News

Science

Orca stranding on the Belgian coast

03/11/2023

On October 29, a male orca was spotted off the coast of Coxyde. A few hours later, the severely weakened animal washed up in De Panne, where it died almost immediately.


Science

Dust played a major role in dinosaur demise

30/10/2023

Fine dust from pulverized rock generated by the Chicxulub impact likely played a dominant role in global climate cooling and the disruption of photosynthesis following the event.


Science

Kamasutra: a new genus of insects from Australia with a particularly acrobatic mating behavior

26/10/2023

One of our entomologists has described a new genus of insects from Australia with a particularly acrobatic mating behavior.  


Science

Sea change: new blueprint for Southern Ocean survival

20/10/2023

More than 200 scientists from 19 countries published the first comprehensive assessment of trends in Southern Ocean ecosystems. They emphasize that climate change is the main driver of species and ecosystem change in the Southern Ocean and coastal Antarctica.


Museum

New name, new identity and new website: welcome to the Institute of Natural Sciences!

19/10/2023

What people mostly know about the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences is the museum and its dinosaurs. But these are just the “tip of the iceberg”. The RBINS is much more than that.


Museum

VIDEO - How we made GIANTS

16/10/2023

The making of a 'gigantic' exhibition.


Science

Knokke Leatherback Turtle died as a result of acute trauma

09/10/2023

Until a dead leatherback turtle was found on the beach in Knokke on 7 October 2023, we knew of only three strandings of this species in Belgium. The autopsy shows that an acute but unknown trauma caused the animal's sudden death.


Science

Citizen scientists describe 31-million-year-old driftwood with attached sea life from Schelle

06/10/2023

Amateur palaeontologists have unearthed a large piece of driftwood that ended up in the sea some 31 million years ago and around which a lot of marine life fossilized. A rare find.


Science

Carcass of Fin whale in port of Antwerp

09/09/2023

A dead fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) was found in the port of Antwerp.


Science

Invasive alien species: how to tackle one of the five main causes of the biodiversity crisis?

09/09/2023

The Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published a new report, provides an overview of the latest data, analysis and options regarding invasive alien species and their control.