Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 2hLast call! We're hiring 🐾 Assistant Curator of Environmental Archaeology 🏛️📌 Apply by Oct. 16, 2026 This is a 12-month, tenure-track position 👇 🔸 Full info: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/caree... 🔸 About the Department of Natural History at the Florida Museum: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/ 020
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Mammoth Moves 🦣 During our exhibit building closure, our exhibit team and paleontologists temporarily moved our iconic mammoth to replace the flooring – no small feet, um, feat! 🦣 Blog + photos: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/exhibits/blo... 📢 Reopening our exhibits building on Nov. 23, 2026! 091
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 07/10/2026#SpookySeason Science 🐠 Online Exhibit Ichthyologists use two main techniques to prepare skeletons from preserved specimens of all shapes and sizes without losing their skeletal positions. Inner Beauty 🩻 Skeletons Revealed from the Museum’s Fish Collection www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/exhibits/onl... 057
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Spooky natural history 😱 Horrific hunter Measuring up to 2 inches long, cicada killer wasps evolved their disturbingly large proportions to immobilize cicadas so their young can slowly eat them alive. More: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/spoo... 📷: Alejandro Santillana, Insects Unlocked, CC0 050
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Museum Resource 🐟 Fishes in the Fresh Waters of Florida Explore our state's freshwater fish species, including collection records, photos and map. Shown: Gulf Darter (Etheostoma swaini), indigenous to Florida's freshwaters 🔗 More info & browse gallery: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fis... 060
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Museum Collections 🧵 Seminole Dolls The Seminole and Miccosukee doll collection at the Florida Museum covers the 1930s to early 2000s: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/sflarch/ethn... Explore some of the details like faces, jewelry and hairstyles represented: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/sflarch/ethn... 033
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 01/10/2026#ICYMI Archaeologists have long debated how pottery from Native Americans of the Mississippian culture in what is now the Southeast U.S. wound up in Tampa Bay, FL. The answer: a secretive guild of migrant pottery artisans: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/arch... Study: doi.org/10.1017/aaq.... 053
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 30/09/2026The BIG news 📢 Nov. 23, 2026 Our reopening date has been confirmed! 🎉 We are so happy to welcome everyone back to our exhibits building just in time for the holidays. Much more news to come as we wrap up construction and prepare to reopen our doors. 📢 www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/visit/expans... 1113
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Work with us! 🐾 Assistant Curator of Environmental Archaeology This is a 12-month, tenure-track position 👇 🔸 Full info: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/caree... 🔸 About the Department of Natural History at the Florida Museum: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/ 🏛️📌 Apply by Oct. 16, 2026 022
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Vaughn Shirey, a curator at our McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, is fascinated by his chosen field of study, but also sees a connection between conservation & creativity. Shadow puppets for science: Exploring the biodiversity of imagination www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/events/blog/... 050
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Scientist Spotted 🦜 Our ornithologist Glaucia Del-Rio talked to the 'Okay, But Birds' podcast about Amazonian antbirds and her research in their newest episode: Okay, but griffins, and ligers, and birds, oh my! www.okaybutbirds.com/episodes/e41 🦜okaybutbirds.comE41: Okay, but griffins, and ligers, and birds, oh my! — Okay, But... BirdsGriffins and ligers are myths. Bird hybrids are real, and two Amazonian antbirds show where one species ends. 012
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Museum Resource 🐟 Fishes in the Fresh Waters of Florida Explore our state's freshwater fish species, including collection records, photos and map. Shown: Jaguar Guapote (Parachromis managuensis), non-indigenous to Florida's freshwaters 🔗 Info & browse: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fis... 030
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Archaeologists have long debated how pottery from Native Americans of the Mississippian culture in what is now the Southeast U.S. wound up in Tampa Bay, FL. The answer: a secretive guild of migrant pottery artisans. Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/arch... Study: doi.org/10.1017/aaq.... 041
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 21/09/2026#ICYMI 🦀 Sea snakes are known to have a variety of marine hitchhikers living on them. Biologists expected to find oceanic rafting crabs in the genus Planes in the mix, but found the wrong species instead. Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/plan... Study onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... 081
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Pam & Doug Soltis, @ufl.edu distinguished professors based out of the Florida Museum, recently received this year's Peter Raven Award by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. They're adept at making complex scientific topics easy to understand. Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/pam-... 1101
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Eleven undergrad students at @ufl.edu are the first to assemble the pignut hickory tree genome. The work was part of a hands-on research course open to all majors and taught by instructors here at the Florida Museum: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/it-t... Study: academic.oup.com/g3journal/ar... 021
