone). The refresh of The Vault gallery has been supported by The Cookson Charitable Trust.

Goliath is an extraordinary specimen that contains more than 100 emerald crystals. It weighs 33kg and measures 65cm x 35cm x 25cm. Here it’s compared to a penny coin for scale.

Hexagonal shape

Emeralds typically form in elongated, six-sided crystals, characterised by a hexagonal cross-section, as can be seen here. This is because all beryl crystals grow with hexagonal symmetry.

DID YOU KNOW?

Chromium and vanadium give emeralds their intense green colour. Iron gives Zambian emeralds their bluish tint.

Kagem, in central Zambia, is believed to be the world’s largest emeraldproducing mine. It produces around 25 per cent of the world’s commercial emeralds, including Goliath.

Colour me green

Emeralds from Zambia often have a beautiful bluish-green hue. This is thought to be due to higher iron content and lower vanadium content than beryls from mines in other locations.

Years in the making

The emeralds crystallised over millions of years. Following their growth, the area continued to undergo geological movement, recorded by the visible fractures seen across the crystals.

Rewilding mines

The Kagem deposit is mined by an open-pit method. Where possible, mined areas are back lled and overlaid with saved topsoil. Indigenous plants are replanted from seedlings grown in nurseries.

Are we in the universe? alone

Today, there’s more evidence than ever to suggest that there could be life beyond Earth.

The Museum’s new immersive exhibition

explores the ingredients for life and what we know so far, and considers what else could possibly be out there...

WORDS: AMY POLLAK

Today, scientists are more optimistic than ever that life could exist somewhere out there in space. New discoveries are leading to greater understanding of the worlds in our Solar System, the planets orbiting other suns, and the limits of life on Earth. Together, these discoveries are increasing con dence that other worlds could have the conditions for life to arise. Robotic space missions are part of revealing these new insights into the possibilities of life in our universe, particularly our closest neighbours in the Solar System.

The search for life in space is based on what we know about life on Earth, but it’s possible that extraterrestrial life could be entirely di erent. Earth is the only planet we know of that harbours life, so this is the only example scientists have to go on to understand what ‘life’ is, and what to look for elsewhere.

All life on Earth is based on carbon. Scientists believe extra-terrestrial life is likely to be similar to life on Earth, since the same elements and physical constraints that exist on Earth also exist in other places in space. That said, it’s possible that life elsewhere –life not as we know it – could be based on another element, such as silicon, or something else that we can’t even imagine.

The ingredients for life

It’s complex, but there are four fundamental ingredients and processes that life needs to arise and be sustained. The rst of these is liquid water – the chemical reactions that form life need water. The second is protection from the sun’s radiation –on Earth, that’s our atmosphere. The third is an energy source; fuel for life’s chemical reactions and to keep water in liquid form. The fourth are elements essential for life; carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur – the basic beginnings of life. Carbon provides a base the other elements can attach to. Scientists look for these ingredients when →

New at the Museum

assessing places in space that could have the potential to support life there.

Evidence from recent asteroid sample-return missions support the idea that the fundamental ingredients for life, including water and certain elements, were brought to early Earth by asteroids. During the chaotic beginnings of our Solar System, asteroids bombarded Earth and its neighbouring planets. Some of these asteroids would have contained carbon, other essential elements and water locked up in minerals, and likely left these ingredients on Earth to build up over time. Studying early Earth itself though is di cult as evidence doesn’t survive from the very earliest times. But meteorites originating from asteroids can help. These remnants from the formation of our Solar System often remain unchanged since that time and can hint at the processes Earth went through as it became a planet.

Not just where, but when?

Can you tell which of these landscapes is Mars and which is Earth?

Locations such as the Atacama Desert look very similar to the red planet.

The timescale of our universe is so vast, what are the chances that life on another planet exists at exactly the same time as us? Modern humans have been around for at least 300,000 years, a very short time in the scale of Earth, which is around 4.5 billion years old. And the universe is around 13.8 billion years old! So the search for life is not just focused on the present. Scientists are trying to detect signs of life forms that may have existed in the past – robotic missions are currently under way, or planned for the future, on Mars.

Even if humans were around at the same time as extra-terrestrial life that we could communicate with, given the vast distances between us, would that even be possible?

Using Earth to understand space

The search for life in space starts with understanding life on our own amazing planet. Astrobiologists study the origins of life on Earth, as well as searching for evidence of life in other places in space.

Microbial life is found in extreme environments on Earth where the conditions are hostile to most other life, including us. These include very acidic, hot, salty or cold places, or a combination of several of these conditions. Exploring how life can thrive in these environments helps scientists understand and look for these conditions on other planets and moons, expanding the range of places elsewhere that life could potentially be found.

Microbes were the only life on Earth for billions of years. Studying the fossils and traces left behind by these

bacteria and archaea (single-celled microorganisms) helps scientists to understand how life might have started on Earth, and what signs of life to look for on other planets. Microbe fossils on Earth include stromatolites (wavy layers of ancient microbial communities), chemical traces left behind by microbes and the microfossils of individual microbes. If there is, or was, life somewhere else in our Solar System, it’s likely to be microbial as well, in which case it would probably leave similar evidence behind. The oldest evidence of life on Earth is around 3.5 billion years old – as far back as we can currently see to life’s origins. (Look out for this in the exhibition.)

Places on Earth that are similar to environments on another planet are called analogue sites. There are many analogue sites on Earth that have conditions comparable to places on other planets or moons, both today and in the past. Di erent sites are studied for di erent conditions, as no single location o ers them all. For example, the Atacama Desert in South America has similar dry and cold →

Below Perseverance is currently collecting rock samples in and around the Jezero Crater on Mars, which may one day be returned to Earth on a future mission.

Scientists are actively exploring the habitability of Mars, including evidence of past liquid water and the potential for microbial life.

Was there life on Mars?

Though Mars is unlikely to host life on its barren and inhospitable surface today (there’s a possibility life could survive deep underground), it was once very di erent. Scientists used to think it was always as it is now – desolate, cold, dry, with no protective atmosphere – and that life could never have existed there. But data from telescopes, spacecraft and meteorites have revealed that, in the past, Mars had an environment much more conducive to life.

Billions of years ago Mars was warm, had lakes and rivers, and was protected by a thick atmosphere. Scientists now think microbial-type life could have thrived there. Over time, robotic space missions have discovered more about Mars and the signs of its ancient watery past. In 2008, NASA’s Phoenix robotic lander scraped back the Martian surface to reveal frozen water. This was the rst direct evidence of the existence of water on Mars today. The NASA Curiosity rover has been on Mars since 2012 and is still operating. It found signs that

the planet used to have liquid water and could have been a habitable environment for microbial life.

Over the past few years, NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover (left) has been actively searching for hints of ancient life. In an area called the Jezero Crater, the rover has been exploring an ancient river delta lled with the types of rock that can preserve traces of life. It’s discovered evidence of minerals made in, or altered by, water, organic (carbon containing) molecules and some of the elements essential for life.

One day, rock samples collected by the rover could be returned to Earth for studying in more detail. This is the only way to con rm its ndings.

‘Museum scientists are helping to plan where rovers go and to study the samples they investigate during their exploration of Mars,’ says Professor Caroline Smith, Head of Collections. ‘One day we hope to study the samples in labs here on Earth, perhaps even ones at the Museum!’

DID YOU KNOW?

A sample from one of the Museum’s Martian meteorites is on the Perseverance rover to help calibrate one of its instruments.

Life on a world of ice?

Some of Jupiter’s and Saturn’s many moons are icy worlds, with signs of hidden oceans beneath their frozen crusts. Unlike our Moon, these moons could have some of the conditions for life, and scientists are studying them to uncover further clues.

Until recently, it was thought that liquid water couldn’t exist in our Solar System so far away from the Sun. But robotic missions have uncovered hints of oceans under the surface of these worlds, kept from freezing by warmth from within the moons themselves.

One theory is that this comes from tidal heating, the movement inside the moon created by the strong gravity from the planets they orbit. The latest space missions, such as ESA’s Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) and NASA’s Europa Clipper, are on their way to nd out about these oceans, and other conditions that could enable life to exist.

Juice will study Callisto, Ganymede and Europa, which orbit Jupiter. Saturn’s moon Titan is a bit di erent, though it may have a hidden ocean beneath the surface. Its conditions of liquid methane instead of water, and frozen water rocks, may be more like early Earth. It also has

Buy the book

Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?

Museum experts explore which worlds could harbour life. Priced £9.99, available from the Museum’s Shops and at nhmshop.co.uk

Members and Patrons get a 20 per cent discount.

a thick atmosphere. Scientists think some of these icy worlds’ hidden oceans could have hydrothermal vent systems like those on Earth, where water heated inside the Earth emerges through the sea oor. Though the water would be cold, hydrothermal vents could provide warmth and energy for life there. On Earth, we know some life forms have adapted to survive such extreme temperatures, pressures and lack of light. Could it be the same on these icy worlds?

conditions to environments found on Mars today. Meanwhile, hydrothermal vent systems in Earth’s deep oceans, and the life that thrives around them, tell us about the environments that could be hidden beneath the icy crusts of some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Scientists also study other extreme habitats on Earth to understand how life is adapted there, even though an equivalent environment in space has yet to be found.

The BIG question

This deep-sea vent clam lives on hydrothermal vents from submarine volcanoes. It partners with bacteria in its gills to make energy to survive.

One of the biggest questions humans have considered over time is, what might it mean if we found life in space? It’s di cult to know. It could change everything – from how we view ourselves, to our ideas of what life is and our understanding of our fellow life forms on Earth. It might depend on the type of life that’s discovered, for example, if it was a being that we see as similar to ourselves, or a type of microbial life. If life was discovered on Mars, it would most likely be the remains of ancient microbes from when the planet was more like Earth. In its early days, Mars had an atmosphere

Jupiter

Juice spacecraft

Icy moons of our Solar System

Europa is a large moon orbiting Jupiter. Its surface is frozen ice, but there are signs of an ocean of liquid water underneath.

