The Linnean Society of London

21/08/2026

New Blog! 🚨

In a dark corner of Cape Verde, five new species of sponge have been found. Here, guest blogger Lily Fallows discusses this important discovery & how it impacts our understanding of sponge evolution! Overlooked & underappreciated, we all have a lot in common with sea sponges it seems......read it below 👇

Discover the latest news from The Linnean Society of London.

20/08/2026

https://www.linnean.org/news/2026/08/10/the-scholar-who-lived-the-culture-winifred-blackmans-research-in-egypt-with-the-percy-sladen-memorial-fund

Discover the latest news from The Linnean Society of London.

19/08/2026

Can you be our hero?

Some of our rare book holdings that have shaped our understanding of biodiversity and inspired generations of naturalists are at risk. These include some of science's most compelling accounts of travel and exploration. Small or big, everything matters!

If you can't donate right now, please can you help us spread the appeal? We could really do with some of that "virality".
Look at the fish. Just look at it and press share!

All details here: bit.ly/45wG7YG

18/08/2026

Cool down with chilly thoughts of a chocolate ice cream!

Delight at this stunning illustration of Theobroma cacao from Maria Sibylla Merian's Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium (1719). With prized cacao beans used to make our beloved chocolate ice cream, Theobroma translates from Greek as 'food of the gods'. We couldn't agree more!

Merian's artistic accomplishment is viewed under a closer lens in our video 'Mirror, Mirror: Comparing Two Copies of Maria Sibylla Merian's "Insects of Suriname"'. You can watch here:
https://buff.ly/3J47x7e

17/08/2026

Wanted to get batty at Battersea but missed your chance to get tickets? You're in luck! We've got two new dates in Battersea Park, Tuesday 25 August and 08 September at dusk. Book your place via the link below, or find it on our eventbrite page 👇🦇

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1992811549991?aff=oddtdtcreator

14/08/2026

New Blog 📣

Giant salamanders are revered around the world, but how did they evolve into the highly specialised ambush predators we know today? Here, guest blogger Juliet Maxted discusses how CT scans of three E. asiaticum skulls have uncovered new insights into the evolution of this family!
👇🧪
https://www.linnean.org/news/2026/08/07/facial-reconstruction-bringing-new-life-to-a-66-million-year-old-salamander

It's serving face!

Discover the latest news from The Linnean Society of London.

13/08/2026

On Winnie-the-Pooh centenary, we went hunting for brambles in our Collections. And guess what? We actually found one that was collected IN Ashdown Forest! (AA Milne's inspiration for the setting of Winnie-the-Pooh stories)
This speciment (L) was collected by George Anderson, botanist and Fellow of the Linnean Society from 1800.
(Right) This image is of the bramble Rubus suberectus (now Rubus nessensis) from "English Botany" by James Sowerby and our founder JE Smith.

11/08/2026

Please note: Our building (including our library, reading room and exhibition) is closed on August 13, Thursday, due to very high temperature. We have taken the decision to ensure staff and visitor safety during this Amber Met Office extreme heat warning. We do apologise for this inconvenience but hope to see you very soon. Thank you for your patience.

10/08/2026

The world according to the Dodo.
New study in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society digitally reconstructs the space once occupied by the bird's brain to imagine the Dodo's sensory world. It suggests that they may have had a more flexible daily activity pattern, potentially extending into dawn and dusk, an enhanced sense of smell and a greater ability to process tactile information through its large upper beak.
Read the full paper here: https://bit.ly/3U6Zi8O

06/08/2026

If we didn't have clocks or watches or phones, how else could we tell the time?
Could we judge the hours via blooms and plants?
Watch this illustrated talk by Cathy Haynes and Sylvain Aubry to find out more!
Cathy reveals stories from cultural and scientific history about ‘timeteller’ or ‘clock’ flowers, and share the pleasures of tuning into the habits of these special plants in her urban neighbourhood.
Sylvain Aubry has achieved the very rare feat of successfully growing a Linnaean floral clock, at the Botanical Garden in Bern in 2022.

If mechanical clocks weren’t everywhere, what other signs of the ti...