This year’s Bama Bug Fest will be crawling your way April 22-24! Bug Enthusiasts will be able to participate in video live chats with experts, make crafts, and visit in-person exhibits at Alabama Museum of Natural History, Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum, and Tuscaloosa Public Library! For more details, visit: https://bamabugfest.org/
News
Spring’s 17-year-cicada swarms may raise some noise, but they’re not a plague, UA entomologist says
Most of the trillions from May’s Brood X swarm will arise and fly and feed — and be fed on — in their monthlong above-ground life along the East Coast, from North Carolina to Indiana to New Jersey, possibly in parts of Georgia.
Inferring octopodoid and gastropod behavior from their Plio-Pleistocene cowrie prey (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae)
Predation is an evolutionary force shaping sea floor communities, with the record of drilling predation being particularly useful to study predatory behavior on short and long timescales. Most predatory drill holes are caused by gastropods, but octopods within Octopodoidea also produce characteristic drill holes, yet remain severely understudied in deep time.
Octopodoidea as predators near the end of the Mesozoic Marine Revolution
Octopodoidea are a highly versatile and diverse group of marine predators comprising > 200 species today, but their diversity and ecology in deep time are virtually unknown. Because these soft-bodied cephalopods have a low preservation potential, only a single body fossil species has been documented.
Evidence of Predation by Octopuses Pushed Back By 25 Million Years
New research unveiled the earliest evidence of octopus predation in the fossil record. The evidence consists of tiny holes drilled in the clams they preyed upon during the Cretaceous period about 75 million years ago.
Alabama Museum of Natural History: New Exhibit – Update #1
At the Alabama Museum of Natural History, we are removing the Kodiak bear from the Grand Gallery in preparation of a new exhibit! Here’s a video of what that looks and sounds like. Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes updates on our progress!
Digitization project of 4,500 invertebrate fossils completed
In the Fall of 2017, then Curator of Paleontology Dana Ehret, and Director of Museum Research and Collections John Abbott received a $22,384 grant (MA-31-17-0466-17) from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to rehouse and digitize a part of the fossil invertebrate collection.
Today is Giving Tuesday!
Today is Giving Tuesday, which is a day set aside to empower people and organizations to transform their communities and the world! If you’d like to participate this year, we’d like to let you know about the ways you can help support the University of Alabama Museums’ Department of Research and Collections!
New Award Honors Avocational Paleontologist in Alabama
Alabama employs about a dozen professional paleontologists, but there are many more people who search and study fossils as a hobby. These avocational or amateur paleontologists uncover a vast amount of knowledge about Alabama’s prehistory each year.
Virtual National Fossil Day
This year, the Alabama Museum of Natural History is celebrating National Fossil Day online! On October 14, 2020, we will be hosting free livestream broadcasts about Paleontology, Paleozoic Oceans, and a special presentation about the Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award.