A pale body half-submerged in dark water, eyelids slack, body motionless. Visitors tended to arrive at “the Swamp”—a live ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (January 7, 2026) — Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 72 new animal, plant, and fungi species in 2025, enriching scientists’ understanding of Earth’s ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 2, 2025) — It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Claude, our beloved albino alligator, has passed away at the age of 30. Claude was an iconic California ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (August 11, 2025) — The California Academy of Sciences is gearing up to celebrate one of our most iconic residents: Claude, the beloved albino alligator, who turns 30 on September 15 ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 20, 2025) — This spring, walk among prehistoric giants as 13 life-size animatronic dinosaurs take over both of the California Academy of Sciences’ outdoor gardens in our ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 18, 2025) — Academy researchers and partners made the first discovery of both a new genus and species of plant in a U.S. national park in nearly 50 years. The ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 19, 2024) — Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new animal, plant, and fungi species in 2024, enriching our understanding of Earth’s ...

Don’t tell Claude, but he’s not the only long-bodied, sharp-toothed, extremely chill species in Steinhart Aquarium. Lurking in the shadows across from the Swamp exhibit is a misunderstood fish that ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 9, 2024) – The California Academy of Sciences has received a $3 million, five-year grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to bolster biodiversity data collection and ...

Say olá to our silver arowanas! These large, torpedo-shaped fish are native to the rivers that weave through the Amazon rainforest, from Venezuela to Brazil. Complex and intelligent, our arowanas are ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 15, 2024) — In a historic reintroduction that further restores native ecosystems in San Francisco, the California Academy of Sciences and Presidio Trust released Silvery Blue ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 26, 2024) – Love is in the water and hope is in the air for the critically endangered Sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) as a multi-institution collaborative team ...