The art of science - in pictures

The famous oil painting of a dodo by 17th-century artist Roelandt Savery Photograph: NHM

Dodo raphus cucullatus by palaeontologist Julian Hume. The image was created by examining the skeletons of dodos, and depicts it having longer legs, a straighter neck, a less bulky body and a smaller head than in Roelandt Savery's painting Photograph: NHM

A flying ant in Baltic amber Photograph: NHM

Watercolour of a bird of paradise flower (Strelitzia) by Franz Bauer, 1818 Photograph: NHM

A goliath beetle (Goliathus goliatus), one of the largest insects in the world, which can reach more than 11cm (4.5 inches) in length. The x-ray revealed the presence of a single shotgun pellet inside the body Photograph: NHM

European insects attributed to Van Kessel Photograph: NHM

Micro-CT scan reconstruction of a pollen-bearing leaf from a 310-million-year-old seed fern (Crossotheca hoeninghausi), which was preserved inside sedimentary rock. The scan reveals the external shape and structure of the leaf, including clusters of pollen-containing sacs Photograph: NHM

Great Bustards, Little Bustards by John Gerrard Keulemans. The canvas is huge, covering the full height of the gallery wall Photograph: NHM

Electron micrograph of Osedax mucofloris – which means bone-eating snot-flower – a new species of marine worm discovered in 2004 Photograph: NHM

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) by John Woodhouse Audubon Photograph: NHM

The Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo bengalensis), artist unknown, watercolour, 1812 - 1831 Photograph: NHM

A stained cichlid skeleton Photograph: NHM