Happy 37th Hatch Day, Dassen! 🐧🧊🎂 As the most senior member of our current African penguin colony, she obviously deserved a special celebration: a colorful ice cake, a festive banner, adoration from our biologists, & as many fish as she wanted (within reason).
"How to make your 'gator sparkle," aka the fine art of scrubbing Claude. Algae builds up on his scales, biologist Spencer R. explains, so "he gets hosed or scrubbed regularly—and enjoys it." ✨❤️
Pretty (& pretty rare) in pink: A genetic mutation called erythrism minused this katydid’s green pigment, allowing for abnormal amounts of red—& extra delight for human 👀. Photo by Deri Saputa /
In honor of
#WorldPangolinDay
, spend a moment with the 260 incredible rangers of Mozambique’s
@GorongosaPark
—men & women who put their lives on the line every day to protect 1 of Earth's most trafficked animals: .
Tiny granular glass frogs, tucked into a leaf in our four-story rainforest dome.
(Photo by biologist Spencer R., but you can now come see with your very own 👀.)
Pygmy pipehorses, Rapa Nui sea stars, treetop-dwelling scorpions, surprise caecilians, & so many more! Academy scientists described 💥70💥 new-to-science species in 2021, from the lowland forests of Madagascar to Easter Island’s coral reefs:
Say hello to your new, most magnificent friend: the spiny flower mantis, native to eastern & southern Africa. Not sure how a stunner like this could ever be considered a camo-master? Check below (in thread) to see it tucked into an orchid. / 📸s by biologist
@SparksPerkins
100 years ago, the now-extinct Xerces Blue butterfly populated SF's dunes. Today, in partnership with
@Revive_Restore
&
@presidiosf
, our science team is working to find an ecological replacement—setting the dunes aflutter once more.
Our striking young emperor spotted newts (Neurergus kaiseri) grew up while our doors were closed, but now, freshly metamorphosed, they're on view in the aquarium & thriving on a terrestrial diet of fruit flies & pinhead crickets. 😋
#AmphibianWeek
That's one happy 'gator! Big thanks to all you crazy Claude-adorers out there—the cards, gifts, & bday donations you sent overwhelmed our aquarium biologists, and were used to create a ton of (careful) good cheer PLUS a very special smorgasbord of king crab. ❤️🦀🎉
Need some company? We strongly recommend an entire colony of waddling, splashing African penguins. Get cozy with ours anytime via live webcam (), our free Pocket Penguin app (), or Apple TV ()! 🐧❤️🐧
Being an Academy biologist is not for the faint of heart. Case in point: Enduring the hecka-intimidating defensive display of a dead leaf mantis (𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘢) as you politely attempt to move it to a new tank. // 📷Spencer R.
No creature too small for big love from our aquarium staff! Biologist Spencer P. filmed this successful first try at crab enrichment, specifically for our white-spotted hermits & spider decorators. 🦀
Spotting one of the dead leaf butterflies (𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴 ) in our rainforest takes keen eyes—unless, that is, they're busily lapping up fruit juices, a process that sees their full dazzle on display. // 📽️ biologist Tim W.
Happy 2021, humans! May this new year nourish & delight you in the way fruit-smoothie smeared on a tree does for our magnificent owl butterflies. (Vid by biologist Tim Wong.) 🦋🎉🍾
1000s of mysterious sea anemones twinkle underneath a section of Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf—part of an ecosystem scientists are racing to understand, before it disappears. From
@bioGraphic
:
Baby kaiser newts! Shy, skittish, hungry for pinhead crickets, & lovingly cared for by our (amazingly expert-in-all-creatures) Academy biologists. Vid by Spencer R.
When 3 Academy biologists team up to festively "recreate Osher Rainforest w/many of the animals & plants we care for every day"—🌴✨🦜BOOM🦋🐊🌺. Edible & incredible thanks to:
• Creative designer: Tim Wong
• Pastry chef: Kelsey Paulling
• Structural engineer: Ryan Schaeffer
The myth goes that Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection, & if he looked anything like our giant leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus fimbriatus), we'd totally understand why.
Hi, everybody. Miss you lots, hope you're all doing okay, wish I could share this trout with you. (But honestly I would not share this trout with you.) Love, Claude. ❤️
Proof that the human brain goes "venomous lizard" to "adorable puppy" at the speed of one hard-boiled egg fragment.
(Mexican beaded lizard spa-day by biologist Spencer R.)
Romeo—once thought to be the last Sehuencas water frog—is about to meet his Juliet after scientists discovered 5 more in a remote Bolivian cloud forest. And with too few left in the wild to maintain the population, everyone's cheering for love: . 💕
Even the tiniest patients need check-ups and care — and that means our incredible veterinarians and Animal Health staff never know what's about to walk/swim/wiggle in, from inch-long pygmy seahorses to ...