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Museum Collections 🌾 Fakahatchee Grass This clumping Florida-native grass is a larval food plant for the Byssus skipper butterfly. From UF/IFAS: gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornam... Collection: Species: Tripsacum dactyloides Specimen: # FLAS 149700 www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/herbarium/ 052
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 14/09/2026We're hiring! 🐾 Assistant Curator of Environmental Archaeology This is a 12-month, tenure-track position 👇 🔸 Full info: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/caree... 🔸 About the Department of Natural History at the Florida Museum: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/ 🏛️📌 Apply by Oct. 16, 2026 035
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Planes on a snake? Sea snakes are known to have a variety of marine hitchhikers living on them. Biologists expected to find oceanic rafting crabs in the genus Planes in the mix, but found the wrong species instead. Story + study: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/plan... 054
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Museum Resource 🐟 Fishes in the Fresh Waters of Florida Explore our state's freshwater fish species, including collection records, photos and map. Shown: Goldline Snakehead (Channa aurolineata), non-indigenous to Florida's freshwaters 🔗 Info & browse: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fis... 071
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Museum Collections 🐾 Beautiful armadillo Browse our fossil vertebrate collections in a searchable database with photos and map: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/pr... Featured Species: Dasypus bellus Specimen: # UF/VP 61906 About this extinct armadillo: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-vert... 0211
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Museum Collections 🏺 Ceramic Vessel "This Taíno vessel was recovered from the site of En Bas Saline in Haiti," said archaeologist Gifford Waters. "It’s a reminder that the New World Columbus discovered was already inhabited by people." 🎧 More of the story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100-years/ob... 0113
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Benjamin Genter, a senior at @ufl.edu majoring in wildlife ecology and statistics, received the Henri Seibert Award for best student talk at the annual Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in New Orleans. About his research and student career: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/uf-s... 131
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Discover the vibrant world of these tiny spiders and the @ufl.edu research on these arachnids’ surprisingly good vision. Online Exhibit 🕺💃 Colorful Dancing Spiders www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/exhibits/onl... Lisa Taylor's work via UF Explore / @ufresearch.bsky.social: www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0j8... 0124
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Museum Collections 🌳 Gumbo Limbo These wind-tolerant trees are wonderfully suited to our coastal South Florida habitats. More from UF/IFAS: gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/trees... Herbarium feat.: Species: Bursera simaruba Specimen: # FLAS 100800 www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/herbarium/ 040
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Museum Resource 🐟 Fishes in the Fresh Waters of Florida Explore our state's freshwater fish species, including collection records, photos and map. Shown: Choctawhatchee Darter (Etheostoma davisoni), indigenous to Florida's freshwaters 🔗 Info & browse: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fis... 061
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Sept 8 🎣 Science on Tap: Keeping it (Swamp) Eel We're joining UF Thompson Earth Systems Institute at Cypress & Grove Brewing Co. for this FREE event. Rob Robins, our ichthyology collection manager, will be talking about swamp eels! Event info: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/event/sot-ke... 052
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 27/08/2026Scientists are tracking monarch butterflies with small, solar-powered radio transmitters—about the size and weight of a grain of rice. Florida Museum and Xerces Society researchers want to understand exactly where they go and how they get there. 🦋 Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/tiny... 081
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Museum Collections 🦪 Invertebrate Paleontology Galleries From barnacles to shrimp, browse fossil specimens in our invertebrate paleontology collection—with photos: floridamuseum.ufl.edu/invertpaleo/... Featured Species: Radiolucina waccamawensis Specimen: # UF 105316 Collectors: Roger Portell 0104
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 26/08/2026#ICYMI NEW Museum Resource 🐠 Fish Families of the World Gallery Searchable gallery of fish families of the world, with photos of specimens, CT scans and 3D models, x-rays, links to our specimen database, notes on characteristics, habitats, etc. Browse: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fis... 3369
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Scientist Spotted 🦣 Rachel Narducci, our vertebrate paleontology collection manager, talked with WEDU | PBS about fossil collecting, the Peace River and Florida's natural history—both above and below sea level. Watch: video.wedu.org/video/greate...video.wedu.orgGreater | Greater Wauchula | Fossils | Season 2026Join fossil hunters on the Peace River to unearth Florida’s ancient hidden beasts! 093
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 21/08/2026An international team of scientists collected and carbon-dated more than 7,500 marine fossils to understand time averaging—in which organisms from different time periods are preserved together in the same fossil bed. Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/pale... Study: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... 0208
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Museum Collections 🌴 Fossil Palm Feature: Fossil Palm (Sabalites apalachicolensis) "This is a fossil palm leaf that we collected from the base of Alum Bluff, a 52-meter cliff along the Apalachicola River just north of Bristol, Florida." 🎧 With Terry Lott: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100-years/ob... 061
