The Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University (MCZ) is a private center for research and education focused on the comparative relationships of animal life. We house millions of animal specimens and host hundreds of visiting researchers each year.https://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mkaqhdip572nIt's an exciting time when a specimen gets installed as an exhibit. Here are some sneak peeks of a Dimetrodon specimen that was returned to the MCZ after a 60-yr loan, given a visual refresh and stabilization, and installed in the Northwest Building on Harvard campus. Stay tuned for the full reveal!24 Apr 2026 14:30 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkaqhdip572nhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3milzorrv7i2bHarvard students traveled to Utah over spring break last month for the @harvardoeb.bsky.social course The History and Evolution of Life on Earth, led by our Faculty-Curator in Invertebrate Paleontology Javier Ortega-Hernández and funded by the MCZ.03 Apr 2026 15:24 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3milzorrv7i2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mijkmq6mgp2rCheck out this stunning fossil and life reconstruction of the chelicerate Megachelicerax, which lived 500 million years ago! @invertebratepal.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social Credit: @cambrianlife.bsky.social and Masato Hattori/Harvard University. Learn more at NYT https://nyti.ms/4tu8DnQ 02 Apr 2026 15:49 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mijkmq6mgp2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3migun5t5kf2oAre you a biologist with a focus on malacology or invertebrate zoology? The MCZ is looking to hire a Curatorial Assistant in our malacology department! Apply at https://bit.ly/4sbHCnL 01 Apr 2026 14:10 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3migun5t5kf2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3miejliiykm24The 2026 spring deadline for Ernst Mayr Grants supporting research in animal systematics is tomorrow April 1! Aluska Santos from Brazil's Federal University of Paraná received funding to visit collections in Chile and Venezuela for her project on a small family of leaf beetles, Lamprosomatinae. 31 Mar 2026 15:47 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3miejliiykm24https://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mi2m37wqao2uA peek into our mammalogy collection featuring marsupials, sloths, and the primates that manage the collection - Madeleine, Mark and Nina. photo by Juan Giribet27 Mar 2026 17:05 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi2m37wqao2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mhxuezj5ww26Harvard students traveled to the Florida Keys over spring break for the @harvardoeb.bsky.social course Biology and Evolution of Invertebrate Animals, looking for creatures like this sea slug. The MCZ funds spring break trips for many OEB courses, adding a meaningful field component to classwork.26 Mar 2026 14:56 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhxuezj5ww26https://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mhvdgejdkw2oStudy from MCZ & @harvardoeb.bsky.social reveals surprising totipotency in early worm embryos, going against previous assumptions that because individual cells at this stage have different roles, removing or rearranging them would prevent growth of a complete organism. @currentbiology.bsky.social 25 Mar 2026 14:47 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhvdgejdkw2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mhgktl7lhw2mMCZ staff have been assisting with cleaning and updating the New England Forest exhibit (featuring MCZ specimens) in the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Vitrines (glass display cases) are being added to protect some of the specimens on display that were previously exposed. 19 Mar 2026 17:50 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhgktl7lhw2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mh7anhjcb32gA peek into our collections showcasing a Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi) specimen. Kodiak bears are a subspecies of brown bear that exist only in the Alaskan Kodiak Archipelago. They are the largest brown bear and comparable in size to polar bears. photo by Juan Giribet16 Mar 2026 19:59 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh7anhjcb32ghttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mgxlynqixz2mThanks to the careful work of our curatorial assistants, a valuable holotype (a specimen used when describing a new species) was discovered after being lost for over 90 years! Rediscovery of the enigmatic holotype of Buthus barbouri Werner, 1932 ... Zootaxa at https://bit.ly/4rz3HfY13 Mar 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgxlynqixz2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mgppejtgrz2mMeaghan Sorce, Curatorial Assistant in Ichthyology, recently returned from an expedition with the @schmidtocean.bsky.social R/V Falkor off the coast of South America to explore how gut microbiomes shape the fate of carbon. Meaghan collected mesopelagic fish and other specimens for the MCZ. 10 Mar 2026 15:39 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgppejtgrz2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mgniytwhf52mApplications for our summer GUR grants are due March 16! These grants support faculty-supervised research by Harvard College undergraduates https://bit.ly/4lIg1aO. Aditya Tummala received funding last year for his project Exploring Local Community Involvement in Kafue National Park, Zambia. 