Archived news articles
2005
December
Rare dodo remains discovered in Mauritius - 29/12/2005
Well-preserved bones of the extinct flightless dodo bird have been found.
Queen of the Antcam dies - 21/12/2005
Colony of leafcutter ants at the Museum has lost its queen.
Christmas at Darwin Centre Live - 19/12/2005
Free events exploring the science behind Christmas.
Evidence for earliest northern Europeans - 14/12/2005
New fossil evidence dates northern Europeans to 680,000 years ago.
Giant water scorpion makes tracks - 09/12/2005
Fossilised track of a giant water scorpion that lived 330 million years ago has been found in Scotland.
Modern bird link to dinosaurs - 06/12/2005
New research links feet of Archaeopteryx to the therapod dinosaurs.
Museum wins Best Family Friendly Experience award - 02/12/2005
The Natural History Museum is awarded at the Visit London Awards 2005.
November
1.7-million-year-old skull goes on display - 30/11/2005
New skulls update Our Place in Evolution gallery at the Natural History Museum.
New online shop is launched at Museum - 21/11/2005
Museum's new online shop offers a wider variety of nature-themed gifts this Christmas.
London’s most spectacular winter attraction - 18/11/2005
The Natural History Museum opens its first ever outdoor ice rink.
Bird collection fraud - 17/11/2005
Many of the Meinertzhagen collection of 20,000 bird specimens are frauds.
David Attenborough Studio campaign is launched - 09/11/2005
A campaign begins to raise money to build the David Attenborough Studio.
Museum receives unique collection of diatoms - 03/11/2005
Norman Ingram Hendey donates diatom collection to the Museum.
October
Museum website nominated for design award - 31/10/2005
Museum website is nominated for a British Interactive Media Association award.
Time Out After Hours at the Natural History Museum - 27/10/2005
Museum opens its doors after hours for exhibitions, food, music and more.
Big cats at the Tower of London - 24/10/2005
Research reveals medieval lions living at the Tower.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005 winners announced - 20/10/2005
Winners of the prestigious wildlife photography award are announced.
North Sea marine worm discovered - 19/10/2005
A new worm species is discovered in the North Sea.
Tickets on sale for Global Catastrophes - 17/10/2005
Join Professor Bill McGuire in the Annual Science Lecture.
Disarming dangerous dinosaurs - 13/10/2005
Dinosaurs such as Velociraptor weren't as vicious as previously thought.
New remains add to hobbit mystery - 12/10/2005
New research strengthens the theory Homo floresiensis was a different species from modern humans.
Two new species of tomato discovered - 10/10/2005
Scientists have discovered two new species of wild tomato from Peru.
Celebrating a naturally diverse world - 05/10/2005
Diverse City Season, a programme of free events celebrating cultural diversity, has begun.
September
First taste of nature's best images - 30/09/2005
Highly commended images are unveiled from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005.
A great year for barn owls - 28/09/2005
2005 has been the best year for barn owls in 20 years of monitoring.
The Black Orlov joins Diamonds - 21/09/2005
Cursed black diamond goes on display for first time in UK.
Hunt for Britain’s hidden elms - 14/09/2005
The hunt has begun for Britain’s remaining unrecorded mature elm trees.
Rare insect, the mole cricket, discovered in Oxfordshire garden - 05/09/2005
A group of mole crickets, one of the UK’s rarest species, is discovered in Oxfordshire.
August
Giant centipede found in the UK - 31/08/2005
A specimen of the world's largest species of centipede is found in Islington. Watch a video clip and discover more about this highly venomous creature.
Anniversary of Museum designer Alfred Waterhouse - 26/08/2005
The Natural History Museum celebrates the anniversary of Waterhouse, the designer of the museum building.
DAISY vision for systematics - 22/08/2005
A vision for a digital automated identification system is launched.
Mass migration at the Museum - 20/08/2005
28 million insects and spiders are on the move.
Gilbert White - conference and biography - 12/08/2005
One of the fathers of ecology, Gilbert White transformed the way we look at the natural world.
Fossil record cycles are not mass extinctions - 09/08/2005
Fossil record patterns of diversity may not be due to a 'boom and bust'.
Ichthyosaur fossil given to the Museum - 03/08/2005
Ichthyosaur fossil unearthed from a quarry in Barrington is donated to the Museum.
July
Early human relative walked upright - 29/07/2005
Scientists have used robotics to predict how our early relative walked.
New Museum book Fossil Invertebrates launched - 21/07/2005
New book Fossil Invertebrates is a window into our ancient Earth.
UK pavilion wins bronze award at EXPO 2005 - 16/07/2005
Museum helps to win award for UK pavilion at EXPO 2005 in Japan.
