Recently Asked
Learn what the community is asking about this season, with answers by Museum experts.
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- Recently Asked
“Can you tell me what these strange flat bones are from? Recent finds on Devereaux Beach, among after-storm wash-ups. I will return them to the beach. I have another image showing it's thickness, 1/4–3...”
Katey, Santa Barbara - March 7, 2024
“Hi. My friend took this pic on a beach here. It is very large. About 5ft by 5/6 ft. It looks to hale a whale vertebrae in it?”
Tamara, Santa barbara - February 5, 2024
“Hello,I found some bones on the beach in Shell Beach, CA, in early August (2023), put them in a bag, and unfortunately forgot about them till now. Would you be able to identify them? I'm happy to retu...”
Toni, Pismo Beach, CA - January 11, 2024
“Hello, I was captivated by the California grizzly bear specimen in the Mammal Hall. Can you please tell me more about it, i.e. when/where it was collected? I tried using the database search function,...”
Marissa - December 17, 2023
“This duck is a new resident at Alice Keck Park. You can see how long his neck is. When he stands up, he is very straight upward holding his head high in the air. Not scooched over like regular mallard...”
Gretchen, Santa Barbara - November 25, 2023
“What were the four words of the Lone Woman that established that her language was not Chumash but Cupeno instead?”
Kelly, Berkeley, CA - November 13, 2023
“Hello!
Is this a type of jumping spider?
Thanks!”
Kevin, UCSB - October 25, 2023
“Hi there,
Came across this skull lying atop the rocks along the beach of Smugglers Cove on Santa Cruz Island earlier this month. My best guess is feral pig, but unsure... ”
Eliot, Santa Barbara - October 15, 2023
“Found this in seaweed washed up at Hope Ranch Beach.”
Pam, Santa Barbara - October 3, 2023
“Last night I saw this scorpion on the living room rug, and I put a drinking glass over it so I could take a picture. It's just under 1 inch with it's tail curled up as in the photo. We live in Santa...”
Gary, Santa Barbara - October 3, 2023