Enceladus

Enceladus is a moon of Saturn, with a cold, icy surface and liquid water below.

Callisto

Callisto, a moon of Jupiter, may have a salty ocean beneath its icy surface, but conditions here are less favourable to life.

Titan orbits Saturn and is the only moon in our Solar System that has a thick atmosphere.

and liquid water, and in some ways was more habitable than Earth at that time. If signs of life are found there, it would be the rst evidence that life on Earth is not unique.

By contrast, life on an icy world, such as the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, would have arisen in

Earth

Jupiter’s largest moon is believed to have liquid water and its surface is thought to be composed of rocks and water ice in roughly equal proportions.

a completely di erent way to life on Earth, in a closed environment under the ice. Missions are looking for evidence of the conditions for life in these places, not yet the traces of actual life forms.

The scaly-foot snail has iron in its shell and foot, which protects it in the environment around hydrothermal vents.

But it’s possible that simple life forms – single celled, like bacteria – could exist in the hidden oceans of these icy worlds. These would be our closest living neighbours. Beyond our Solar System, the possibilities are endless. But the vast distances mean the evidence of life that can be detected is limited. And, if a planet with some of the conditions for life were identi ed beyond our Solar System, we likely could never reach it.

But one day we might know for sure if there is life out there in space – and if there is, then what’s next? Should we attempt to communicate? What do you think? ●

Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?

Until 22 February 2026

Our new exhibition asks: are we alone? Travel from Earth’s extreme environments into space, in the search for life.

nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/space Members and Patrons get free, unlimited entry, do not need to book and have priority access.

Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? is supported by Lead Funder the Huo Family Foundation and Lead Corporate Sponsor Jupiter Asset Management.

VISIT THE MUSEUM LISTEN TO THIS

Discover a curated space-themed playlist on Spotify, and nd out more: nhm.ac.uk/visit/songs-for-space

volcano Inside

The complex processes that cause eruptions are hidden deep within the Earth’s crust. Now the Museum’s pioneering studies of volcanic minerals are enabling scientists to uncover their mysteries – and perhaps even forecast future catastrophes.

the

WORDS: PAUL BLOOMFIELD

Roam the slopes of Popocatépetl, the grumbling volcano that looms some 5,400m over central Mexico, and you might encounter a greyhaired old man. He may approach you and ask for something to eat or drink – and if he does, you should oblige. Because he just might be Gregorio Chino Popocatépetl, the spirit of the mountain, come to warn of an impending eruption. Or so legend has it – and certainly some local residents still make o erings to ‘Don Goyo’ to placate their volatile neighbour.

No wonder. Volcanoes bring life, producing highly fertile soils, but also death. The tsunami sparked by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa killed around 36,000 people; pyroclastic ows from Martinique’s Mont Pelée claimed nearly 30,000 lives in 1902; and crop failures caused by the volcanic winter following Tambora’s eruption in 1815 led to nearly 100,000 deaths. Eruptions can destroy homes, infrastructure and livelihoods.

In short, these capricious cones are ery, excitable, unpredictable – and their outbursts can have dramatic consequences for the half-billion or so people who live in their shadows. In many ways, their temperaments seem very human. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that they’ve been cast as characters in myths and legends of cultures ranging from the ancient Greeks and Romans to New Zealand’s Maori, the indigenous Guanche people of the Canary Islands, and inhabitants of Hawaii and Mesoamerica [see box, p36].

Volcanic personalities

We know today, of course, that volcanoes are born of geological rather than supernatural forces – molten rock and gas surging through the Earth’s crust. Yet each one behaves in a unique and variable way, and that’s what makes understanding and predicting their actions as challenging as it is important.

‘Every volcano has its own personality and exhibits di erent moods,’ explains Dr Chiara Maria Petrone, volcanologist at the Natural History Museum. ‘Even one that normally behaves predictably will sometimes act very di erently. For example, Stromboli’s activity is usually so distinctive that a speci c mode of eruption is named after it. But in 2019, scientists were caught out when it produced two explosive paroxysms less than two months apart.’

Our impact

‘I interpret physical evidence to analyse what’s going on in the “mind” of the volcano’

MUSEUM EXPERT

Dr Chiara

Maria Petrone

Chiara is Merit Researcher and Head of Volcanology, working on active volcanoes to improve our understanding of their inner workings and impact on society.

Volcanoes, then, don’t always behave the same way. We can see this clearly when we look at Stromboli and also Etna, two of Italy’s best studied active volcanoes, about which reports and writings date back nearly two millennia. These are the focus of Chiara’s work. Understanding how their activity has changed – and what causes those variations – can help us foresee future events. ‘I think of my work as a kind of psychology: interpreting physical evidence to analyse what’s going on in the “mind” of the volcano,’ she says. ‘Examining the geological record can teach us about past behaviour, helping us to forecast future events.’

The form of re

At the simplest level, volcanoes are categorised in two ways: what they look like and how they erupt. ‘There are two basic morphological forms,’ Chiara outlines. ‘The shield volcano is a very broad, gently sloping mountain, like many found in Hawaii and Iceland. These tend to form at a point where a superheated plume of magma pushes up through the Earth’s crust, or on lines called constructive margins where two tectonic plates are moving apart. Then there’s the stratovolcano – the classic cone-shaped a air that any ve-year-old might

Right Chiara visits two of Guatemala’s most active volcanoes, Volcán Fuego and Pacaya Volcano, to witness their activity.

Chiara is part of a team of volcanologists at the Museum, who are investigating the dynamics of explosive eruptions at Stromboli volcano, Italy, with a particular focus on its last 5,000 years of activity.

sketch: think Popocatépetl, Vesuvius, Fuji,’ she continues. ‘These mostly form in areas where an oceanic tectonic plate is being forced beneath a continental plate.”

Such subduction zones are responsible for the so-called Ring of Fire, a 40,000km-long band around the Paci c Ocean studded with more than 450 volcanoes and seismic hotspots that runs through New Zealand, Japan, Central America and South America’s ‘Avenue of Volcanoes’.

A volcano’s appearance won’t necessarily reveal what you can expect when it erupts, though. ‘Each can produce very di erent types of eruption, and these can change over time in the same volcano –even during the same eruption,’ says Chiara.

Lava and gas

Eruptions, too, are classi ed broadly as one of two types. In e usive eruptions, only limited gas is emitted, with no explosion; these are characterised mostly by lava ows, as seen in Hawaiian volcanoes, such as K ī lauea on the Big Island.

Anatomy of an eruption

Magma chamber

A reservoir containing a mixture of molten rock and gases. The chamber may not actually be a single large pool of uid in which magma accumulates, but can be a complex system of chambers and channels at di erent levels within the Earth’s crust.

Fumarole

A vent in the earth, often on the anks of an active volcano, through which hot sulphurous gases, carbon dioxide and vapours are emitted.

Main vent or conduit

The primary channel through which magma reaches the surface from the subterranean channels and chambers below.

Crater

The opening that’s formed at the summit of the volcano during an eruption.

Secondary cone

A smaller outlet for magma, often formed when the main vent becomes blocked or constricted.

Lateral cone

A minor protrusion formed by fractures on the volcano’s anks below the main crater.

Lava ow

Molten rock, heated to around 700–1,200°C far beneath the Earth’s surface, that streams down from the crater. The rate of ow depends on the viscosity of the lava, largely a function of its silica content – more silica equals more-viscous lava.

Ash cloud

Mass of ash, crystals, volcanic glass and cinders thrown into the air during an explosive eruption.

Volcanic bomb

A lump of partly solidi ed hot magma over 64mm (2.5 inches) in diameter hurled from the crater during an eruption.

Ash and lava layers

Cooled, solidi ed magma alternating with carpets of ash laid down in layers over time, enlarging the volcanic cone.

→

Explosive eruptions, meanwhile, involve variable quantities of gas, which powers the outbursts. Within those, explosivity varies widely. Sometimes it’s low, as seen recently at Mt Etna, producing

relatively modest lava fountains. More energetic eruptions produce short outbursts of gas and magma at fairly regular intervals – at Stromboli, typically a few times an hour. In contrast, during a Plinian eruption – epitomised by Vesuvius’ catastrophic outburst in AD 79 that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum – a vast umbrella of ash, gas, chunks of magma and other rocks are expelled with great force over a period lasting from a few minutes to several hours, sometimes with pauses of hours or days between intense activity.

‘An important factor determining the explosivity of an eruption is the composition of the magma,’ explains Chiara. ‘Magma containing less silica is basaltic, which tends to be a bit more uid –like that found in Iceland, Stromboli and Etna – and traps less gas. If there is more silica, the magma is stickier and tends to trap gas, making eruptions more explosive.’

Messengers of the volcano

Shape, location, eruption type: these are aspects we can assess externally. Thermal cameras, satellite images, drone photography and seismic sensors all provide information about what’s happening.

But to really dig beneath the surface of a volcano’s personality – to understand its moods and intentions, if you like – we must analyse its ‘tells’. Scientists have deduced elements of the volcanic plumbing system, revealing how the magma wells up through channels and chambers in the Earth’s crust before erupting at the surface. But of course we can’t see exactly what’s going on down there – so we need proxies to study these systems in detail. And that’s where Chiara comes in.

‘Minerals are the messengers of the volcano,’ she explains. ‘They record details of what we call the pre-eruptive processes. And to understand what’s happening, I study what’s produced during those processes: magma.’

Left In 2021, the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted for a total of 85 days – the longest eruption ever recorded on La Palma island. It destroyed roads, buildings and agricultural land.

Right

Chiara visits Mount Etna, the most active stratovolcano in the world. Its eruptive history can be traced back to 1500 BCE. Lava ows and ash emissions from an eruption in February disrupted air tra c around Sicily.

