Abellaite is the first new mineral species discovered in Catalonia. The first specimens were found in 2010 at the Eureka mine (Castell-Estaó, La Torre de Cabdella, Lleida) and abellaite was approved as a new mineral by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) in 2015. It was named in honour of its discoverer, the mineralogist and gemmologist […]

Many of the world’s animal and plant species are still to be described. Year after year, researchers describe new species for science. This is the case of the species Xerocrassa edmundi Martínez–Ortí, 2006, described in the twenty-first century by Alberto Martínez Ortí.. He studied samples collected from the province of Castelló on which he based […]

A description of this new species was published by Samuel Pyke and Llorenç Sáez in 2016 in the journal Willdenowia based on samples collected at Portell de Caro (Roquetes). This grass is found in the Ports de Beseit and nearby mountains and has intermediate characters between other members of the same genus from the area; […]

Enric Sala is a marine ecologist, National Geographic explorer in residence and founder and director of Pristine Seas, a project devoted to the exploration and protection of the last wild places in the global ocean. He has carried out 36 expeditions, from the Arctic to Patagonia, has helped create 25 marine reserves (equivalent to 13 […]

In Prague, on 24 August 2022, the Extraordinary General Assembly of ICOM (International Council of Museums) has approved the proposal for the new Museum definition. The vote is the culmination of an 18-month participatory process that involved hundreds of museum professionals from 126 National Committees around the world. Following the adoption, the new ICOM museum […]

The winners of the the Mariano Gago Ecsite Awards are announced at the Opening Ceremony of the Ecsite Conference, at Experimenta in Heilbronn, Germany. The Beacon of the Year Award 2022 was presented to Anna Omedes, former Director of the Museum of Natural Science in Barcelona, Spain for her personal embodiment of the network’s values. […]

Carles Lalueza takes over from Anna Omedes Regàs, who is retiring after serving the institution for 37 years, 25 of them as the director. Carles Lalueza Fox is a researcher with the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, a joint institute of the Spanish National Research Council and the UPF (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra). He has received various awards […]

The Network of Natural Science Museums of Catalonia (XMCNC) has been inaugurated, making it the last of the country’s thematic museum networks to be set up in accordance with the Museums of Catalonia Plan. The Network of Natural Science Museums of Catalonia (XMCNC) is made up of 10 Catalan museums: Banyoles Darder Museum – Lake […]

Nalini Nadkarni, for her enthusiastic work in research and dissemination of biodiversity and the environment, focused on the study and defence of forests around the world; and for the creation of original communication and educational tools aimed at all areas of society that also address gender issues and groups at risk of exclusion. Nat Honourable […]

The decline in the numbers of pollinators on all the world’s continents is jeopardizing the survival of plant species, the sustainability of our agriculture, and, indeed, human life. Nine out of every ten plants need an insect in order to bear fruit and seeds, and it is calculated that 75% of food produced around the […]