Footprint discovery is oldest American? - 12/07/2005
Earliest evidence of human occupation in the Americas may be found in footprint fossils.
June
Koh-i-Noor recreated for Diamonds exhibition - 30/06/2005
Indian gem, the Koh-i-Noor, is recreated in its original design for exhibition.
Preserving the Blaschka glass models - 23/06/2005
Pilot conservation project begins on the Blaschka Glass Models.
Bone rings reveal slow growing giant moa - 20/06/2005
A study of growth rings in fossilised moa leg bones show they were very slow to grow up.
New Naturecams at the Museum - 14/06/2005
Watch spring come to life with the Museum’s Naturecams.
SPNHC conference 2005 - 10/06/2005
The twentieth annual conference of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, 12 -18 June.
Re-tracing Darwin's footsteps - 07/06/2005
Scientists replicate wildflower survey to repeat Darwin’s studies of 150 years ago.
Short-necked sauropod dinosaur discovered - 03/06/2005
The fossil of a short-necked sauropod dinosaur has been discovered in Patagonia, Argentina.
May
Museum launches new website - 24/05/2005
Museum website has major restructure and redesign.
A Millennium Star takes centre stage in Diamonds - 24/05/2005
A Millennium Star diamond takes centre stage in the world’s biggest diamonds exhibition.
The Complete World of Human Evolution - 19/05/2005
Chris Stringer and Peter Andrew's new book takes you on a 20-million-year journey through human evolution.
First platypus survives at Museum - 17/05/2005
Over 200 years ago the Natural History Museum received the first ever specimen of a platypus.
New rodent species discovered - 13/05/2005
A team of scientists in southeast Asia have discovered a new species of rodent - the Kha-nyou.
April
Museum prepares for the biggest-ever exhibition of Diamonds - 28/04/2005
The Museum prepares for the arrival of the world's largest-ever gathering of diamonds.
The Earth: An Intimate History shortlisted for the Aventis Prize - 22/04/2005
Richard Fortey book The Earth is shortlisted for Aventis Prize.
Success at the first Lyme Regis Fossil Festival - 21/04/2005
Thousands of budding fossil hunters visited Lyme Regis for two days of activities.
Dinosaur fossil with two eggs discovered - 15/04/2005
A fossilised dinosaur with two complete eggs has been unearthed in China.
Toumai skull: is it man's earliest ancestor? - 08/04/2005
New research of the ‘Toumai’ skull discovered in Chad suggests it was closer to humans than to apes.
Marsupial lion bites strongest - 06/04/2005
Study reveals extinct marsupial lion may have had the strongest bite among mammals.
Blood vessels extracted from T.rex - 01/04/2005
Scientists have extracted what looks like blood vessels and intact cells from a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex.
March
The Natural History Museum at Expo 2005 - 22/03/2005
Museum wins contract to design the UK pavilion my-earth at Expo 2005 in Japan.
New animatronic T. rex returns to the Museum - 18/03/2005
T. rex makes a dramatic return to the Natural History Museum.
Hunt for the harlequin ladybird - 15/03/2005
A UK survey for the world's most invasive ladybird.
Whale strandings increase in the UK - 09/03/2005
New report, Out of the Blue, reveals increasing porpoise strandings on the UK shores.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005 entries - 03/03/2005
The search for entries for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2005 comes to an end on 4 April 2005.
Hobbit skull scans add to debate - 03/03/2005
Skull scan evidence supports the theory of new Homo floresiensis species.
February
Did Egyptian mummification lead to the domestic cat? - 17/02/2005
The Museum's Ancient Egyptian animal mummies are used to investigate domestication of cats and cattle.
Dating reveals oldest modern humans - 17/02/2005
Kisbish fossils are re-dated and re-established as oldest modern human fossils known.
What did Neanderthals look like? - 11/02/2005
Experts reconstruct a Neanderthal skeleton for the first time.
First steps to barcode all life - 10/02/2005
First steps are taken to genetically barcode all life on Earth.
How dangerous is climate change? - 01/02/2005
Experts meet in Exeter to discuss the impacts of climate change.
January
Two groups of early humans living in Britain - 25/01/2005
Evidence found in Kent suggests two different kinds of early humans living in Britain.
Huygens' successful mission to Titan - 19/01/2005
Huygens seven year journey to Saturn's moon Titan ends.
Dinosaur-eating mammal discovered in China - 14/01/2005
A new species of mammal, large enough to feed on young dinosaurs, has been discovered in northern China.
Museum opens new Ecology Gallery, new shop and new brand - 06/01/2005
Our Ecology Gallery and new shop have been updated with a new look as the Museum updates its brand.