Below

One of most active volcanoes in the world, Ethiopia’s Erta Ale, has an active lava lake at its heart. (Inset) Ruined house on Mount Etna.

To understand a volcano’s personality –its moods and intentions – we analyse its ‘tells’

In 2024, Chiara visited Mount Etna to collect samples that had recently erupted by intense lava fountaining. Fresh samples are crucial to understanding how volcanic activity progresses during periods of intense activity.

Geoengineering:

Could we, should we?

Interventions to mitigate the impacts of – or even prevent –volcanic eruptions are nothing new. A century ago, tunnels drilled in the crater walls of Mt Kelud, east Java, drained the large lake from which lahars (volcanic mud ows) streamed during the 1919 eruption, killing more than 5,000 people.

Other e orts included attempts to block or divert lava by bombing (Mauna Loa, Hawaii in 1935; Etna in 1983), cooling with seawater (Heimaey in Iceland, 1973), or building channels and barriers (Etna again, 1983 and 1992).

Outcomes varied, but e orts at least bought time for evacuation. In Cameroon, degassing of volcanic Lake Nyos averted a repeat of the disaster of 1986, when some 1,700 were

asphyxiated by CO2 following a limnic eruption (a rare natural hazard in which dissolved carbon dioxide suddenly erupts from deep lake waters, forming a gas cloud).

The possibilities of reducing human casualties or damage must be balanced against the risks of unforeseen outcomes – for example, inadvertently redirecting lava towards another population. ‘The results of geoengineering have been mixed,’ adds Chiara. ‘It’s controversial, not least because we don’t yet have rules to follow, and the consequences are largely unknown.’

Magma mostly comprises molten rock that cools down as it rises towards the Earth’s surface. While it does so, minerals within the magma start to crystallise – and those crystals contain vital clues.

‘They’re witnesses, recording what’s happening below the surface from the moment a crystal starts to form until the eruption,’ Chiara says. ‘If we can unlock their secrets, we can extract a lot of information – such as the composition of the magma and how it changed during the lifetime of that particular crystal, the depth at which the crystal formed, its movements during its formation, and the time period over which these processes occurred.

‘When the magma lling up the volcano’s plumbing system rises from a deeper depth to a shallower level – in e ect, priming it for an eruption – crystals record this information. By recovering a crystal at a known time after the eruption that emitted it, we can calculate what di erent processes occurred and when. Then we can cross-reference those against measured seismic activity or gas emissions at the surface. So if, for instance, a crystal reveals that magma was accumulating at a certain depth 10 days before an eruption, and if that timing coincided with a seismic or gas signal, this could help us interpret indications and potentially predict the timing of forthcoming eruptions. This is the kind of work I’ve

Cones and culture

Hawaii’s ery goddess

By tradition, the Hawaiian islands were the handiwork of Pele, goddess of volcanoes and re. Legends depict the passion and jealousy of this volatile deity, believed to live in the Halema‘uma‘u crater atop K ī lauea – the world’s most active volcano.

Virgil’s gate to hell

The volcanic crater Avernus, west of Naples, was portrayed as the entrance to the infernal underworld in the Aeneid (c. 29–19 BC).

In his Georgics, Virgil described how ‘often we saw Etna well up in waves… rolling up balls of re and molten rocks’.

Pliny’s depiction of Vesuvius

Roman Pliny the Younger likened the column of debris and gas ejected by Vesuvius in AD 79, to a pine tree, ‘for it shot up to a great height in the form of a very tall trunk… we were immersed in thick darkness, and a heavy shower of ashes rained upon us.’

Watchful Popocatépetl

According to pre-Hispanic myth, Mexico’s second-tallest peak is the warrior Popocatépetl, keeping watch over his beloved Iztaccíhuatl (‘white woman’ in the indigenous Náhua language), whose three peaks seen in pro le resemble the head, breasts and feet of a sleeping woman.

New Zealand’s peripatetic volcano

In Maori mythology, the male volcano now called Taranaki Mounga fought with another over the female peak Pihanga. Defeated, he ed south – where he fell in love with Pouākai, settling nearby. In January, Taranaki Mounga was granted legal personhood.

Tambora’s veil of darkness

When Mt Tambora on Sumbawa, now eastern Indonesia, erupted in 1815, it spewed out vast quantities of ash. The following ‘year without summer’ saw temperatures dip and crops fail in Europe and North America. Lord Byron penned his poem Darkness by Lake Geneva: ‘I had a dream, which was not all a dream/ The bright sun was extinguish’d.’

‘One day we might be able to accurately forecast volcanic eruptions’

DID YOU KNOW?

Around 67 large cities (>100,000 inhabitants) are located on or close to an active volcano – one that has the potential to erupt either e usively or explosively or both. Among those, there are three megacities: Tokyo, Manila and Mexico City.

been doing at Stromboli and Etna, and at Colima and Popocatépetl in Mexico,’ Chiara says.

The samples Chiara collects are analysed in labs back at the Museum. ‘First, I grind a rock specimen to make very thin, transparent slices, and examine them using a regular microscope,’ she explains. ‘Then a scanning electron microscope maps the crystal’s structure in more detail. We use an electron microprobe to analyse, at a very high spatial resolution, the crystals’ composition and how it changes from the core to the rim – in other words, over the course of its formation. Finally, we use a laser beam to detect precise levels of elements present in the crystal at very low concentrations.’

Linking information from newly retrieved crystals to the timescale and processes leading to an eruption, and the type and explosivity of

Above During an explosive Strombolian eruption at Batu Tara volcano on Komba Island, Indonesia, red glowing lava bombs were visible, with observers noting eruptions of varying intensity at intervals of between 10 and 50 minutes.

the resulting outburst, is enabling Chiara to build up a catalogue of such activity. These e orts are augmented by analysis of specimens from the Museum’s incredible collection of some half a million rocks, gems and minerals.

‘Our collections are unique and hugely useful because so many items are accurately labelled and dated – we know exactly when and where they were acquired,’ says Chiara. ‘For example, take the deadly 1902 eruption of Mont Pelée, on Martinique. We are very lucky that the Museum was sent samples collected while the eruption was still occurring, so we have crystals with accurate temporal resolution alongside details of the event. Thanks to such specimens, I can study the past activity of a volcano using the Museum’s historic collections as well as analysing my new samples – all part of the kind of forensic volcanology we undertake.’

Buy the book

Volcanoes & Earthquakes (2019, £14.99) by Chiara Maria Petrone, Roberto Scandone and Alex Whittaker is available from the Museum Shops and online at nhmshop.co.uk. Members and Patrons get a 20 per cent discount.

Volcanoes have inspired fear, awe, adulation and fascination throughout the story of humans living among them. So it’s apt that historic specimens are contributing to Chiara’s e orts to improve our understanding of the patterns of volcano behaviour.

‘One of the central tenets of [in uential nineteenth-century Scottish geologist] Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology is that “the present is the key to the past”. We should identify connections between remains from distant history and current geological processes,’ Chiara concludes.

‘My hope is that we can also use this knowledge to inform the future. We still have a lot of work to do in terms of collecting and interpreting the data – but the long-term ambition is that one day we might be able to accurately forecast volcanic eruptions before they happen.’ ●

Above right

Chiara led a team of Museum scientists and curators on a visit to La Palma after the 2021 eruptions. ©Getty

Whales were a source of oil for lubricating machines and making soap, margarine and other products that fuelled the growth of the British Empire.

whale The

The Natural History Museum is home to a globally important collection of whale, dolphin and porpoise specimens. Dr Sophia Nicolov’s research is revealing the history and legacies of the British Empire and whaling in shaping this collection.

W bl of

has identi ed

When I came across two huge blue whale vertebrae in the Natural History Museum’s Cetacea collection, I had no idea they would lead me to solve a mystery spanning more than 100 years and half the globe. Or that I would unravel an unexpected link to a long-forgotten colonial exhibition that showcased wildlife from the British Empire.

In a collection as vast as the Museum’s, you start each day not knowing what path a specimen might take you down. The vertebrae were labelled with notes saying ‘Nov 6th 1924 Falkland Islands’ and, unusually, ‘Wembley Exhibition’. Having grown up in North London, to me Wembley meant football, suburban homes and shopping centres. I had no idea what could connect a whale to this part of London.

The labels didn’t give much away. It wasn’t clear where the vertebrae were actually collected or when – the most important pieces of information needed for any natural history specimen. So began a year-long investigation, piecing together records from the Museum as well as other archives and libraries. My research eventually revealed that the vertebrae belonged to a blue whale killed o South Georgia in the South Atlantic during the 1922/23 whaling season. They then travelled to the Museum via one of the biggest colonial exhibitions ever staged: the ‘British Empire Exhibition’, held in Wembley in 1924.

Changing times

The vertebrae are some of 350+ specimens I’m studying for my research into the role of the British Empire and whaling in shaping the Museum’s collection of Southern Hemisphere cetaceans. From species ‘newly discovered’ in colonised territories to specimens brought back by major expeditions and industrial whaling operations, this collection evolved in response to the changing empire, economies and ecosystems.

The clue in the Archive

The Museum’s Archive provided the key to solving the mystery of the whales of Wembley

The Southern Whaling and Sealing Company was owned by the Lever Brothers, a British company co-founded by Lord Leverhulme. It manufactured soap, one of the main products using whale oil in the 1900s.

In a letter from Lever Brothers to Sidney Harmer in May 1924, months before the Wembley vertebrae were o ered, Lever Brothers con rms that whaling specimens Harmer requested could be obtained. It reveals the relationship Harmer had established with the industry.

In another letter, Lord Leverhulme himself wrote to Harmer, ‘It will be a great pleasure … to be of assistance … by securing specimens.’ While Harmer was amiable to whaling companies, his other correspondence acknowledges the industry’s cruelty and condemns it as a threat to entire species.

2

Sophia

a number of specimens acquired from the 1924–5 British Empire Exhibition held in Wembley, London.

