Ernst Mayr Library of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University

01/06/2026

Welcome, Prof. Albertin!

OEB is thrilled to announce that Carrie Albertin has officially joined as Assistant Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Assistant Curator in Malacology at !
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The Albertin lab explores how novelty arises over the course of evolution and development using cephalopods (octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish) as models. The lab uses diverse approaches, including comparative genomics, gene expression studies, and live imaging.
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Please join us in welcoming Professor Albertin!

EvoDevo STEMFaculty HarvardScience

11/09/2025

Subterranean spider web!

A pitch-black cave in the Balkans is home to what researchers say is a singular work of cooperation by two usually-hostile species of spider.

11/07/2025

James Watson has passed away.

His decoding the blueprint for life with Francis H.C. Crick made him one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. He wrote a celebrated memoir and later ignited an uproar with racist views.

10/31/2025

Happy World Lemur Day! Special thanks to MCZ Associate Cay Craig and her team for their work conserving Madagascar's wildlife.

10/30/2025

New dinosaur genus Nanotyrannus!

A new look at the "Dueling Dinosaurs" fossil reveals that Tyrannosaurus rex was not the only tyrannosaur roaming the land.

10/20/2025

We had a special guest today, Remy! Not just humanities today. https://www.facebook.com/remythehumanitiescat/

10/10/2025

Noctule bat is an aerial predator.

After nearly 25 years of research, the mystery has finally been solved: Europe's largest bat doesn't just eat small birds—it hunts and captures them more than a kilometer above the ground. And it eats them without landing.

10/10/2025

Welcome to Prof. Holford and her lab group!

We are thrilled that the Mandë Holford Lab is getting settled in on campus, after Prof. Holford officially joined Harvard as Professor in The Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology at Harvard and MCZ Curator in Malacology earlier this year. Lab members recently received a tour of their favorite mollusks in the MCZ, including specimens of venomous mollusks that serve as a foundation for their research.

The Holford Lab uses a comparative interdisciplinary approach combing evolution and chemical ecology to examine how venoms evolve, develop, and function over time, and how we can use this knowledge as a roadmap for discovering and characterizing compounds that will inform advances in foundational and translation research pertaining to cellular physiology and drug discovery.

09/29/2025

It was a pleasure to host the Lauder Lab and staff from the Ichythology Dept.!

09/25/2025

Deep-sea fish with teeth outside the mouth https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ghost-shark-teeth-forehead-ratfish?

Spotted ratfish, or “ghost sharks,” have forehead teeth that help them grasp onto mates. It’s the first time teeth have been found outside of a mouth.

09/15/2025

Xenoparous ants

The discovery of an unusual reproductive system for one ant species solves a long-standing puzzle about a missing population of another ant species.

09/15/2025

New fossil reptile species from Devon, England, Agriodontosaurus helsbypetrae.

Scientists announced Wednesday they have discovered the oldest-known member of the lizard family in southwest England, a tiny creature that used its surprisingly large teeth to hunt cockroaches 242 million years ago.