Melbourne's annual congregation of Giant Spider Crabs

Every year, thousands of Giant Spider Crabs congregate in Port Phillip Bay ahead of their annual winter moult.

Blue-ringed Octopus

Small but deadly, this animal runs rings around the competition.

Creature of the deep

Its evocative appearance is not the only thing that makes this deep sea creature fascinating and important.

Victoria's nudibranchs

The butterflies of the sea.

Cephalopod Catalogue

Third and final volume by MV scientists now available

Whale vs shark

Evidence of shark bite 24 million years ago.

Sea anemone feast

Ever bitten off more than you can chew?

Ancient whales had more bite than today’s gentle giants

The cutting edge of whale evolution.

Northern exposure: fossils of a southern whale found for the first time in the north

A totally unexpected discovery.

Putting names to faceless fishes from the abyss

Understanding which fish species occur where, and discovering new fish species, is the starting point to managing marine biodiversity.

A treasure trove of freshwater fish biodiversity

The Kimberley region in Australia’s northwest is one our last great pristine unspoilt places, and a hotspot for species discovery.

Eulogy for a seastar, Australia’s first recorded marine extinction

Today, I am writing a eulogy to the Derwent River Seastar (or starfish), that formerly inhabited the shores near the Tasman Bridge in Hobart, Tasmania.

Under fire: The animals threatened by Australia’s bushfire crisis

If there’s one place in the world that knows about extinction, it’s a natural history museum.

The trials and triumphs of a trailblazing scientist

Hope Macpherson was a woman who broke barriers. 

What is the most venomous animal in the world?

And how its deadly venom could save lives.

Rare fossil tooth find sheds a light on Australia’s distant past

Who’s digging in my lawn?

Learn about land crayfish and their burrows.

The puzzle of Melbourne’s small and ancient seals

‘Landmark’ study rewrites the history of seals in southern Australia thanks to fragmentary fossils washed up on a Melbourne beach. 

Nemo found: new species of dancing peacock spider named

Meet the newest dancing peacock spider, Maratus nemo.

Jurassic relict: a new family of Brittle Stars

Long-armed and bristling with teeth, this Brittle Star is a marine relict.

Investigating the IOT: deep-sea science

A journey into Australia's unexplored deep-sea Indian Ocean Territories. 

Faceless Fish and the deep-sea voyages that found it

Take a dive into the deep sea with the Faceless Fish. 

A Lord of the Rings-like marine landscape revealed in Australia’s Christmas Island Territory

Take a dive into a Lord of the Rings-inspired seascape.

Glowing animals: understanding bioluminescence and biofluorescence

What do a Platypus, a Dragonfish and a Scorpion all have in common?

A Japanese Devilray, far from home

Collecting the first Victorian record of the Japanese Devilray.

10 really big things in the Museums Victoria State Collection

With millions of objects to choose from, what are the some of the biggest things?

Why are there so many whale skeletons in museums?

Whales grace the halls of many a natural history museum, but they are there for more than just show.  

New species of squat lobster helping to revive an Aboriginal language

How the naming of a new species of squat lobster has helped an Aboriginal community reconnect to its ‘sleeping’ language.

How do deep-sea creatures survive in the crushing dark?

Meet some of the weird and wonderful animals that have adapted to life in the deep sea.

Recovering a rarity: what happens when a dead Fin Whale washes ashore?

The stranding of a dead whale offers scientists a rare opportunity to study these elusive giants.

More Australian species added to the endangered list

Without action, museum collections may be the only evidence some of these endangered species existed.

Lunar New Year: 10 Australian tigers

Think you know tigers? What about those found in Australia? 

Jan Watson: diving into the unknown

One of Australia’s first scientific divers, Dr Jan Watson used her tenacity, skill, and passion to realise her underwater ambitions.

Rhyll Plant: sowing the seeds of scientific art

Half a century as a scientific artist has taken Rhyll Plant to some unexpected places, but where did it all begin?

The mighty Muirfield Seamount

From ship slayer to protected wonderland, the Muirfield Seamount has a long history of surprising seafarers.

Lunar New Year

This Lunar New Year, come for a tour of the Chinese Zodiac through the Museums Victoria collection.

A glimpse into the past, to enlighten the future of biodiversity on Earth

What can we learn from the first scientific descriptions of animals and the Earth’s biodiversity, written hundreds of years ago?

Reproduction can be a lonely task for a deep sea fish

What does it take to reproduce in the cold, dark and lonely world of the deep sea?

What’s in a name? An animal’s can be misleading

When is a tiger not a cat, a fox not a canine, and a jelly fish not a fish? Unfortunately, more often than you might think.

19-million-year-old fossil jaw bone hints the biggest whales first evolved somewhere unexpected

A newly described fossil from South Australia is making waves in our understanding of where and when whales evolved titanic body sizes.