Every

specimen tells a story...

1831–1836 Charles Darwin’s Beagle voyage

One of the earliest cetacean specimens from the Southern Hemisphere in the Museum’s collection is part of a dusky dolphin harpooned from HMS Beagle o South America. Charles Darwin named the species Delphinus Fitzroyi, after Captain Fitzroy (who illustrated the dolphin).

1839–43 The Ross Expedition

Sailing on the ships HMS Erebus and Terror, Captain Ross reached the furthest point south yet and con rmed the existence of the Antarctic continent. The Ross Sea is named after him. Among the natural history specimens he brought back are these roughtoothed dolphin skulls. ①

1872–1876 Challenger Expedition

Challenger was the rst dedicated oceanographic expedition, traversing huge areas of the ocean. It transformed knowledge about life in the deep sea and laid the foundation for modern oceanography, including a collection of manganese nodules formed around cetacean bones.

1874 Transit of Venus Expedition

This was a British astronomical expedition to the Kerguelen

Islands in the sub-Antarctic to study the Venus of Transit, which occurs approximately every century. The only cetacean specimen collected was the skeleton of a longnned pilot whale. Other British expeditions went to ve observation sites, including Hawaii and Cairo.

1878–1882 HMS Alert Expedition

HMS Alert conducted a surveying expedition ② to the South Paci c and Patagonia, Australia and Polynesia. Dr Richard Coppinger, the ship’s surgeon, contributed

As an environmental historian, I aim to learn how and why an animal became a specimen, the wider historical context of its collection, and, ultimately, what it can reveal about the past and our changing relationship with the natural world. Untangling the mysteries of specimens collected from distant oceans can be complicated. It can take days, weeks or even months to tease out their origin story.

Some letters in the Museum’s Archive were a turning point in my investigation into the vertebrae (see Archive story, left). They belonged to Sir Sidney Harmer, Keeper of Zoology from 1909 to 1921 and Director of the Museum from 1919 to 1927. Since the early 1910s, he had been deeply troubled by the impact of whaling in the Southern Hemisphere. He argued that specimens and data should be collected from commercial operations to learn more about these rapidly declining species.

By the 1920s, he had established direct communications with several whaling companies for just this purpose. This included Britain’s Southern Whaling and Sealing Company. They provided the whale vertebrae for the British Empire Exhibition, and, at the event’s close, o ered them to him for the Museum. Mystery solved.

History in the collection

This is just one example of how historical research can generate new understanding about specimens. We can chart a century of imperial exploration and major expeditions in the Southern Hemisphere through our cetacean specimens. Expeditions not only contributed to the expansion of imperial power, and searched for economic resources, they transformed western scienti c understanding and

Two blue whale vertebrae, rst exhibited at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition.

the study of natural history. Both Captain James Ross’ Antarctic expedition (1839–43) and the British Antarctic ‘Southern Cross’ Expedition (1898–99) prospected for whales to exploit, while recording scienti c observations and collecting specimens.

Other specimens are bound up in histories of settler-colonialism in places like Australia. The expansion of Britain’s Empire provided access to marine habitats thousands of miles away, increasing the collection’s diversity as well as its temporal and geographic range. Today, the Museum holds cetaceans that stranded on beaches as far away as Aotearoa New Zealand and the Falkland Islands.

In the 1800s, museums modelled on those in Europe were established in some regions. They sent specimens to London – to be identi ed or added to their collections. The only Antarctic minke whale skeleton at the Natural History Museum was collected by Lincolnshire-born Professor Frederick Hutton, the Curator of Otago Museum in Aotearoa. He was in regular communication with the Museum’s Keeper of Zoology, John Edward Gray. When Hutton found the whale on the beach, he sent its skeleton to Gray, who described it for western science as a new species of minke whale, calling it Balaenoptera huttoni. However, it was not until 1998 that minke whales in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere were o cially recognised as separate species.

The impact of whaling

For more than 400 years, whaling was important economically, scienti cally, politically and culturally, representing a key part of Britain’s story, heritage and identity. It’s no surprise, therefore, that many specimens are connected to the industry. With the establishment of modern industrial whaling in South Georgia in 1905, the early twentieth century marked a key shift in the Cetacea collection’s development.

Written and photographic records are uncomfortable reminders of the scale of the pro tdriven exploitation of species such as blue, n and humpback whales, which caused devastating population depletions and ecosystem degradation that are still evident today. However, beginning with Harmer’s work, the specimens acquired via whaling also represent early e orts to proactively study whales, and monitor and regulate the industry.

Harmer took a leading role in the establishment of the Discovery Investigations in 1925, a programme of scienti c study that was initially focused on whales and whaling around South Georgia. For over two decades, expeditions and research were funded by pro ts from the whaling industry through the Colonial O ce. Specimens range from skin samples to an entire southern right whale skeleton.

But the Discovery Investigations went far beyond whaling and South Georgia. British colonial territories like South Africa provided the opportunity to collect non-target species such as beaked

Sophia examining one of several humpback whale skulls in the research collection. This specimen was collected from waters around New Zealand and was originally held in a museum there.

I’m an environmental historian and Research Fellow based in the Mammal Collection. I specialise in histories of whales, whaling, ocean and empire.

Mission of discovery

The British Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition, 1910-13, produced illustrated natural history reports, including these dusky dolphins.

surveys and zoological specimens, including ear bones from a whale found at Cockle Cove, in the Strait of Magellan, Chile.

1898 British ‘Southern Cross’ Antarctic Expedition Funded by the British publishing magnate Sir George Newness, the predominantly Norwegian crew sailed under the Union Jack, marking Britain’s entry into the ‘Heroic Age’ of Antarctic Exploration. A female southern right whale skull was donated to the collection.

MUSEUM EXPERT Dr Sophia Nicolov

1909 First British whaling operations established in South Georgia

Christian Salvesen & Co donated a series of specimens over the following decades, including blue, n and humpback whales. It became the largest whaling company in the world by the mid-twentieth century. When it ceased operations in 1963, Britain’s whaling industry ended. ③

1910-1913 British Antarctic ‘Terra Nova’ Expedition to the South Pole Expedition leader Robert Falcon Scott and ve others died attempting to be the rst to reach the South Pole. Several cetacean specimens were collected by biologist Denis G Lillie, who visited whaling operations in New Zealand. Lillie did not set foot on Antarctica. ④

1913–14 Barrett-Hamilton Expedition, South Georgia

Led by Major BarrettHamilton, the Museum supported an expedition to investigate whaling following major declines. Percy Stammwitz, Museum preparator, assisted him.

Unfortunately, BarrettHamilton suddenly died, but Stammwitz continued the investigations, examining hundreds of whales and preparing specimens to send to London.

1921–22 ShackletonRowett Quest Expedition

The nal expedition of the ‘Heroic Age’ of Antarctic Exploration. Led by explorer Ernest Shackleton, who died suddenly in his cabin when they had only reached South Georgia. The Quest returned with a spectacled porpoise specimen.

1925–1950 Discovery Investigations

Series of expeditions focused on whales, whaling and marine ecosystems in the Southern Hemisphere. It lay the foundation for what became the National Oceanography Centre. Diverse cetacean specimens were collected, including a series of whale ear bones from whaling operations. ⑤

whales, dolphins and porpoises, other marine mammals, seabirds, sh, invertebrates like krill and other species. Specimens were worked on at the Museum in the Discovery Huts, buildings dedicated to the Discovery Investigations’ specimens and laboratories, until the late twentieth century.

My research revealed the fascinating work of Dr Helene Bargmann, who joined the Discovery Investigations in 1928 as Curator of the Discovery collections at the Museum. She began working here in the rst year that women scientists were o cially allowed to be employed, ultimately becoming an expert on krill and Antarctic biology.

Another important gure was Francis Fraser who, having worked for the Discovery Investigations since 1925, joined the Museum in 1933 as an Assistant Keeper of Zoology, eventually becoming Keeper of Zoology in 1957. Fraser became a leading cetacean scientist, reassessing the existing collection, collecting dolphins and porpoises through global scienti c networks, and studying whales from factory whaling ships. My research is uncovering just how vital Fraser’s work was for modern marine mammal science.

The British Empire weaves through the cetacean collection, and as I investigate the links between cetaceans, colonialism and commerce, it’s clear there are many more histories yet to be revealed. My work underscores the changing signi cances of natural history specimens and the enduring legacy of the Natural History Museum’s role in cetacean science, helping us understand the current biodiversity crisis. ●

©From

DID YOU KNOW?

Megatherium was up to 10 times the size of living sloths and reached weights of up to four tonnes (similar to a bull elephant). On its hind legs, it would have stood at 3.5 metres (12 feet) tall.

Museum

treasures

With more than 80 million objects, the Natural History Museum is home to one of the largest and most important natural history collections in the world. Here, we reveal some of the remarkable stories behind 10 of our treasures.

Giant ground sloth

The four-metre-tall replica skeleton of the extinct giant ground sloth, Megatherium americanum, is one of the most photographed specimens in the Museum. Its scienti c name means ‘great beast from America’. Discovered in 1787 by Manuel Torres in Argentina, the rst M. americanum fossils were shipped to the Museo Nacional de Ciencias in Madrid, where the original skeleton is still on display.

The giant ground sloth lived in today’s South and Central America, and was up to 10 times the size of its living relatives, the tree sloths, reaching weights of up to four tonnes (similar to a present-day male elephant). It had long shaggy fur, foot-long claws and long arms. The strong cutting ridges on its teeth suggest that it may have browsed on leaves.

Footprints discovered in Argentina show that Megatherium americanum walked on its pad-like hind feet with its tail raised o the ground. Since the giant creature had no natural enemies, its extinction seems likely to have been linked to the rst arrival of humans in South America.

Megatherium fossils have been found with cut marks – perhaps these giant sloths were on the menu thousands of years ago!

