All of the creatures that have found lasting success on St. Martin have some kind of adaptation that makes them suited to life here. Freshwater species have more challenges than most, and the Apple Snail is well equipped to deal with them. The Apple Snail is a large snail that lives in freshwater habitats. Members …
All of the creatures that have found lasting success on St. Martin have some kind of adaptation that makes them suited to life here. Freshwater species have more challenges than most, and the Apple Snail is well equipped to deal with them. The Apple Snail is a large snail that lives in freshwater habitats. Members …
People have spent more than 200 years systematically describing and naming the plants and animals around us. One could be forgiven for thinking that process is winding down. The truth is almost the opposite: we’re still finding about 10,000 new species of animals every year. To be fair, many of these new species are insects. …
We are all familiar with the salmon’s journey. From the ocean, it enters rivers and makes a miraculous journey upstream to spawn and then die. In the Caribbean, there are many animals that find a life between the land and sea, and a home in fresh and salty waters. On St. Martin, one is never …
The ravines on the western slope of Pic Paradis feature a forest unlike anything else on St. Martin—or neighboring Anguilla and St. Barts for that matter. It is the homeland of our Bearded Anole, and may have been its birthplace, too. In ecology, endemic means something that is only found in one specific place. There …
They’re all around us, but we rarely notice them. They’re specially-equipped for climbing, but mostly live on the ground. They’re probably the most common reptiles on St. Martin, but few people even know their names. St. Martin’s dwarf geckos are some of its most unique and mysterious residents. The island has two species. The smaller …
St. Martin’s native animals may not be famous yet, but they deserve to be. They are a true showcase of what makes the island unique, and some of them are found nowhere else in the world. They’re also the stars of a new ebook titled Caribbean Curiosities: Native Nature and the upcoming Endemic Animal Festival. …
Animals have developed the power of flight several times. The insects were the first to take to the skies, and they became the most diverse group of animals in the world. Feathered dinosaurs grew wings and became birds, surviving when the rest died out. A third group used flight to colonize St. Martin while their …
Evolution is happening all around us, but the processes that create new species are also being undone at the same time. There are no bird species that live only on St. Martin. It’s not too surprising—on a clear day you can watch birds flying across to Anguilla or arriving here from Saba. Some birds even …
It’s only been two months since Amuseum Naturalis officially launched its 2017 season in January, but the free natural history museum has already had over 5,000 visitors this year. To celebrate, Amuseum Naturalis creators Les Fruits de Mer are sharing a free ebook, Caribbean Curiosities: Island of Change. This ebook is the second volume in …