Selected press releases in English

Here you can view selected press releases in English. Most of our press releases are in German. You can find recent and further press releases & news on our German website: View all German press releases

Looking inside the stomach of carnivorous plants – genetic “botanical crime scene investigation” reveals diet

21. March 2022 | Press Releases

SNSB researchers determine the exact diet of Australian carnivorous plants by analyzing the genes of their prey. Even tiny parasites on captured insects could be detected in this way. The scientists have now published the results of their study in the journal Scientific Reports. Carnivorous plants attract, catch and digest small animals in order to […]

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“Kungas” – the Oldest Equine Hybrids

17. January 2022 | Press Releases

Bavarian State Collection of Palaeoanatomy The Sumerians evidently used horse-like animals in their war campaigns as early as 4,500 years ago. For the first time, a team of French researchers has been able to use ancient DNA analyses to taxonomically classify the earliest hybrid animals bred by humans, which were used in warfare in Mesopotamia […]

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Haast’s eagle preferred giant prey like a vulture

1. December 2021 | Press Releases

Bavarian State Collection of Zoology The extinct Haast’s eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) is the largest known eagle. New research findings suggest that the giant eagle was an active hunter using its talons and beak to restrain and kill huge terrestrial birds, then feeding on the carcass like a vulture due to a preference for internal organs. […]

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New light on Patagonian long-necked dinosaur

28. July 2021 | Press Releases

Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology Paleontologists of the Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie (SNSB-BSPG) examined the remains of the long-necked dinosaur Patagosaurus fariasi (175 million years) from Argentina as part of a new description. These investigations have great significance for the understanding of sauropod evolution. The researchers published their results in the […]

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Early dinosaur breathed like a bird

20. May 2021 | Press Releases | Pressemitteilungen

Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology Pelecanimimus polyodon from the Lower Cretaceous (125 Ma) is the first predatory dinosaur found in Spain. An international team of paleontologists now discovered features on the fossil that are typical of dinosaurs closely related to birds, as well as birds. The researchers published their findings in the prestigious […]

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SNSB receive idw Prize for Science Communication

7. May 2021 | Press Releases | Pressemitteilungen

The Science Information Service (idw) has awarded the press office of the Bavarian Natural History Collections (SNSB) the idw Prize for Science Communication. The SNSB took 3rd place for their press release on the rediscovery of the Voeltzkow chameleon in Madagascar on October 30, 2020. The prize is endowed with 500 €. Due to the […]

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Endangered Plant Species in Bavaria

13. April 2021 | Press Releases

Individual Successes and Unfortunately Many Further Deteriorationsle weitere Verschlechterungen In cooperation and with funding from the Bavarian State Office for the Environment (LfU), a new Red List of endangered ferns and flowering plants of Bavaria is currently being compiled by scientists from the Bavarian State Collection for Botany (SNSB-BSM), as well as volunteer botanists and […]

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Detecting the Problems of Neolithic Sheep Farmers

23. March 2021 | Press Releases

Staatssammlung für Anthropologie und Paläoanatomie The study of the remains of unborn and newborn lambs shows researchers the fundamental problems our ancestors had to face in keeping sheep during the early Neolithic period (about 10,000 years ago). In order to draw conclusions on possible causes of lamb mortality in prehistoric livestock farming, it is necessary […]

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Meet the Nano-Chameleon, a new contender for the title of ‘World’s Smallest Reptile’

28. January 2021 | Press Releases | Pressemitteilungen

Bavarian State Collection of Zoology An international team, led by the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (ZSM-SNSB), has discovered a minuscule new species of chameleon. The sole known, apparently adult male of the new species has a body size of just 13.5 mm, making it the smallest known male of the roughly 11,500 known non-avian […]

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Green glowing gecko under UV-light – discovery of a new mechanism for fluorescence in a terrestrial vertebrate

11. January 2021 | Press Releases

Bavarian State Collection of Zoology Researchers at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology (SNSB-ZSM), the Ludwig-Maximilians University and Hochschule München have discovered that the web-footed gecko Pachydactylus rangei from Namibia fluoresces neon-green under UV light in a stripe along its flank and around its eye. These markings, best visible from the perspective of a gecko, […]

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