VISIT THE MUSEUM

See me opposite the Waterhouse gallery (Green Zone)

2

The Battle of the Somme was one of the most awful events of warfare in history. On the rst day alone, more than 57,000 British troops were killed or injured.

Yet in the build up to this darkest of days, one soldier serving on the frontline took a moment to watch as a delicate swallowtail butter y dipped and uttered through a trench in which troops were preparing for the battle to come.

It was June 1916, a month before the hostilities began in earnest. Austin Augustus Tullett was only 21 when he caught the rare butter y, Iphiclides podalirius, in the trenches at Maricourt, just north of the River Somme He kept the butter y in near perfect condition until October 1917, when he was discharged as ‘no longer physically t for war service’

Returning to the UK, he married and worked at the private museum of James John Joicey in Surrey, where his swallowtail butter y ended up.

When Joicey’s collection was given to the Natural History Museum in 1934, Tullett’s butter y came with it, providing lasting testimony that, even in the face of the most unimaginable horror, one soldier cherished a tiny spark of beauty

Duck-billed platypus

Nothing has confused the science world as much as the duck-billed platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus This is the rst specimen brought to Europe from Australia in 1798, and when it arrived scientists were convinced it was a fake.

How could an animal with fur also have a bird’s beak? At the time, China was known for producing fakes, in which leftover bits of animals were stitched together and sold as new discoveries. Such hoaxes included the eastern monkey, which had the body of a monkey and the tail of a sh.

The platypus not only looked odd from the outside, its insides were strange, too

But the platypus not only looked odd from the outside, its insides were strange, too.

If it was a mammal, as the fur would suggest, where were the other typical mammalian features, such as a uterus or milk glands? The platypus did not have them. The monotremes –the platypus and echidnas – are now thought to be the most primitive of living mammals, and the only ones that lay eggs rather than giving birth to live young. But it took a year of careful study before scientists felt reassured the platypus was not a fake, but a new and remarkable animal to science.

FOCUS ON: Okapi belt

Such was the rush to record the okapi, a new and unusual animal, rather than wait to nd the animal itself the belt was scienti cally recorded as the rst example of the animal and named Okapia johnstoni

4 Okapi

This belt is the rst o cial record of the okapi, with its unmistakable plum-coloured, striped skin. It was sent to the Museum in a urry of excitement in 1900 by the explorer Harry Johnston. Working in Africa for the British colonial service, Johnston had heard about an elusive, long-legged and striped animal living in Congo, but had never seen it. His chance to look for it came while he was in Uganda and a group of rescued Indigenous peoples needed to be returned to their Congo home. They had been kidnapped for an exhibition in Europe, a popular attraction at the time. On Johnson’s way back, he stayed at an army base where he discovered a soldier wearing an okapi belt made from the legs of an okapi. He bought it from him there and then. It was as near as he was going to get!

Ichthyosaur

Ichthyosaurs swam the oceans between the Triassic and Cretaceous Periods. Unlike many other reptiles that lay eggs, they gave birth to live young, a feature that probably evolved before they became aquatic.

The Museum has three ichthyosaur specimens on display that include foetuses –two of them appear to have died giving birth. The rst is a two-metre-long Ichthyosaurus somersetensis from the Jurassic of Somerset, England (below). Look closely and you can see the foetus emerging head- rst near the hind region. This specimen was used by J Channing Pearce in 1846 to con rm that ichthyosaurs gave birth to live young. It was purchased by the Museum in 1905 for £60.

Purchased a year later, the second specimen is an example of Stenopterygius quadriscissus from the Jurassic of Holzmaden, Germany. It contains at least six foetuses. Palaeontologist Arthur Smith Woodward announced its purchase in an article in Geological Magazine in 1906.

The third specimen, purchased in 1926 from renowned fossil dealer Bernhard M Stürtz, also represents S. quadriscissus from the same place and time. It shows a foetus emerging tail rst from the body cavity and, unlike the other two specimens, it’s a cast.

Precious wentletrap 5

The precious wentletrap, Epitonium scalare, from the Indo-Paci c ocean, was once considered a very rare shell. It’s unique because the whorls are not tightly joined together, as is the case with most spiral gastropods. Instead, the shell is held together by a series of white ridges, called varices, leaving gaps between the whorls.

these shells would fetch several hundred pounds apiece and were in such high demand that they were counterfeited using rice our. It’s said the fraudulent shells were soon detected by the owners when they dipped the fake shells in water to clean them, only to watch their precious wentletraps become worthless blobs.

FOCUS ON: Ichthyosaur live birth

Recent studies suggests that ichthyosaurs increasingly gave birth tail rst, paralleling the evolution of birthing direction in whales and sea cows. It remains unclear why this change occurred in these groups.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, at the height of their popularity,

Though no longer considered rare, they’re still greatly admired by collectors, but their prices nowadays are a modest fraction of earlier times.

VISIT THE MUSEUM

See me in the Fossil Marine Reptiles gallery (Green Zone)

Irish elk

These magni cent antlers are from the largest deer that ever lived, the extinct Megaloceros. They span 3.5 metres and weigh a crushing 40kg (88lbs). Like modern deer, only males grew antlers, bone extensions of their skull that they shed each year to grow bigger ones the next year.

By extracting DNA from fossils,

w ’

Glyptodon

Bigger than a baby elephant, Glyptodon clavipes was the most armoured of all the Ice Age mammals, with a huge dome of bony shell. This giant relative of the modern armadillo grew

to about three metres from head to tail. It roamed, slowly, around the humid swamps of southern USA and Mexico, wallowing in the mud and feeding on plants, until it died out 10,000 years ago.

Its shell was made up of about 2,000 small plates of bone, each about three centimetres thick and fused together to form an intimidating defence. If the shell was not enough to deter predators, a swing from Glyptodon’s clubbed tail would probably see them o . And, though it couldn’t roll up like its armadillo relatives, Glyptodon merely had to tuck its small head into its shell to become completely invulnerable to attack.

Megaloceros was related to today’s f r

Known as the Irish elk, Megaloceros lived across Europe and western Asia until it became extinct about 8,000 years ago. Growing up to two metres tall, the impressive animal was hunted by early humans, but climatic changes at the end of the Ice Age also contributed to its demise.

Most Megaloceros fossils have been found beneath Ireland’s peat bogs and, like this example, have been stained black by the peat Recent research has allowed us to extract tiny amounts of residual DNA from the fossils and prove that Megaloceros was related to our modern fallow deer.

Mount Everest beetle 9

When asked why he intended to climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, the explorer George Mallory tersely responded, ‘because it’s there’. Mallory accompanied three British Everest expeditions during the 1920s: a reconnaissance in 1921 and attempts on the summit in 1922 and 1924, when he and his climbing partner, Sandy Irvine, lost their lives. It was never conclusively shown whether they had reached the top, but Everest remained o cially unconquered for another 19 years.

Scienti c discovery has often gone hand in hand with exploration, and these Everest expeditions yielded remarkable collections of

Barbary lion

This lion skull was excavated from the moat of the Tower of London. The lion lived in the Royal Menagerie, the monarch’s personal collection of wild and exotic animals. It was probably thrown into the moat when it died, its quick burial possibly the reason why it’s so well preserved.

A royal menagerie was established in Woodstock Park, Oxford, by Henry I in 1100. Almost a century later, it was moved to the Tower of London by King John, who reigned from 1199 to 1216. Over the centuries many animals were gifted by foreign royalty to the menagerie – particularly lions, the symbol of the English throne.

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See me in Treasures in the Cadogan gallery (Green Zone)

This skull was one of two excavated in 1937. Carbon dating con rms one lion lived between 1280 and 1385, the other between 1420 and 1480. Their long skulls and large canines show they were both males, and genetic research on their jawbones revealed they share unique genes with the North African Barbary lion, which is now extinct in the wild. Western North Africa was the nearest region to Europe to sustain lion populations until the early twentieth century, so it was easy to access. Apart from a tiny population in northeast India, by the early 1900s lions had been almost exterminated outside sub-Saharan Africa. ●

more than 10,000 natural history specimens, most of which are now preserved in the Natural History Museum.

The fauna of high mountains is often unique, with many species occupying only a narrow range of altitudes. Collections were assembled by the expeditions’ medics, respectively Sandy Wollaston, Tom Longsta and Richard Hingston. Hingston alone found more than 9,000 invertebrates, including 4,883 beetles and more than 100 species new to science. About 40 of these were named ‘hingstoni’ in his honour, but ground beetles and grasshoppers from Everest were also named in memory of Mallory and Irvine.

Buy the book

Treasures

of the Natural History Museum

This book celebrates some of the Museum’s most exceptional natural history specimens*, including world-famous objects and littleknown curiosities, each selected for its beauty, scienti c importance or intriguing story. Priced £14.99, Treasures of the Natural History Museum is available in the Museum Shops and online at nhmshop.co.uk. Members and Patrons get a 20 per cent discount.

*Please note, not all the treasures in this article are included in the book.

thinkers Deep

They’ve survived ice ages and asteroids, outlived dinosaurs and spread their arms to survive in every part of our oceans. Yet octopuses continue to surprise us in ways we never thought possible.

WORDS: JOSH DAVIS

Given our massively divergent bodies, how do we even know how intelligent cephalopods actually are? It can seem di cult to conceive how we can test their brain power when they experience the world in such a vastly di erent way from humans. This might be true for some tests, but, as Dr Alex Schnell explains, that doesn’t mean it’s a challenge that can’t be overcome.

‘It’s de nitely possible to compare cognitive abilities across such di erent species, but it requires a shift in thinking’, says Alex, a comparative animal psychologist who studies octopus intelligence, including their ability to plan. For example, if you were to design an intelligence test for an ape, you might instinctively design a test that involves manipulating objects with ngers. But this obviously wouldn’t work with an octopus.

