Max van Balgooy during field work in Papua (1965), holding the inflorescence of an unspecified Araliaceae
September 6th, 2021

Botanist Max van Balgooy deceased

Dr. M.M.J. (Max) van Balgooy passed away on 3 September, aged 89. He started working with the Dutch National Herbarium (now a part of Naturalis) in 1961, and stayed working there until and after his retirement. He obtained his PhD with prof. Dr. Van…
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Cyme laeta Looijenga 2021, a newly described species of butterfly
August 3rd, 2021

New butterfly species discovered during internship

The butterfly species Cyme reticulata , which is found in Papua New Guinea, has many different morphological variations. Research has revealed that one of the variations is a different and previously undescribed species. Student Noortje Looijenga (18) from…
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Gloved hand holding eppendorfs
July 15th, 2021

Naturalis’ research receives top marks

The quality of the research at Naturalis is rated as “excellent”, research facilities are “state of the art”, the collection is “unique” and its relevance to society is no less than “world leading”. This was all said by an external top visitation committee…
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T. rex Trix with confetti
May 7th, 2021

Naturalis best museum of Europe 2021

We are so proud! Naturalis Biodiversity Center has been named European Museum of the Year on May 6, during an online ‘award ceremony’. This is the oldest and most prestigious museum award in Europe. Previous winners have included the Victoria and Albert…
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Jorinde Nuytinck showing off a big mushroom
April 22nd, 2021

Jorinde Nuytinck appointed guest professor

Mycologist Jorinde Nuytinck has been appointed guest professor at Ghent University. “As a kid, I was already interested in plants and animals. My interest in that other kingdom of biology, the fungi, only came when I was studying biology in Ghent. They…
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F. Andrés Rivera-Quiroz
April 14th, 2021

The day of the PhD defence: F. Andrés Rivera-Quiroz

Today at 11:15, Andres Rivera-Quiroz will enter the Academy Building to defend his thesis entitled "Integrative taxonomy of araneomorph spiders: Breathing new life into an old science". For his PhD research at Naturalis and Leiden University, he immersed…
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