It's unanimous (pretty sure): Nothing says cozy holiday-family-vibes like a snuggly pile of rattlesnakes in lovely fall colors. 🍂 The story behind the snuggle via
@bioGraphic
:
See the family resemblance? Happy
#MothersDay
to all the moms out there, including this Asian giant toad & just 1 of her dozens of toadlets! (HMD also to our amazing Steinhart team, as this was the first successful breeding of this species in an aquarium.)
Why celebrate
#seaslugs
? They're definitely the little (& sometimes not-so-little) gems of the marine realm. They can be hard to spot, but they're found from the tidepools to over 2000' deep, from pole to pole, & are absolute cuteness in invertebrate form.
#SeaSlugDay
(AY)
NOT A SNAKE. You're looking at a sphinx hawk moth caterpillar (in its final stage of development) reacting to threat by inflating its head. And oh hey, its head is conveniently patterned w/faux snakeskin & eyespots. V. GOOD JOB, EVOLUTION. 🤯
@bioGraphic
5.5-inches long, "pockets" full of sunshine (k, bioluminescent fluid), & cuter than any of us deserve: Say hi to this recently described pocket shark, 1 of only 2 found thus far.
Can your 👀 find: 2 tiny crabs, 1 slender spongegoby, & a host of even mini-er passengers? Photog David Fleetham's peek inside a sponge highlights the "layers of life" that typify coral reefs. From
@bioGraphic
: .
Meet Alex’s 4th-grade class project: a papier-mâché bust of curator
@ArachnologyNerd
! High-five to Alex & his (now-released) pet scorpion Sandy for teaching Havens Elementary all about arachnids—please loop back with us in 2033 to see about that entomology job, kid. ❤️
Live, 10am PT! For the 1st time ever, head virtually into our Ornithology & Mammalogy collections (96,000 birds, 28,500 mammals, 11,000 egg & nest specimens, & 1 of Earth's largest marine mammal collections) with Sr. Collections Manager Maureen Flannery:
Guess the egg mass! This fun, faintly disturbing nature-game brought to you by
@inaturalist
's Observation of the Day, & user carolynvlasveld's shot of an Australian beach covered in future moon snail babies: .
There's nothing quite like the dulcet tones of an African penguin. Thankfully.
(Okay yes there's something just like it. It's called a j̶a̶c̶k̶a̶s̶s̶ donkey.)
Famous for her love of figs (& belly-rubs), Methuselah — our 90-plus-year-old Australian lungfish — is also delighted to accept shrimp. And worms. And clams. And fish. And Romaine lettuce. And grapes. And blackberries. And algae tabs. And ... you get the idea.
New (& free!) for kids 4–11: our Science
@Home
activity packs, filled with videos, crafts, & experiments around themes like butterflies, reefs, penguins, & more! New packs published every month—explore & download:
#DistanceLearning
#EduTwitter
#HomeLearning
Unpack, inspect, hatch, release, feed, water, repeat ... x ONE THOUSAND. A peek at the to-do list of biologist Tim Wong & team — aka what it takes to care for the clouds of tropical butterflies that flit through our rainforest dome — via
@SFGate
:
North America’s rarest wolf subspecies is finally reclaiming its native territory in the Southwest, thanks in part to a fostering program that places captive-born pups in wild dens. More from
@bioGraphic
: 🐺
Just some massively beautiful Goliath beetle scientific collections for your feed. 🫶 Each specimen tells a story about how life evolved on our planet, helping scientists "time-travel" to the past to prepare for the future of life on Earth. Learn more:
A sure sign of spring? Gouldian finch babies from our Color of Life aviary! Those reflective markings around the chicks' mouths may act as tiny, illuminated runways that help parents better feed their own chicks—& kick out any pretenders. 🐣
Dear humans, pls say hello to the ✨213 NEW SPECIES✨ our scientists added to the tree of life in 2020! (Extra-warm welcome to that adorable angry-meatball of an Angolan rain frog.)
(1/9) Have
#kidsathome
& some common household materials? Straight from our Education team, 8 activities spanning K-12th that'll bring the
#teachingfromhome
sci-delight to you! (PS: Search *all* of our Ed offerings anytime at .) HERE WE GO:
“New Science is about showing the world that queer & intersectional identities are changing who does science—& how science gets done." Our newest exhibit inspires, reframes, elevates, and opens (in person & online) June 24:
#pride
Illegal wildlife trafficking gets the media attention, but 20x more animals are *legally* traded each year—& with them, more opportunities for the next disease outbreak. "Heeding the Pandemic's Warnings," from
@bioGraphic
:
We’re not saying this urchin is definitely waving at you, but also 1) it’s an urchin; 2) it’s arguably pointed your way; 3) things are waving; 4) it’s heard great things about you.
The life of a glass frog under our biologists' care: nonstop leaf-party, punctuated by waves of free food falling magically from the sky. 🦗
(Via biologist Spencer R.)
