This week I have a nice mystery object for you from the collections of the Dead Zoo: It's around 6cm across if you want a sense of scale. I was hesitant to go with this, as I thought it might prove a bit tricky, but Melissa (my wonderful wife and a non-biologist) immediately knew what it was, so perhaps it's not too much of a challenge after all - let's hear what you think it is and which species it comes from. Have fun with it!

Last week I gave you this guest mystery object from Zygoma regular Joe Vans: Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 It was a tricky one, as it's a section of a fish skeleton that is rarely talked about and even more rarely photographed, as it's nestled among the bones of the pectoral girdle, in close proximity to the rear part of the skull - …

This week I have another guest Mystery Object for you from regular contributor Joe Vans: Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 This is a tricky one, and while I think I have a rough idea of the element and Family, I'm still not sure of the species this comes from, so all suggestions are very welcome!

Last week I offered up this specimen from the comparative avian osteology collections of the Dead Zoo, to test your bird cranium identification skills: This wasn't the easiest mystery object, as this specimen is from a species that has several similar relatives that are quite hard to distinguish based purely on their skull, but they tend to be easy to tell apart whe they have their plumage.

This week I have a skull from the reference collections of the Dead Zoo for you to identify: If you have an idea what this curvy billed bird might be, let me know in the comments below - and if you don't, why not have a guess?

Last week I gave you this guest mystery object from regular contributor Joe Vans: It does pose a real challenge to get to species level, but the Family is a lot more achievable with those distinctive four tooth plates that scream Tetraodontidae. Joe kindly offered up locality information about where this specimen came from, which does help to narrow things down quite a bit:

This week I have a guest mystery object for you, courtesy of regular mystery-solver Joe Vans: Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 Image by Joe Van Sambeek, 2026 Joe sent it to me as a bit of a challenge, and it was great fun to have a chance to figure it out - it reminded me of why I started this blog in the first place!

Last week, I gave you an object from the Dead Zoo that presents a genuine mystery: This premaxilla and fragment of maxilla came to light from beneath one of the cases, which was being dismantled to allow furniture conservation work to take place to support the redevelopment of the building. The narrow tip of the premaxilla and small size immediately put me in mind of a small browsing antelope species that might daintily pick a new growth leaves from thorny scrub.

For this week's mystery object I have a fragment of skull that came to light during recent work on the historic display cases in the Dead Zoo: I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on what it might be from. Have fun with this piece of detective work!

Last week I gave you this little critter to have a go at identifying: It was a genuien mystery object, as I found it scuttling around on my arm as if searching for prey of some kind. My inital thought was a ladybird larvae, but it was far smaller and lacking in the colour patches that are present in the larvae of any species I'm familiar with.

This week I have a genuine mystery object for you to have a go at identifying: I found this little critter hitchhiking on my arm, so I thought I'd see if anyone could help me work out what it is. Insects aren't my strongest area of knowledge, as there are just soooo many species, and they even have different appearances at different stages of their lifecycle, so your help would be appreciated! Any ideas about who my little friend could be?

Last week I gave you this mystery skull to have a go at identifying: I suspected this one wouldn't be too much of a challenge, and I wasn't mistaken. There were some great cryptic clues, ranging from Chris Jarvis' references to a charming Jill Tomlinson book, to Adam Yates' reference to the genus name and some possible members of that genus with names reflecting their habits/habitats:

This week I have what I think is a nice and simple mystery skull for you: Any suggestions about which species this comes from? Cryptic clues are welcome, just to let people who aren't sure have a chance to work it out. Have fun!

Last week I gave you this skull to try your hand at identifying: It's not the easiest of tasks, as there are quite a lot of birds in this general size range and with this general shape of skull, so the overall outline from the top only helps narrow things down a little. It is worth noting that general proportions all suggest some kind of Passeriform.

This week I have a bony mystery oibject for you, measuring 49mm long: If you have any idea what this might be, you can leave your suggestions in the comments below. Have fun with it!

Last week I gave you this leggy mystery object to identify: As I suspected, it wasn't a difficult challenge in terms of working out the species, since it is one of the most common examples of its type. To make it a bit more interesting I also asked for you to keep the answer cryptic for extra points. Chris Jarvis was first to the party referencing "stone" - part of the common name of this species.

This week I have an interesting invertebrate for you to identify: I suspect this won't be a difficult species for some of you, so please keep your answers cryptic - with bonus points for creativity. I look forward to hearing your musings!

Last week I presented this mystery object for your identification delectation: While this is such a heavily processed piece of skin, with most of the diagnostic features removed, an additional close-up image provided a clue: People in the comments section and on Bluesky recognised that this is the skin of a member of the Batomorphi (AKA the Rays). While there were some differences in opinion on the species, there is one term that came up several times in several ways, but in the words of Chris Jarvis:

This week I have a mystery object for you that I saw when visiting Conservation Letterfrack to talk about some work being done on historic display cases for the Dead Zoo: Close up of the mystery object It's an interesting specimen and I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you think it is. Have fun!

