True bugs in the picture
This is it: Pseudaufidus trifasciatus, a cicada species described in 1957 by entomologist and curator H. C. Blöte from Leiden. The cicada depicted above is not just any specimen of that species, but it is the so-called holotype: The specimen used when the…
The day of the PhD defense: Michiel Hooykaas
On 30 June 2022 at 10.00 AM Michiel Hooykaas will defend his PhD thesis at Leiden University in true style. Under his suit, he will be wearing a shirt with a bird print that alludes to his field of research and the term that he coined himself: species…
Citizen scientists from three continents help discover a new, giant slug from Europe
You might think that Europe is so well studied that no large animals remain undiscovered. Yet today, a new species of giant keelback slug from Montenegro was announced in the open-access Biodiversity Data Journal. The animal, as big as a medium-sized…
Adaptive urban jungles Inaugural lecture Barbara Gravendeel
She was already a professor by special appointment since 2019, but after some pandemic-related delay, Prof. dr. Barbara Gravendeel will finally deliver her inaugural address today at the Radboud University in Nijmegen.
Many animals, but little biodiversity in children’s picture books
Dutch children’s picture books are full of animals, but most of them are mammals. Especially pets and exotic animals are popular. A large part of the Dutch fauna is less visible, but biologist Michiel Hooykaas of Leiden University and Naturalis sees plenty…
The day of the PhD defence: Le Qin Choo
Thursday March 24th at 13:00, Le Qin Choo will enter the Agnietenkapel in Amsterdam to defend her thesis entitled “Genomic variability and population structure in shelled pteropods”. For her PhD research at Naturalis and the University of Amsterdam, she…
Large team will unravel the hidden biodiversity in the city
Which 'hidden' organisms live in the city? How can we use these organisms to help trees grow better, make concrete green and measure heat stress? Will city dwellers act more environmentally conscious if they let their gardens grow wilder and know more…
The city has a direct influence on evolution
A global biological study has provided the most direct evidence to date that humans, and specifically cities, are the drivers of evolutionary change on Earth. Leiden University, the municipality of Leiden and Naturalis contributed substantively and…
Two million euros for researching underground fungal networks
Plants live of solar energy, but some species can exchange food through underground fungal networks. Possibly, way more species are doing this than biologists thought. Naturalis researcher Vincent Merckx wants to determine which plants are sharing their…