Octopuses are some of the most extraordinary animals on this planet, unlike anything else that has evolved. They have no bones, soft, malleable tissue that can change colour and texture on a whim, eight arms that act independently of their brain, three hearts and a sharp, piercing beak. They are also exceedingly clever. They’ve been shown to be able to solve complex problems, use tools and build basic structures, recognise individual humans and even, potentially, hold grudges against those they don’t like.

Though the closest relatives of cephalopods – the group that contains octopuses, squid and nautiluses – is the humble sea snail, their intelligence is often compared to that of crows and great apes. But against this similarity in brain power, the last common ancestor of apes and octopuses lived some half a billion years ago.

‘The key to creating relevant tests for any species is to rst observe their natural behaviours in the wild,’ explains Alex. ‘Often, an ‘aha’ moment comes when you notice a unique behaviour and wonder what cognitive abilities might be driving it. From there, you can design tests that align with those natural behaviours, making the experiments more meaningful and species-speci c.’

A distributed brain

Alex has built a career on trying to get glimmers of insight into the inner workings of cephalopod brains, showing for example that common cuttle sh can pass the Stanford marshmallow experiment. This is the test in which an individual is given a single edible reward, but if they can delay grati cation and wait for a little bit of time, they’ll be given a second reward and allowed to consume both. Alex found that not only were the cuttle sh able to pass this test, but those that exhibited better self-control ‘also performed better on other learning tests, suggesting that self-control may be connected to overall intelligence.’

Above Octopuses swim using jet propulsion by expelling water through a siphon. This enables them to move quickly, but swimming is physiologically demanding, which is why they prefer crawling. →

This allows scientists an extraordinary glimpse of an entirely independent form of intelligence, one that was moulded and honed in a totally di erent environment from our own. If we want to know what alien life might look like, we could do a lot worse than looking at these multi-layered molluscs.

The similarities in brain power between these invertebrates and vertebrates challenge our understanding of how brains work. This is because the structure of the cephalopod brain is so radically di erent from our own.

Jon Ablett is the Natural History Museum’s expect on molluscs, including the cephalopods. ‘They have the most complex brain and the most complex nervous system of any invertebrate

Play

Eight things you never knew an octopus could do

Play is an interesting behaviour. Though we might recognise it when we see it, play is surprisingly di cult to de ne. By and large, it’s seen as something that’s repetitive but with no immediate biological function. Based on this, some observations suggest that captive octopuses play by repeatedly releasing a oating bottle into an aquarium current and then catching it again.

Regrow lost limbs

It can be a dangerous life for octopuses. But in some species, if one of their arms is cut o or damaged, the animals have a remarkable capacity for regeneration. Within three days of being severed, octopuses have formed a ‘knob’ from which a hook-like structure emerges. Over the next 100 days or so, the arm will fully grow back. ①

Dream

Do octopuses dream of electric crabs?

Scientists are pretty sure octopuses do dream. Researchers in Brazil found that the cephalopods went through di erent phases of sleep, alternating between a quiet phase, in which they were still, and an active phase during which their skin changed colour and texture, and their muscles twitched. ②

Fight dirty

Octopuses have historically been thought of as solitary, but research is revealing their more social side, including confrontations during which

individuals go tentacle to tentacle. When things aren’t going their way, some octopuses have been lmed using their siphons to ing shells and kick sand into the faces of their opponents, allowing them to make a quick getaway.

Build cities

Scientists studying cephalopods o the coast of eastern Australia have made a remarkable discovery: two octopus settlements. At Octopolis and Octlantis, these usually solitary creatures have formed colonies, with each individual building their den by piling up sand and shells to form little defensive barriers.

Rewrite their RNA

RNA is the molecule that allows an animal’s DNA to be turned into the proteins and tissues that build the body. But octopuses have a truly remarkable way to edit their RNA. Unlike DNA evolution, which can take generations, this allows octopuses to rapidly adapt to changing conditions, such as water temperature, in a matter of days.

Produce venom

All species of octopus that have been studied produce venom, it’s just that most of the time it’s harmless to humans. It seems likely that one of the

rst ancient octopus ancestors evolved venom to subdue their prey. The blueringed octopuses are the only species that are dangerous to people, with each individual producing enough deadly toxins to kill 26 adults.

Use tools

Tool use was once the benchmark for human intelligence, but research has revealed more and more animals using and crafting tools. This includes the veined octopus. These cephalopods have been observed carrying empty coconut shells across the sea oor and then using them for concealment and defence when they feel threatened. ③

DID YOU KNOW?

The young of many octopus species spend a period of time drifting in the plankton before they settle to the seabed.

‘Most of its nerve clusters – or “brainlets” –are in an octopus’ arms’

group,’ explains Jon. ‘For example, the common octopus has around 500 million neurons, which is about the same as a dog.’ But it is the way in which these neurons are organised that’s so revolutionary.

‘They have a central brain, but the majority of the nerve clusters – I like the word ‘brainlet’, but it’s not an o cial word – are in the arms. This allows each arm to act independently, with only very minimal input from the central brain.’

So we know that some cephalopods show amazing signs of intelligence, but that begs the question of why they have evolved this in the rst place. While within vertebrates this likely involved some form of sociality, that seems less likely for our aquatic intellectual peers.

‘Cephalopods have developed remarkable cognitive abilities, but their evolution of intelligence di ers from that of other large-brained animals,’ explains Alex. ‘Unlike many species that evolved complex cognition due to social pressures – such as primates and dolphins – cephalopods did not have the same social structures driving their intelligence. Instead, their intelligence appears to have evolved solely in response to ecological pressures.’

These pressures have primarily manifested themselves in the need to nd food, shelter and

Above

In its larval stage, a wonderpuss octopus is transparent and drifts in the open ocean as plankton. The red brain is visible within its translucent head. They are small, vulnerable, and undergo morphological changes, relying on ocean currents for dispersal.

mates. The fact that many species only live for a few years at most means they must be able to rapidly do all three of these things in order to survive. Simultaneously to all of this, the animals are also very vulnerable. Most cephalopod species have done away with the external shells that are more common in other molluscs, exposing their soft bodies to the environment. According to Alex, this has likely driven the ‘evolution of their brain as a tool for survival’ in which ‘their intelligence became a critical weapon.’ It appears as if the octopus may well be the embodiment of brains over brawn.

A benthic bias

Most research looking into the intelligence of cephalopods has tended to focus on octopuses and cuttle sh. This can give the impression that the related squids are perhaps lacking some of the cognitive abilities of their more well-known cousins. But, according to Jon, this could simply be a sampling bias.

‘We tend to study things that are easy to keep in the lab,’ explains Jon. ‘There are about 1,000 species of cephalopods, and the majority of them are squids. But because squids are pelagic [they live in open water], it’s very hard to replicate that in the lab.’

A natural mimic

Is it a snake? Is it a sh? No, it’s an octopus! Octopuses are known to be masters of disguise, as they seamlessly blend into their ocean surroundings. But mimic octopuses take things one step further. They’ve been observed mimicking a whole range of other species, including lion sh, sea snakes, jelly sh, sole, sponges, tube worms and tunicates. Their copying goes beyond just appearance. They will even move and behave in a similar way to the animal they’re mimicking, for example by in ating their mantel and trailing their arms behind their body when imitating a jelly sh. Whether or not this behaviour is learned or innate is still not clear, but it does seem like the animals are deciding on what to mimic based on what they’re doing. When hunting, for example, they might take the form of a non-threatening at sh, but if threatened by a predator they may elongate themselves to look like a venomous sea snake.

Above

Octopuses can quickly change the colour and brightness of their skin – and also alter its texture from smooth to bumpy or spiky – in order to blend seamlessly into their marine environment.

Below

A mimic octopus pretends to be a ounder in order to deter hungry predators. Biting o the tentacle of a soft, squishy octopus is one thing, but a rigid, bony at sh would give any predator pause.

This means it’s exceedingly di cult to study them. Octopuses, on the other hand, tend to be benthic living, which means they live on the sea oor. This makes it far easier to keep them in captivity and study their behaviour and intelligence. It’s a similar situation with cuttle sh, which typically live in shallow, tropical waters. It’s possible that this has skewed our impression of how intelligent the di erent groups of cephalopods are, when compared to each other.

But there is a range of behaviours seen in wild squid that hint at high levels of brain power. While it may not have been a driving force, many species are, for example, highly social animals requiring the cognitive ability to manage these interactions. In some species, this goes a step further. Humbolt squid are large, predatory cephalopods that live all along the eastern coast of the Americas. They form massive shoals of over 1,000 individuals and hunt collaboratively, chasing down prey as a pack.

Even with octopuses, our understanding of their social behaviours is shifting. For example, the discovery of an octopus colony o the coast of Australia challenges their solitary reputation, while evidence of octopuses hunting cooperatively with sh adds yet another layer to their cognitive abilities.

As always, there’s a vast wealth of information about these curious creatures that we simply do not yet fully understand. As more research is done, more aspects of their brain power will undoubtedly be revealed, giving us further insights into their amazingly alien minds. ●

Standing up for nature Roy Dennis

‘I always felt we shouldn’t just put up with not seeing native wildlife any more’

In recent years ospreys, beavers, white-tailed sea eagles and many other native species have returned to the UK. Ornithologist, writer and conservationist Roy Dennis OBE has been instrumental in bringing about many of these reintroductions.

When did you rst discover an interest in nature?

I rst got interested in nature as a kid, because my friends and I were allowed out by our parents to explore the woods and marshes of southern Hampshire. As we wandered around, we found nesting birds, newts, grass snakes and so much more. It was just what boys did in the countryside in those days, and at the age of 11 it led to me joining the Boy Scouts. The scoutmaster and his parents were really interested in wildlife, and they encouraged that fascination in me.

My grammar school didn’t teach zoology or botany, so I had to develop my passion for nature outside of school. At rst, that meant watching birds, because there’s so many of them around. There’s so much variety! Through watching them I became an expert and, very soon, I became a bird ringer and then an assistant warden on Lundy Island, an unspoiled island o the coast of North Devon that’s home to amazing wildlife.

