Special delivery! See our visiting baby camels (Dec. 6–19) and yaks (Dec. 20–Jan. 5) this holiday. Learn more
Keep up with the Project Lab's latest research, projects, and incredible imagery.
August 9, 2013
Systematics: The study of the evolutionary history and diversity of living things and the relationships among these through time.
August 1, 2013
Many folks that I have spoken to in the last week remember the enticing advertisements that used to commonly appear in comic books and kid’s publications, promising amazing experiences with the new...
July 27, 2013
A few weeks ago, Laura wrote about the importance of multiple research specimens in a museum collection. This past weekend I prepared a juvenile Western Screech Owl (Megascops kennicottii) that is a...
July 18, 2013
Today, I will discuss nudibranch sex! Nudibranchs are extremely colorful sea slugs whose ancestors lost their shells millions of years ago. “Nudi” in the name nudibranch refers to the loss of a shell...
July 10, 2013
One of the most common questions I get here is why we have so many individual specimens of the same species. It’s a valid question, considering that “collecting,” as far as personal collections go,...
July 5, 2013
Malacology- the study of mollusks (clams, squid, snails, etc.)
June 27, 2013
“True” flies belong to the order Diptera, which means two wings, which all true flies possess. The second pair of wings which most other insects have has been reduced to a pair of knob-like...
June 19, 2013
The other week I prepared a California Quail (Callipepla californica) for the O&M research collection and it got me thinking about our beautiful California State bird. Found throughout the West...
June 13, 2013
Did you know there are 26 different species concepts (Wilkins, 2002)? This is just mindboggling! You may have thought the definition of a species was settled long ago, but the reality is, the concept...
June 5, 2013
I recently prepared two specimens that are both examples of fossorial species.