Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

05/06/2026

Swipe left to see the natural history of Sungei Tampines, supplemented by Museum specimens and information from our interactive map (available on our website)!

Then, let your creativity take over. Illustrate the natural history of Singapore at any location of your choice, and enter our Eyes of a Naturalist art contest for a chance to win up to $1000!

Your next masterpiece could showcase a forgotten side of old Singapore!

For more details, visit our webpage here: https://tinyurl.com/EoNcontestinfo

If you have any enquiries, please email us at [email protected].

04/06/2026

Try your hand at the traditional Japanese art of gyotaku, or fish printing, using real Museum specimens! Afterwards, follow us to the Museum gallery for a marine-themed guided tour.

Date: 13 June 2026, Saturday

Time: 10 AM to 12:30 PM

Location: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Learning Lab 2

Get your tickets here: https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/lkcgyotaku0626

03/06/2026

The Museum has identified the whale carcass recovered from Singapore waters in September 2025 as a sub-adult male Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai)—one of the world’s least understood baleen whale species, only formally recognised as new to science in 2003.

Despite the whale’s advanced state of decomposition, our researchers successfully identified it through DNA analysis and skull morphology. Further examination revealed injuries consistent with a ship strike.

Since the recovery and defleshing operation, the team has been carefully preserving the skeleton through months of specialised cleaning and degreasing work, including treating its massive 2.6m-long skull.

Once fully preserved, this specimen will eventually go on display in our gallery, helping us tell important stories about marine biodiversity in our region.

Read the full story here: https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/lkcnhm-museum-scientists-identify-rare-omuras-whale-from-carcass-recovered-in-singapore-waters/

Support the Museum’s efforts to develop education programmes on ocean giants and advance research on Singapore’s marine environment here: https://give.nus.edu.sg/BaleenWhale

02/06/2026

The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum would like to share updated findings from the baleen whale carcass recovered in Singapore waters in September 2025.

Through DNA analysis and examination of the skull, the specimen was identified as a male Omura’s whale (Balaenoptera omurai), a rare species that remains one of the least understood baleen whales in the world.

The findings provide valuable insights into the species and its presence in our region.

Thank you CNA for sharing this feature!

Learn more from our NiS Biodiversity Records here:https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2026/06/NIS-2026-0048.pdf

Support the Museum’s efforts to develop education programmes and advance research on the baleen whale carcass here: https://give.nus.edu.sg/BaleenWhale

https://youtu.be/iy08WEUeJe4?si=TEoReH6jkPyShT8N

A dead whale found floating off Singapore last year is helping scientists piece together the story of one of the world's least-understood whale species. Rese...

26/05/2026

If you dig through the Museum’s Zoological Reference Collection (ZRC), you’ll find thousands of insects and other arthropod specimens collected by 'D.H. Murphy'.

This is the remarkable collection by Professor Dennis Hugh Murphy (1931–2020), a veteran zoologist and expert in insects and mangroves. From the 1960s to 2000s, Prof Murphy explored Singapore’s forests and mangroves collecting all kinds of arthropods from beetles to spiders, ants, crickets, and his favourite group—springtails (Collembola).

In this month’s tidbit of , take a peek into Prof Murphy’s collection and discover what Singapore’s insect diversity looked like in the past!

Written by the Biodiversity Histories team.

📷:
(1–6) Biodiversity Histories
(1, 2) Courtesy of Juliette Murphy
(7) Tan Ming Kai; Aiki Yamada
(8) Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
Photographed by SIGNIFY, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

22/05/2026

Learn the traditional Japanese method of gyotaku, or fish printing, using real Museum specimens! Special LKCNHM bags will be provided, although you are also welcome to bring your own bag or shirt* to print. Please note that natural materials such as cotton are highly recommended.

After the workshop, enter the Museum gallery for a tour and find out more about our marine research history through curated storytelling and specimens showcasing decades of scientific exploration. 🐟

Date: 13 June 2026, Saturday
Time: 10 AM to 12:30 PM
Location: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Learning Lab 2
Get your tickets here: https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/lkcgyotaku0626

*Limited to just one bag or shirt per person.

