Natural History

Monthly Archive: December natu

Summerasaurus Part I: Digging for Dinos

Posted: July 19, 2011 - 09:45 , by royal

Mark Farmer recently returned from an expedition to the far end of southern Alberta with Dr. David Evans, Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the ROM, in search of dinosaurs! Join us over the course of the next month as Mark and Dr. Evans put up their notes from the field, detailing discoveries, how dinosaurs are found and excavated, life in the field and more.

Dawn Probe to Rendezvous with Asteroid Vesta!

Posted: July 15, 2011 - 11:29 , by royal

By Brendt Hyde, Mineralogy Technician

Our solar system is a very busy place! Aside from the 9 (no, make that 8!) major planets and their moons, there are 5 dwarf planets, 3 massive asteroid belts containing tens of thousands of smaller irregular bodies, and an untold number of comets.

From the Field: Southern Alberta Dinosaur Project 2011 – Visitors!

Posted: July 13, 2011 - 11:10 , by royal

July 6-8: Visitors

These past few days we have had some welcome visitors to Camp. First, some of our colleagues from the Montana State University and the Museum of the Rockies joined us for a day on July 6th. They are working the same series of rocks just a few kilometers south of us in Montana, and wanted to see what we are finding and where we are finding it on this side of the border. We also had a reporter from the Toronto Star join the crew to see ROM dinosaur field research first hand.

From the Field: Southern Alberta Dinosaur Project 2011 – Found a skull!

Posted: July 11, 2011 - 17:47 , by royal

July 3, 2011: The South Side Ceratopsian Quarry

A tortoise by any other name is…a new species.

Posted: July 11, 2011 - 13:47 , by Cathy Dutton

In 1861, American Physician and Naturalist James Graham Cooper described a new species of tortoise from the deserts of California, and a 150-year mystery began. He named this new discovery Agassiz’s Land Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), but the name was changed some years later to Desert Tortoise. Fast forward 140 years later to a review that was published in 2002 on the conservation of the Desert Tortoise and the status of existing populations. It summarized evidence that Gopherus agassizii was not a single species, but was actually two to four species.

From the Field: Southern Alberta Dinosaur Project 2011

Posted: July 5, 2011 - 14:58 , by royal

We are back again in southern Alberta, to continue our palaeontological survey and excavation of the Milk River region and adjacent areas. This blog will document how this field season progresses, and will report on any new and exciting dinosaur discoveries from the field!

June 28, 2011: Home Sweet Home

The Mammals Strike Back!

Posted: June 30, 2011 - 13:47 , by royal

After our recent post about mouse-eating frogs, Burton Lim of the mammalogy department, one of the ROM’s bat experts, decided to fight back for the mammals. Behold Trachops cirrhosus, the frog-eating bat!

I think I have bedbugs, what should I do?

Posted: June 20, 2011 - 14:02 , by ROM
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In the months ahead, we will look at some of the critters that share our spaces. We hope you will discover how to identify some of the insects and other arthropods that share your home and better understand these amazing creatures. The first bug we will examine are bed bugs (Cimex lectularius).

Due to the increase of bed bugs in Toronto over the past 10 years, ROM Entomology often receives questions from the public about these pests. However, please note that there are many types of insects found in homes and most of them are not bed bugs!

Two thumbs up to outstanding documentaries!

Posted: June 17, 2011 - 14:30 , by royal

Can’t make it to the ROM? Make some popcorn, pick up one of these award-winning documentaries related to our current exhibitions and upcoming programs, and have a movie date with the ROM in your own livingroom!

Touched by Water, a documentary by Tamás Wormser, examines bathing rituals and our relationship with water worldwide. It was screened at the ROM this week as part of the day-long Sacred Waters Forum.

Hungry Like the Frog

Posted: June 14, 2011 - 15:13 , by royal
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Deep in the darkest depths of the ROM’s herpetology department lives a miniature but fearsome predator: the Pacman frog. Yes, you read that correctly: the Pacman frog, or Ceratophrys ornata to those who study him and his voracious ways.

His name is Gracie, and he’s 17 years old (not bad for an amphibian!). To give you an idea of the small size and large appetite of this capable predator, we snapped some shots of him having lunch.