Recently Asked

Learn what the community is asking about this season, with answers by Museum experts.

“Hello! Can you tell what type of feathers these are? The white one was rather large, maybe 20 centimeters long. I was guessing possibly a Great Egret. The black feather was pretty small, maybe 9 cent...”
Kevin, UCSB - May 14, 2024

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“I was near Goleta beach and found what looks like a fossil I'll attach pictures and hopeful you can give me some insight”
Deven, Santa Barbara - April 27, 2024

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“Hello,I am hoping someone can identify this sea creature that washed up on shore. It seems to have wings, a tail, legs and the face that resembles a large fish.  It's about 4 feet long.  ”
Emma, Montecito - March 29, 2024

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“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

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“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

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“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

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“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

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“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

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“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

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“Hello! Is this a type of jumping spider? Thanks!”
Kevin, UCSB - October 25, 2023

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