09 Mar 2026 18:40 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgniytwhf52mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mgdemlzagc2iMCZ Faculty-Curator @invertebratepal.bsky.social, @cambrianlife.bsky.social and Walker Weyland explored the Red Wheeler Lagerstätte in Utah to better understand the diversity and ecological complexity of the earliest animal-dominated marine ecosystems, supported by MCZ Putnam Expedition Grants.05 Mar 2026 17:55 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgdemlzagc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mfu5a6py4k2qCongratulations to Wendy Valencia-Montoya! [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Feb 2026 16:33 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfu5a6py4k2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mfty2vvseb2mNever smile at a crocodile, or a gharial! Digitization Manager Jon Woodward takes over 100 images of the uniquely shaped skull of a gharial crocodile for photogrammetry. He will then reconstruct the images to create a 3D rendering of the skull at the request of a researcher.27 Feb 2026 15:01 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfty2vvseb2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mfd2wer4uz2mIs that frog in a harness?! Yes! An automated rotary is used to slowly rotate and capture pictures of this Pipa pipa (Surinam toad) specimen from all angles. Stitching these images together, we created a digital 3D model, which the Toledo Museum of Art used to create a physical model for exhibit.20 Feb 2026 21:37 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfd2wer4uz2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3meol7wcpy22aDuring the Harvard J-Term course Museum Collections Care, a student inventoried and scanned historical correspondence in our malacology collection, including letters and documents bearing the signatures of prominent malacologists and other researchers. 12 Feb 2026 18:02 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3meol7wcpy22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mem2kkndvc2oAs part of the Harvard J-Term Museum Studies course, a student restored deteriorated mollusk microscope slides in the Malacology Department. By researching and applying archival cleaning methods, the student transitioned the specimens from degraded paper envelopes to slides that could be digitized.11 Feb 2026 17:59 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mem2kkndvc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mej6me6nlp2oMCZ Invertebrate Zoology staff worked tirelessly over the past 2.5 months reorganizing over 6,150 spider type specimen lots alphabetically by species name (specific epithet). This project included rehousing the type specimens in standard-sized jars along with updated jar labels.10 Feb 2026 14:33 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mej6me6nlp2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mdycvm4hro2iCongratulations and thank you to Jessica Cundiff for her 25 years at the MCZ! Jessica is the Curatorial Associate of Invertebrate Paleontology and her discipline-specific expertise and deep institutional knowledge strengthen our work and help improve the MCZ in meaningful ways. 03 Feb 2026 21:35 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdycvm4hro2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mdlkr7zd4i2wMany of our specimens have associated field notebooks, photographs and other documentation that needs care, digitization and conservation. Recently three Harvard Museum Studies students cleaned and updated storage for 35mm projector slides and glass plates in our vertebrate paleontology collection.29 Jan 2026 19:51 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdlkr7zd4i2whttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mczhaoywqj2oOur J-term students are wrapping up projects this week. Many thanks to all supporting MCZ projects this month! Patrick Riordan worked with Amelia Lawson on our NSF-funded grant "InSliDE" and Patrick supported that work this month by focusing on our parasitic worm slides. 22 Jan 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mczhaoywqj2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mcl3vrf5lc2iCongratulations to MCZ’s Director of Collections Operations Breda Zimkus, recently elected as VP of the Board of Directors of the Natural Science Collections Alliance. Breda will apply her expertise to advancing the NSC Alliance and their community's interests. 16 Jan 2026 22:00 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcl3vrf5lc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mchsdw6fjr2dIt's January and that means that many of our collections are hosting students enrolled in the J-term course Museum Studies. Patrick Riordan is working in our invertebrate zoology collection cleaning and barcoding microscopic slides of parasitic worms, in support of our NSF grant InSliDE. 15 Jan 2026 14:31 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mchsdw6fjr2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mcd7wpr2ja2aGUR grants from the MCZ support faculty-supervised research by Harvard College undergraduates and applications for the spring are due on January 26! More information at https://bit.ly/4lIg1aO (background image of past recipient, Annina Kennedy-Yoon, conducting field research in Kenya)13 Jan 2026 18:51 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcd7wpr2ja2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mcalmxmznm2oCongratulations and thank you to Alana Rivera, Collection Assistant in Invertebrate Zoology, for her 20 years of dedicated service at the MCZ! Here Alana is shown with a basket star specimen collected in 1893, while participating in ArtsThursdays at the @harvardmuseums.bsky.social 12 Jan 2026 17:42 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcalmxmznm2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mbz7ak7s5h2cLearn about two new species of frog described in India in this video: https://bit.ly/3NblyLn. James Hanken, Emeritus Professor at @harvardoeb.bsky.social and former Curator in Herpetology, is an author alongside a team of Indian herpetologists including those with ties to the MCZ. 09 Jan 2026 19:12 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbz7ak7s5h2chttps://bsky.app/profile/mczharvard.bsky.social/post/3mbrfr3dugc2lWelcome, Carrie! [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 Jan 2026 16:47 +0000at://did:plc:dpcyisdv43vilpreauz4np72/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbrfr3dugc2l