Nature online - explore the natural world
What's new?
Trees may be a familiar part of your environment, but do you really know a chestnut from a fir or an ash from an elder?
Use our straightforward identification key to help you name the trees in your back garden or local area, then submit your findings online. You will be helping scientists to study changes in the distribution of our urban trees.
Other new content
- Foreign finds identification forum
- Natural disasters - floods
- Deep ocean life
- HMS Challenger expedition - the start of oceanography
Blogs and forums
Be the first to find out what's coming up at the Museum, look behind the scenes at the life of a Museum curator, or ask Museum scientists for help identifying insects, fossils and more.
Identification forums General nature discussionsPopular content
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HMS Challenger Report
Examine drawings of some of the specimens collected by the crew of HMS Challenger as you browse the original report from the expedition.
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Our global reach interactive map
Explore our interactive map and discover some of the cutting-edge research that we are currently undertaking across the globe.
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Discovery of North Sea marine worm
Find out about the species of marine worm called Osedax mucofloris (which means bone-eating snot-flower) that was found in one of the best-studied marine environments on the planet, the shallow waters of the North Sea.
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Preparation of giant squid video
Watch the Natural History Museum's scientists at work, preparing the 8.62m-long giant squid for storage, in this video.
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Sir Hans Sloane's 350th anniversary
To commemorate the 350th anniversary of Sir Hans Sloane's birth, find out about his work, voyage to Jamaica, and the Sloane collections in the Museum.
Support the Museum
The Natural History Museum is a leading scientific research institution, a major cultural attraction and recorder of life on Earth.
For over 130 years, we have pushed the boundaries of what a museum can be. Please donate now to secure the Museum for future generations.
Species of the Day
To celebrate the UN's International Year of Biodiversity Museum scientists are publishing a fact file on a different species every day during 2010.
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Today's species
Read more about Endocarpon pusillum (hedwig) View all species of the day
Endocarpon pusillum (hedwig) - 01/08/2010
Endocarpon pusillum is a lichen. Like all lichens, it is made up of a fungus and an algae living in close association. But the algae in this lichen lives in an unusual place - the spore-bearing fruiting body. This adaptation should improve the lichen’s chances of survival. But does it?
Nature news
Rare angel shark arrives at Museum
A rare angel shark, Squatina squatina, caught off Porthcawl in the Bristol Channel and transported to Plymouth Fish Market, has been brought to the Natural History Museum.
The endangered angel shark was accidentally caught by fishermen this month and then spotted in the fish market by staff from Plymouth’s Marine Management Organisation.
Find out moreNature on film
More than 300 scientists work at the Natural History Museum carrying out vital research into the natural world. Take a look at some of their work in our videos.
Latest video
The voyage of HMS Challenger, from 1872 to 1876, set out to unravel the mysteries of the deep sea. It also began the new science of oceanography.
Find out about life on board the ship and view some of the creatures discovered deep in the oceans.