Last week I gave you this sad scene with a mystery victim to try to identify: I thought it might be an interesting one, because when I first saw it my mind took me around the houses thinking about what it was. My first thought was actually that it had some features I associated with a European Stonechat: Male European Stonechat…

This week I have a mystery object for you that I found in the street the other day: It's a bit of a jumble - a sad and sorry state - but I'd love to hear your thoughts on the species of this unfortunate bird. As always you can leave your thoughts in the comments box below.

Last week I gave you this mystery skull to try your hand at identifying: It wasn't quite as easy as it might at first seem, and it led to a great discussion in the comments section. Several people were initially taken in by the shape, perhaps without considering the scale, as this looks very similar to our old friend the Tasmanian Devil…

Before I share this week's Friday mystery object, I'd like to just take a moment to mark the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough. I think it's fair to say that he is a national hero in the UK and the source of inspiration for generations of naturalists, thanks to his documentaries. I've been fortunate enough to meet the legend himself a couple of times, and he was even generous enough to lend his Elephant Bird egg to an exhibition I was involved in at the Horniman Museum over 10 years ago.

Last week I offered up a fossil specimen from the collections of the Horniman Museum & Gardens for you to have a go at identifying: The type of preservation here is quite distinctive for those familiar with fossil Lagerstätten (sites of exceptional fossil preservation or concentration). This silvery sheen on a piece of dark slate is immediately recognisable as the type of soft-bodied preservation I expect to see in specimens from the…

This week I have something a little different for you to have a go at identifying: I'd love to hear your thoughts on what this fossilised Friday mystery might be!

Last week I had two bony elements from the same skeleton for you to have a go at identifying: I suspect either one would have been enough, but it's nice to be able to share a couple of elements so they're online and available for reference to help with future identifications. Adam Yates offered up a great clue in answer to this particular mystery:

This week I have a twofer for you - two bones from one animal, This should make the species a little easier to identify: Let me know your thoughts on what these mystery objects might be from!

Last week I gave you this rather beautiful mystery object to have a go at identifying: This is a pretty distinctive species, but not without some very similar relatives who can complicate things. The speckled crimson pattern on the forewings of this species provide all the clue you really need for the identification - it's a Speckled-crimson Moth (or Crimson-speckled Flunkey, or Crimson-speckled Footman) …

This week I have an invertebrate for you to have a go at identifying for a change: Any idea what this rather beautiful beastie might be? Let me know what you think it might be in the comments below. I hope you have fun working it out!

Become an evolutionary detective to find the Mystery Animal!

Last week I gave you this genuine mystery object from the forests of Borneo to get your thoughts on: This was sent to me by Dave Hone (who runs Archosaur Musings), but it was found and photographed by his colleagues Lauryn and Tom of Queen Mary University of London, who are doing research in Borneo. I had an idea of what it might be, and I'm pleased to say that everyone who responded - both here and on social media - came to the same conclusion as me.

This week I have a genuine mystery for you to help solve, courtesy of Lauryn and Tom - researchers working in the forest in Borneo, and pasI hased on by Dave Hone (an old friend and fellow blogger who runs Archosaur Musings): Photo by Tom Fayle, 2026 Photo by Tom Fayle, 2026 Photo by Tom Fayle, 2026 I think I know what this is and what it's from, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this Bornean bone in the comments below!

Last week I gave you this bird pelvis to have a go at identifying, as part of a series of posts on that particular feature across birds utilising different environments: It probably wasn't the easiest challenge, since this pelvis is damaged. It's missing part of its dorsal surface and with some small amount of damage to the posterior margin of the right ischium (that's the broad bit that flares out on the bottom left of the image) and with both of the pubic bones snapped (those are the long skinny bits that stick out to either side).

This week I have a third mystery bird pelvis for you to try your hand at identifying: Let me know what you think this might be from - I'd be keen to hear your reasoning!

Last week I gave you the second of a series of bird pelvises to try your hand at identifying: This one proved a bit more difficult than the previous example I offered up, which was from a Chicken - here's that one for comparison: Chicken pelvis As you can see, our mystery pelvis is a good bit smaller than that of the Chicken, and in terms of the shape, while it has some similarities, but it's more compact and almost square.

The last mystery object was a bit of bird bone that I personally found really interesting, and it's inspired me to offer up the same bit of bone, but from a different bird: Any idea of the species that this came from? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments box below!

Last week I gave you this bony structure to identify: I didn't think this one would prove too difficult, since I went with something that most people have probably encountered on their dinner table or thrown in their domestic waste at some point. I wasn't wrong and Chris Jarvis was first to drop a hint, with reference to Elvis the Pelvis and a famous brand of fried foodstuff from Kentucky.

This week I have bony mystery object for you.: Do you have any idea of the species that this came from? As ever, you can leave your questions, observations and suggestions in the comments section below. Have fun with it!

Last week I gave you this cute little netsuke (pronounced nets-keh) to see if you could identify what it was carved from: I was hoping it might offer a bit of a challenge, with a few options being put forward for a variety of ivories, and perhaps some pondering on the topic of the carving, but I was disappointed by how quickly and comprehensively everyone told me exactly what this is.

One type of enquiry we get in the museum relates to the identification of natural materials. Often these come from law enforcement or customs officials, who may need an expert eye cast over a material to check whether it's been imported or sold illegally. Here's a worked piece of natural material - I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on what it might be: As ever, you can leave your suggestions in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!