In 1959 I went to Scotland, where I was taken under the wing of George Waterston, the head of the RSPB in Scotland and the Scottish

Ornithologist’s Club. Ospreys returned to breed in the Scottish Highlands in 1954, after a period of absence from the UK. So I then spent four years working in Strathspey, following the successful breeding of the ospreys there.

Though my work focused on the birds of prey, I watched birds everywhere I went – golden eagles, ptarmigan, capercaillie. I then went to become warden of Fair Isle, in the Shetlands, for seven years. It was a tremendous time, living with a community that was still doing the old-style agriculture that supported so much birdlife.

When did you rst notice the problems the natural world is facing?

When I was a boy, there was lots of wildlife everywhere. Except for birds of prey, that is. By that point, they’d been persecuted for centuries, and gamekeepers continued trapping and poisoning predatory birds and mammals on a huge scale in the 1950s and 1960s. As a result, all the birds that were normally prey species grew very plentiful.

I rst noticed wider declines in birds in the late 1960s and 1970s, when industrialisation was becoming more prominent. I was part of the RSPB at the time, and one of our main responsibilities was to look after birds caught in oil spills in the North Sea. Pesticide use and intensive agriculture were also on the rise, so we witnessed the collapse of populations of birds, including the peregrine falcon and corncrake.

This middle period of my life was characterised by intense threats to the UK’s birds. We were always re ghting, whether it was trying to stop people stealing eggs or falconers stealing birds, farmers destroying wildlife areas, or foresters covering the countryside with plantations.

When did you rst get involved in species reintroductions?

George Waterston and a few others had always dreamed of seeing the white-tailed eagle return to Britain. In 1967, he told me that he’d overcome all the bureaucratic hurdles to bring some eagles from Norway to Fair Isle, and wanted me to talk with the islanders in order to secure their agreement. Local people said it was ne – but if the eagles ate their lambs, there’d be trouble!

I had to learn how to rear the birds in captivity before they could be released into the wild. It was a tremendous challenge, and it was here that my rural childhood helped. As a kid, I’d reared all sorts

Follow some of Roy’s groundbreaking projects at roydennis. org/podcasts →

Roy has advised on reintroducing sea eagles to the UK and Europe. Here he is with a juvenile.

Standing up for nature

of animals at home, so I knew how to look after them and ensure they were t and healthy.

Over the months that followed, I released the eagles I’d raised. But then the project ran into trouble. One of the birds disappeared in the autumn – I suspect it ew to mainland Scotland where it was poisoned. The two females survived until the following year, then disappeared. I’d like to think they ew back to Norway, as some of the birds we release now do. The last individual was hassled by seabirds and didn’t make it.

Some people saw the project as a failure, but we learned a lot from it. This meant that when the government wanted to try again eight years later, on the isle of Rùm, it resulted nally in a growing population back in Scotland. Today, as

Roy’s life in a nutshell

Roy was the RSPB’s Senior O cer in northern Scotland from 1970 to 1990. He has worked with the Fair Isle Bird Observatory since 1994 and is now its honorary president.

In 1995, he established the Highland Foundation for Wildlife to work on species recovery and ecosystem restoration. It was renamed the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation in 2017.

Roy was an early advocate for the return of both beavers and lynx to the UK.

Roy is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster, and has presented the BBC’s Autumnwatch (in 2011) and Springwatch (2012).

In 2024 he was awarded an OBE by King Charles III for his work for nature.

well as Scotland, white-tailed eagles have been reintroduced to the Isle of Wight and Northern Ireland, and are being considered in other areas like Exmoor, south-east Wales and West Norfolk.

One of your next major projects was returning the goldeneye to Scotland. How did that di er from reintroducing a raptor?

The goldeneye reintroduction was di erent to the white-tailed eagle project. Most of these handsome ducks only spend the winter in the UK, but I thought it would be good to encourage a breeding population in the Highlands of Scotland.

We put up a dozen nest boxes and checked on them from time to time. In the summer, we’d see nothing. Then in the winter we’d nd starlings, jackdaws and red squirrels had used them – but no goldeneyes. It was nine years before a birdwatcher rst spotted a goldeneye with young from one of the boxes. We started putting up more boxes and then the population built rapidly. Today, there are around 200 breeding pairs.

It goes to show that conservation projects like these rely on resilience and long-term thinking. You need to act with the expectation that you will succeed – we kept the nestboxes clean and well maintained so that they’d be ready if, one day, the goldeneyes decided to use them. If we hadn’t persevered, the project wouldn’t have worked. It’s as simple as that.

Reintroductions can be quite controversial. How do you build support for them?

Firstly, you’ve got to know your species really well. When I rst started sounding out the idea of reintroducing beavers to the UK, I knew that I didn’t know enough about them to build support. So I went to mainland Europe to see the work being done there.

Landowners, farmers, foresters and the other people you need to convince can tell when you don’t know what you’re talking about – you need to be able to answer any question that comes up! They want to know what’s going to happen right now – and what you’ll do if it doesn’t go to plan. It’s only by communicating your expertise that you can build con dence and gain the support of people living in the countryside. This is what makes the greatest di erence to whether a project gets done or not.

You’ve been involved in many reintroduction projects over the years. How has public support changed during this time?

In the past 20 years, ecological restoration has become much more popular. It’s a huge change from the 1950s and ’60s, when I remember reading these big Victorian tomes about the wildlife that could be found in each county. These books made

me realise just how many species we’d lost and how important it was to get them back.

I always had the feeling that we shouldn’t just put up with not being able to see these animals any more. But the ornithological community of the time took a di erent view. They preferred to count populations and species, and track trends, but they didn’t like the idea of intervening when birds were in decline.

Today, it’s very di erent. There’s a huge strength of feeling about wanting to see native species that went extinct because of people, returned to the UK, to restore the health of our ecosystems. This is crucial because right now we’re at a tipping point. We need to make sure that the Earth will still be habitable when my grandchildren’s grandchildren are alive. Therefore we need to put much more e ort now into building a future for them.

What do you imagine the UK’s nature will be like in a century’s time?

That’s a really di cult question – it depends on whether people cut carbon emissions and slow

Buy the book

Restoring the Wild: Sixty Years of Rewilding our Skies, Woods and Waterways draws on Roy’s life’s work as a eld ornithologist and expert in species reintroduction. Available from all good bookshops.

down global temperature rises. When I travel around the UK, I’m always surprised that there’s so much land that isn’t being used. If the popularity of eating meat continues to decline, there’ll be more land becoming available in the future. We should be using it to produce fruit and vegetables, and support biodiversity.

I also think we need to protect more land. While the world is currently working towards preserving 30 per cent of the land and sea, I believe we should be protecting 50 per cent. Half the land and sea should be for nature, and half should be for us. I think there’s a real opportunity in the next century to make signi cant changes, and to seize opportunities now that will bene t our descendants.

When we have the chance to change things now, we need to think about what land will look like in 100 years’ time. Think of those avenues of enormous trees that were planted by the Victorians and Edwardians, which now are a beautiful and important feature of the countryside. We need to think long term if we want to restore nature in the UK. O

Roy appears on The One Show with Mike Dilger and an osprey.

flies and explosives high Spies,

Eighty years ago, on 8 May 1945, World War Two ended in Europe with joyful, almost incredulous celebrations. But restoring normality at the Natural History Museum after six exhausting years of horror and heroism would take time.

WORDS: KAROLYN SHINDLER

During July 1944, ying bombs devastated parts of the Museum. For the third time, since just before the war began, it was forced to close. So great was the damage, it could not reopen to the public for nearly two and a half years, more than a year after the war had ended. Even then only a few galleries could be used.

Over the course of the war just about every windowpane and glass case had been smashed. After one bombing raid alone, it was estimated that more than 100 tons of shattered glass had to be removed, while re and water damage compounded the destruction of the bombs. By 1944, the Museum’s Chief Fireman recorded that 1,000 air raid alerts had been sounded, and 256 alerts for ying bombs. A record of terror. The force of one bomb in 1944 hurled a piece of iron railing all the way across the grounds into what is now the Dinosaurs gallery.

War plans

But the wonder was that injuries were relatively minor, and damage to the collections much less than feared. And that was because, from 1933, mounting international tensions meant the Museum (and other institutions) had begun to plan. Lessons truly had been learned from the First World War. Not least was the immense contribution Museum sta could make to the war e ort – across every discipline and in so many aspects of war. From military intelligence and devising high explosives to problems in connection with public health, food safety and mineral resources, and serving in the armed forces – as well as providing scienti c advice.

Alamy

Bombing raids shattered almost every window and glass display case at the Museum. Today, some specimens still have glass in their fur.

Above The Museum’s librarian established a serial publication, Tin Hat, to which sta were encouraged to anonymously submit humorous articles to help keep up morale.

Top The Museum was severely damaged in several air raids between September 1940 and April 1941.

On 9 September 1940, two incendiaries and an oil bomb went through the roof of the east wing into the Botany Department.

Underpinning it all were the Museum’s vast collections, which informed everything the Museum did. Protecting those collections and the sta from aerial attack was of paramount importance. Sta were sent on anti-gas courses and trained in rst aid and decontamination. Air-raid shelters were built within the Museum. From 1938, irreplaceable specimens were prepared for evacuation. Lists were drawn up identifying places of safety far from cities, air elds, factories or anywhere else that might be a target for the enemy. Country houses, castles and caves were called upon, and the Museum’s newly acquired o shoot, the Walter Rothschild Museum at Tring, in Hertfordshire, was rst to be pressed into service.

The evacuation from South Kensington to Tring began months before war was even declared in September 1939. By the end of the year more than 40 lorry-loads had been dispatched, containing type specimens, those of historical importance and some of the most valuable books and manuscripts. Lists were made detailing every specimen, its destination, and which box it was packed in. A record was also kept of where in each house or castle every box was stored. Without these lists the potential for chaos was obvious.