20/05/2026

A new species of venomous box jellyfish has been discovered in Singapore’s shores. 🪼

In 2020 and 2022, two large box jellyfish from the genus Chironex were found on the shores of Sentosa Island (originally called Pulau Blakang Mati) by beach patrol officers. While the box jellyfish initially resembled the Japanese species Chironex yamaguchii, analyses revealed that the specimens were a distinct and previously unknown species!

Led by Ms Iffah Iesa (Research Associate, NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute) and LKCNHM’s Deputy Head, Assoc Prof Huang Danwei, alongside other collaborators, this study sheds light on the hidden diversity of jellyfishes in the region. The discovery sparked further investigations into collections across Japan and the United Kingdom, eventually leading to the formal description of Chironex blakangmati and more detailed information on the other Chironex species. The paper is published in the Museum’s flagship journal, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.

Read more here: https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/chironex-box-jellyfishes-cnidaria-cubozoa-chirodropida-in-singapore-chironex-blakangmati-new-species-and-range-extension-of-c-indrasaksajiae/

📷: Iffah Iesa

19/05/2026

Pyram snails are mostly micromolluscs less than 5 mm in size. These sea snails can be found in intertidal zones and brackish waters, where they mainly parasitise worms or other molluscs.

Unlike most molluscs, which have a tongue-like radula that they use to scrape food, pyram snails use a tube-like appendage called a proboscis to suck up their host’s body fluids. Their parasitic feeding usually does not result in the death of their host.

It is quite challenging to determine the species of a pyram snail, as the minute details on pyram shells often require close examination under a microscope. This species, Turbonilla langae, was first identified in Vietnam in 1959, and there have been no other reports until now. It is a new species record for Singapore, as well as an extension of the species’ known range outside of Vietnam.

Explore the latest additions in our biodiversity records and delve into the details of other recent encounters with Singapore’s wildlife here: https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/publications/nature-in-singapore/volumes-and-supplements/

Written by the Outreach and Education team

18/05/2026

This International Museum Day, we celebrate the power of museums to connect people, knowledge, and histories across borders. 🌏✨

SIGNIFY: A Digital Archive of Singapore’s Historical Biodiversity is a project pioneered by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore. It seeks to digitise up to 10,000 historically-important zoological specimens collected from Singapore that are now housed in museums around the world. Many of these include type specimens, which are critical for defining scientific names.

Through collaborations with partner museums and institutions globally, SIGNIFY strives to make these collections more digitally accessible to researchers and communities alike.

From scattered specimens to shared stories, SIGNIFY is exemplary of how museums can reconnect what history has divided, reuniting Singapore’s globally dispersed natural history collections through shared knowledge and stewardship.

Explore the entire archive of digitised records and research at your own pace. All resources are freely available on SIGNIFY’s website! https://signifynaturalhistory.sg/

📸: SIGNIFY

International Council of Museums - ICOM

18/05/2026

[Intertidal Walk to Sisters’ Island Marine Park / Pulau Hantu]—TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT!

Our intertidal walks are back! Join our Outreach & Education Team at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park or Pulau Hantu during low tides to experience a vibrant and diverse world of marine organisms. Get up close with sea stars, crabs, anemones, fish and more, while learning island stories, fun facts about marine life and why protecting these ecosystems matters. Don’t miss this chance to experience Singapore’s coastal wonders!

Schedule for intertidal walk sessions:
Session 1: 20 June 2026 (Sat), 7:30 to 11:30 AM | Sisters’ Island Marine Park
Session 2: 18 July 2025 (Sat), 7:00 to 11:30 AM | Pulau Hantu

Cost per participant*:
$70 for Sisters’ Island Marine Park
$85 for Pulau Hantu

*Excludes SISTIC booking fees. Inclusive of a two-way boat ride between Marina South Pier and Sisters’ Island Marine Park / Pulau Hantu. Meeting point will be at Marina South Pier.

Please e-mail [email protected] for further inquiries.

Purchase your tickets here: https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/lkcwalk2026

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Note:
- Please note that in light of safety considerations, this programme is strictly for participants aged 10 and above.
- Participants aged 12 and below must be accompanied by an adult.
- Participants who have successfully purchased a ticket will receive an email with more details closer to the date of the programme.
- This event is an outdoor activity that may be subjected to the different weather elements and conditions. LKCNHM reserves the right to shorten, delay or cancel the programme in case of heavy thunderstorms or other conditions.

📷: Outreach and Education Unit