For this perfectly perched juvenile nautilus, a jellyfish is *so* much more than a handy ride. (Which, despite the jaunty, tally-ho vibe of this Magnus Lundgren shot, isn't actually great news for the jelly.) From
@bioGraphic
Just 20cms long, this young female blanket octopus will only get bigger & more beautiful—up to 2 meters, not including skirt. 📷 by Jingong Zhang, 2019 finalist in our
@bigpicturecomp
. (Psst: 2020 competition now open! )
AND WE'RE BACK! With SF county's move to red tier, we're thrilled to announce that the Academy will reopen to members March 15, & to the general public March 17. For info & FAQs, visit .
Now how does one say "pls come see us asap" in Claude.
These baby dwarf seahorses may be tiny (as in ~2 inches when fully grown), but they steal hearts in a very big way. Meet our mini-colony in 40 seconds. ❤️
Live, 10am PT: Meet the creature with the fastest turning strike on Earth via flattie-spider expert Dr. Sarah Crews! (Morning coffee + spiders? Very natural pairing, we don't get that face you're making.) Live Qs welcome! On FB & YouTube:
#MuseumFromHome
We may be closed (& quarantine sometimes feels like detention), but our science never stops! Introducing Academy Breakfast Club: 10am live, informal talks w/our experts, streaming on FB & YouTube. Ever-expanding lineup at ... Sincerely yours, the Academy.
A look at the 260 rangers of
@GorongosaPark
standing between poachers & Mozambique’s pangolins, whose future—now that Asia's 4 pangolin species have been hunted to near extinction—is more at-risk than ever.
@bioGraphic
Cuteness you didn't see coming: Meet our spiny turtle in just 36 seconds—which is approximately 1 billion times faster than it takes 𝘏𝘦𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘢 to eat a widdle ear of corn. Awwwww.
Of all the fish in the Steinhart Aquarium, Methuselah is your closest relative. Don’t forget to invite her to your next family picnic. She will not attend.
Live, 11am PT: 2 words: FRILL SHARK! More words: Swim through the aisles of our 1.2-million-specimen ichthyology collections w/collections manager Dave Catania as your guide. Qs welcome! Watch on FB () or YouTube ().
#MuseumAtHome
An over-the-shoulder hello from a freshly molted little Stanlee—happy weekend, humans! 🎆 (Photo by biologist Spencer R., one of the amazing critical-staff caring for our animals through closure.)
Our Chief of Science
@MicrobeExplorer
(a virologist) is so serious about mask-wearing that SHE SEWED ONE FOR THE T. REX. And it's a secret Claude-tribute.
🦖❤️😷🦖❤️😷🦖❤️😷🦖❤️😷🦖
WE'VE GOT YOUR VALENTINES RIGHT HERE. 💘🐧 Watch our Penguin Valentines livestreamed event anytime for 30mins of hearts, herring, & penguin-painting! Plus, your $2.99 helps us care for these incredible birds. ⤐
How to test the theory that zebras' stripes help ward off biting flies? Paint some cows, obviously. (TL/DR: It reduced the number of flies on said cows by more than 50%.) 💡💭🐄
What it means to protect 30% of California by 2030, and how community involvement + an emerging network of natural history museums like us (👋😘
@NHMLA
&
@SDNHM
) will help drive it: .
#30x30
Despite what it may want you to think, the ever-iconic, current-riding blue glaucus sea slug does, in fact, NOT create its own stinging cells. But shoutout to the Portuguese man o' war for supplying highly effective nematocysts.
#SeaSlugDay
(Comic inspired by
@nedroid
!)
A shimmering, 5-foot-long, prismatic predator that terrifies prey but can break apart on a wave. Meet the Venus girdle (a type of comb jelly), caught rising from the dark waters off Ponza Island, Italy. From
@bioGraphic
& photographer Alexander Semenov: .
Ocean-sized congratulations to photog Tanya Houppermans, grand-prize winner of our 2018
@bigpicturecomp
! See more incredible, inspiring images from around the 🌎 in
@bioGraphic
's gallery of winners & finalists:
Announcement: March 17 is now
#SnekPatricksDay
. (We want a national holiday, but we'll take a social happening.) See what we're planning at , & know that we stand ready to ❤️ the heck out of others' 3/17 snek content. Join ussss 🐍
Master balloon artist Masayoshi Matsumoto's latest lineup of creatures includes this magnificently patterned colossal squid, just one in a series that makes even maggots look charming. (Well no, but almost.)
Little-known fact: Alligators love bobbing for apples. Or at least eating apples that magically splash down nearby. Or all of the above, if their name is Claude. 🍎🐊 // Vid by biologist Spencer R.
Color us more excited than a cephalopod on vacation or a baking-fox whose cake is 💯—our
#coloring
collab with
@nigelsussman
is live! 15 downloadable pages of what wildlife is really up to, ready for your pencils, paints, & pens: . 🎨
#MuseumFromHome
Live Tues, 11:30am: Treat your eyes to tropical blues by dropping into our Philippines tank w/diver-George, then meet
@CoralReefFish
of our deep-dive scientific team! Plus, your $4.99 for this special event supports our work to protect Earth coral reefs 🐠