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Scientist Spotted 🌳 Doug Soltis collaborated with LabX @ NAS on fun video shorts talking about the Tree of Life, how it helps researchers, and what we can learn by examining it. Videos rolling out all week! Check out our YouTube playlist as they are released: youtube.com/playlist?lis... 040
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 14/08/2026Museum Resource 🐠 Fish Families of the World Gallery NEW resource! Searchable gallery of fish families of the world, with photos of specimens, CT scans and 3D models, x-rays, and notes on characteristics, habitats, etc. Browse: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fis... 062
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 13/08/2026Museum Collections 🪸 Invertebrate Paleontology Galleries From cephalopods to sea lilies, browse fossil specimens in our invertebrate paleontology collection: floridamuseum.ufl.edu/invertpaleo/... Featured Species: Stylophora undata Specimen: # UF 8920 *holotype* Collectors: Norman Weisbord 050
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 12/08/2026A large, international team of scientists has determined that one in ten butterfly species globally has shifted its distribution range, with climate change & extreme weather driving ~80% of documented movements. Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/butt... Study: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 12611
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Last call! We're hiring 🐟 Assistant Curator of Ichthyology 🏛️📌 Apply by Aug. 21, 2026 This is a 12-month, tenure-track position 👇 🔸 Full info: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/nhdept/caree... 🔸 Apply via @ufl.edu: explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/54... 043
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 10/08/2026Museum Resource 🦎 Florida Amphibians & Reptiles Checklist Our herpetologists maintain a checklist of the established amphibians and reptiles known to occur in Florida, organized by currently accepted scientific name. Browse: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-her... 060
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 07/08/2026#ICYMI 🦈 Scientists have developed a model to predict the age of zebra sharks - an epigenetic clock - a useful tool for protecting endangered sharks and restoring wild populations. Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/scie... 📸: Ripley’s Aquariums 040
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Artist Minna Fernald donated over 320 paintings of Florida wildflowers to the university in 1942, providing a rich record of the state’s past ecological life. 🥀 Forgotten for decades, rediscovered watercolor collection features hundreds of Florida plants www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/wate... 052
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 04/08/2026Museum Collections 🐌 Native & Invasive Land Snails Florida’s Rosy Wolf Snail were introduced to Pacific islands to control invasive snails like the Giant African Snail. Unfortunately, they devastated native snail populations instead. 🎧 With John Slapcinsky: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100-years/ob... 042
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Museum Collections 🧺 Seminole and Miccosukee Baskets 👉 www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/sflarch/ethn... Basket making techniques vary widely and depends on the material used — coiling, twining, plaiting, and stake & strand. Seminole and Miccosukee baskets are made using the plaited and coiling methods. 0178
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Museum Resource 🐟 Fishes in the Fresh Waters of Florida Explore our state's freshwater fish species, including collection records, photos and map. Shown: Dollar Sunfish (Lepomis marginatus), indigenous to Florida's freshwaters 🔗 More info & browse gallery: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fis... 0101
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 30/07/2026Gustav Paulay, curator of our invertebrate zoology collection, recently joined an OceanX bioblitz off the coast of Timor-Leste in Southeast Asia. Jump to the OceanX video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6-x... Read (and watch) about this ambitious bioblitz: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/museum-blog/...youtube.comHundreds of New Species in 2 Weeks? Inside a Real-Life Ocean BioBlitzYouTube video by OceanX 031
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Scientists have developed a model to predict the age of zebra sharks - an epigenetic clock - a useful tool for protecting endangered sharks and restoring wild populations. 🦈 Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/scie... Study: doi.org/10.1111/mec.... 📸: @aquariumpacific.bsky.social 0197
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Museum Collections 🔬 Secret Morphology Lepidopterists can often look at butterfly and moth wing patterns to help identify them, but not always. They sometimes have to rely on – genitalia dissection. Read about this with our McGuire Center: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/mcguire/news... 0123
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Museum Collections 🦪 Invertebrate Paleontology Galleries #MolluskMonday From crabs to sea biscuits, browse fossil specimens in our invertebrate paleontology collection: floridamuseum.ufl.edu/invertpaleo/... Featured Species: Turritella wagneriana Specimen: # UF 9742 Location: Sarasota Co., FL 0100
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 23/07/2026“If you go to the neotropics, Colobura is one of the first butterflies you see,” said Anisha Sapkota. Rather than clarifying the evolutionary history of Colobura, discovering one species was actually three here has resulted in a lot of head scratching: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/this... 080
Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · 22/07/2026A rare intact Potano-Timucua pot was excavated by @ufl.edu students during fieldwork at a local mission site. Artifacts at this site are revealing the story of the village that once thrived in what is now a shady patch of woods not far from campus. Story: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/stud... 082