by Robert D. Kenney In our report for the Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan, we showed that 36 species of marine mammals had been recorded in our estuarine and marine waters, and a few others were possibilities. Despite what might seem to some… Continue reading
To put more of a face on the Natural History Survey, we are including profiles of board members, staff, and members among our Rhode Island Naturalist blog posts. This time the celebrity treatment goes to Pete August, Rhode Island’s bat-man and GIS pioneer. Pete August… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney The porpoises are six species of small toothed whales within one family—closely related to the dolphins. The harbor porpoise is the smallest cetacean, and the only porpoise species, that occurs in the North Atlantic. When I was a graduate student, I… Continue reading
by Emilie Holland [Author Eric Dinerstein spoke at the Natural History Week reception, November 8. RINHS has a limited quantity of this book available for purchase at $25, including tax and shipping (which is cheaper than Amazon). Contact the office to take advantage of this… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney The bottlenose dolphin may be the most familiar species of cetacean for many people, for a couple of reasons. Small groups of bottlenose can be seen from the beach almost anywhere along the East Coast—year-round from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) (abbreviated NARW) is one of three species of right whales, with the other two occurring in the North Pacific and Southern Ocean. They are closely related to the bowhead whale, found only in the… Continue reading
REVIEW Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East, Dennis Paulson, Princeton University Press, Dec. 2011 by David W. Gregg, Ph.D., Executive Director, RINHS One goal of the Natural History Survey is to support aspiring naturalists to develop their skills, to help them access tools they need… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney Some three dozen species of marine mammals are known to occur in Narragansett Bay, Block Island Sound, Rhode Island Sound, and nearby coastal and continental shelf areas. Their occurrence in the region has been reviewed in detail in a technical report… Continue reading
Submitted by Marilyn Massaro, Curator of Collections Museum of Natural History and Planetarium Roger Williams Park, Providence The Museum of Natural History at Roger Williams Park in Providence is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the acquisition of the Manly Hardy Bird Collection this month. Totaling… Continue reading
REVIEW A Field Guide to the Ants of New England, Aaron M. Ellison, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Elizabeth J. Farnsworth, and Gary D. Alpert, Yale University Press, 2012. By David Lubertazzi, Ph.D., Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University Most people can readily identify a foraging ant… Continue reading