The Museum even invested in an early form of photocopier to facilitate the work. Those specimens too large or fragile to evacuate, or which were displayed in exhibition galleries or were in

The Royal Air Force needed

to know

how

pilots could tell whales from enemy submarines

continuous use, were either moved to safer areas in the Museum, or protected as far as possible from the threat of bombs. By 1941, the most important items were dispersed to more than 25 country houses, from Hereford to Bedford, from Surrey to Cumbria, as well as Tring.

The spirit collections – zoological specimens preserved in thousands of glass jars lled with highly in ammable spirit – were evacuated to mine-workings below Godstone, in Surrey. An astonishing 21,351 jars were sent there. It was an extraordinary feat of logistics and organisation. All the houses and castles needed continuous inspection to guard against infestations, mould, mildew and so on, and none more so than the spirit jars stored underground. These not only had to have the level of spirit maintained, but faced attack

from oods, damp, rockfalls and fungi. Black fungi defaced the all-important labels, which had to be painstakingly scraped clean – a deeply unpleasant task – deciphered and reconstructed.

War education

The Museum mounted various instructive exhibitions, ranging from the importance of animals in war to the danger of insects and rodents to public health and food supplies. It issued pamphlets on locust control and bed bugs, while many of the entomologists were seconded to the Ministries of Food and of Agriculture and Fisheries and also to the Royal Army Medical Corps, as were zoologists and botanists. Geologists and mineralogists were sought by the military for their expertise including terrain, maps, water and mineral resources, and their abilities as physicists and chemists.

Government departments and the public constantly needed advice. Queries ranged from the Royal Air Force urgently wanting to know how its pilots could distinguish whales and basking sharks from enemy submarines, to seemingly everyone needing to know how to deal with mites and ticks. These pests could a ect animals and humans, vegetation and food, and could invade houses, workplaces, barracks and air-raid shelters. These latter were also breeding grounds for eas, moths, lice and disease.

Secret scientists

Some Museum scientists had wartime roles so hush-hush their colleagues had no idea what they did. 2

Before the war began, the Government identi ed a number of Museum scientists as potential candidates for intelligence work. All were pro cient linguists. At least four of them went to Bletchley Park, the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS). They worked in intelligence and cryptanalysis, not code-breaking:

Alexander Cockburn Townsend, librarian Townsend served in Hut 4, which dealt with analysis and intelligence for decrypted German naval communications. Later, he was transferred to the Distribution and Reference (D&R) section in Berkeley Street, London, which developed the ability to decipher and decode all diplomatic messages from every embassy. The D&R section, of which he became Head, organised this vast mass of material into e ectively a central library. ①

Arthur Wallis Exell, botanist Exell began in the Diplomatic section and became head of the Portuguese and Brazilian sections. At the

Museum, he had researched Portugal and its colonies extensively. His wife Mildred, who was also a botanist, oversaw the Brazilian material. ②

Geo rey Tandy, botanist and Royal Naval Reservist Tandy was sent to Bletchley Park in 1939. By 1943 he was a Lieutenant-Commander in charge of Naval Section VI, where he was tasked with interpreting captured naval documents. He later became Head of Technical Intelligence. ③

3

George Ivor Crawford, zoologist Crawford was a cryptanalyst at Bletchley Park. He was based in the Intercept Control Room, in Hut 6, which was the centre of the famous Enigma codebreaking operation.

Blowing things up

The Special Operations Executive was formed in 1941 ‘to aid and encourage all resistance to the enemy in occupied territories’.

Hidden in the heart of the Museum was Station XVB, the Demonstration Room of the Special Operations Executive’s Camou age Unit, where special agents could come to view the most fantastic devices and disguises for use in the eld. There were explosives camou aged as Chianti bottles, cigarettes, soap, rats, turnips, lumps of coal – innocent-looking items designed to in ict maximum harm to the enemy. There were precise copies of German uniforms and civilian clothes, and portable sniper posts disguised as trees.

The stated objective of all this was to safeguard the agents and facilitate their deadly work. All were saboteurs and disrupters – skilled in blowing up railways, bridges and communications.

Helping to devise those explosives was a Museum mineralogist, Dr Gordon Frank Claringbull. In early 1939 he studied X-ray crystallography under Dr Ernest Gordon Cox at Birmingham University, including studying the crystal structures of explosives. When war was declared, Cox undertook highly specialised, secret government work and asked for Claringbull.

In 1943, for the SOE, Claringbull worked on the use of explosives for particular targets, and in 1944 he transferred to the SOE’s headquarters in Baker Street, devising possible sabotage measures against the launch sites of the deadly VI and V2 bombs.

The one department where the bulk of the collection initially remained in the Museum was the Library. Alexander Cockburn Townsend, the librarian, noted in 1940 that the work carried on in the Museum over the past year ‘could not have been done without the contents of the library being readily available’, though a few months later the Blitz would change that.

Two weeks into the war, four copies of a magazine were discovered, judiciously placed around the Museum. It was a satirical magazine called Tin Hat, anonymously edited and written by the sta . It was funny, irreverent, hugely popular and everyone was desperate to know who was behind it. The guilty man – as we know now, but few did then – was Alexander Townsend.

On occasion it referred to what it called the ‘hush-hush organisation’ within the Museum. There were a number of government departments that occupied space in the Museum, but this might refer to one of huge importance – a control room for the civil defence of London.

The War Room

Known as the War Room, it was built underground in 1939 and what’s left of it is now the basement of the Museum’s Earth Sciences building. From here, civil defence operations across the capital were co-ordinated and air-raids were evaluated. But it caused outrage among some senior members of sta , who believed it made them a military target. On October 16 1940, when the Blitz was at its

©Imperial War Museum

Several galleries were commandeered to create a workshop (left) and top-secret demonstration room (above) full of tools for SOE agents.

height, the Museum, including the Shell gallery, was hit by incendiary and other bombs. On air-raid duty that night was the Zoology Keeper, Martin Hinton, a man not known for hiding his feelings. His report on the bombing was presented at the Trustees’ monthly meeting, minuted – and then partly redacted. That is vanishingly unusual.

This is what he said: ‘South Kensington has now become a military target of vital importance and that no blame attaches to our enemy for attacking it. The placing of a most important military establishment in our grounds… and of another in the disused Brompton Road Tube Station would appear to be at once a crime and a blunder.’

That is astonishing language, but he was supported by no less a person than the Museum Director, Dr Clive Forster-Cooper, whose comments were also redacted – and also still legible: ‘The Director fully endorses Mr Hinton’s comment as to the iniquity of installing military objectives in the midst of a number of Museums, and thinks it desirable to state that the proposal to do so did not come to his knowledge until it was clearly too late to make any e ective protest.’

But there was another, even more ‘hushhush organisation’ operating out of the Museum,

unknown to sta at the time. Hidden in the heart of the Museum, just o the Central (now Hintze) Hall, was a branch of one of the most secret of the secret services – the Special Operations Executive (SOE). This had been created by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in 1941 to send agents skilled in sabotage and subversion into Nazi-occupied countries with the instruction to ‘set Europe ablaze’ – in other words, blow things up.

Rebuilding the Museum

At the end of the war, Museum sta were only gradually released from the military and other government departments. They returned to a building devastated by bombs, most windows shattered and boarded up and much of the roof destroyed. Heavy rain ooded in through inadequate tarpaulins. The galleries were full of dust and dirt, many exhibits and display cases damaged. Shortage of builders and materials delayed repairs for months, if not years, and evacuated collections remained stacked in boxes until space could be found for them. There was more than enough work for the reduced sta , but it was also an opportunity to rebuild, renew and, slowly, recreate the Museum for the future. ●

Buy the book

A Museum At War: Snapshots of life at the Natural History Museum during World War One by Karolyn Shindler, priced £16.99, is available from all good bookshops.

Please touch

How do you experience a museum without sight? Our Archives reveal a history of experimental attempts to make the often-exclusionary space of the Museum more accessible for everyone.

WORDS : REBECCA KEDDIE, ASSISTANT ARCHIVIST

In November 1927, a group of school children from Barlby Road School Blind Centre visited the Museum, where they handled specimens while listening to talks from scientists. Originally an experience intended for soldiers injured during the First World War, this is the rst record we have of a visiting school group engaging with the natural world through touch.

Over the next few decades, these tours continued on an ad hoc basis. Then, in the 1980s, a more ambitious step was taken, and the Museum experimented with exhibitions exclusively for those with visual impairments.

In 1981, the Museum worked with the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB, now the Royal National Institute of Blind People) to put on an exhibition that explored woodland and seashore environments through touch, to coincide with the International Year of the Disabled. This was followed by the Discovering Mammals exhibition in 1985, which asked the question: what makes a mammal a mammal?

These exhibitions used tactile specimens and models, braille and moon labels (small signs near specimens), and audio cassettes to create an engaging, multi-sensory experience. The approach to designing these exhibitions was creative and experimental, and the Museum worked closely with groups like the RNIB, who helped translate labels

The Museum’s Archive holds material relating to its history, including architectural plans, expedition reports, research notes and correspondence, specimen records and sta photographs.

into braille, and advised on features such as audio cassettes, the use of a guardrail and space for guide dogs.

Visitor surveys show that these exhibitions were welcomed by the public, with the lion specimen (above) in Discovering Mammals a particular hit! However, some visitors expressed disappointment that the exhibitions were only temporary.

Though their short-lived nature was certainly a limitation, these experiments left a lasting impact. Five years on from Discovering Mammals, the Museum’s Discovery Centre for children opened. With the tagline ‘Please Touch’, it embraced a hands-on approach to learning. Intended as a space that would

Blind and partially sighted visitors were able to get hands-on with real specimens when the Museum began o ering specially designed exhibitions.

cater to all children, it was undoubtedly indebted to the groundbreaking earlier e orts of exhibitions exclusively for the visually impaired. O

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