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A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use. Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
), to allow study, increase public knowledge of
zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, an ...
. Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Examples are bird and mammal study skins, mounted specimens, skeletal material, casts, pinned insects, dried material, animals preserved in liquid preservatives, and microscope slides.
Natural history museums A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and ...
are repositories of zoological specimens


Study skins

Bird and mammal specimens are conserved as dry study skins, a form of taxidermy. The skin is removed from the animal's carcass, treated with absorbents, and filled with cotton or polyester batting (In the past plant fibres or sawdust were used). Bird specimens have a long, thin, wooden dowel wrapped in batting at their center. The dowel is often intentionally longer than the bird's body and exits at the animal's vent. This exposed dowel provides a place to handle the bird without disturbing the feathers. Mammal study skins do not normally utilize wooden dowels, instead preparators use wire to support the legs and tail of mammals. Labels are attached to a leg of the specimen with thread or string. Heat and chemicals are sometimes used to aid the drying of study skins.


Skeletal Preparations (Osteology)

Osteological collections consist of cleaned, complete and partial skeletons, crania of
Vertebrates Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...
, mainly birds and mammals. They are used in studies of
comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in ...
and to identify bones from archaeological sites. Human bones are used in medical and forensic studies.


Molluscs

In museum collections it is common for the dry material to greatly exceed the amount of material that is preserved in alcohol. The shells minus their soft parts are kept in card trays within drawers or in glass tubes, often as lots (a lot is a collection of a single species taken from a single locality on a single occasion). Shell collections sometimes suffer from
Byne's disease Byne's disease, more accurately known as Bynesian decay, is a peculiar and permanently damaging condition resulting from an ongoing chemical reaction which often attacks mollusk shells and other calcareous specimens that are in storage or on di ...
which also affects birds eggs. The study of dry mollusc shells is called
conchology Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...
as distinct from malacology (wet specimens).


Insects and similar invertebrates

Most hard-bodied insect specimens and some other hard-bodied invertebrates such as certain Arachnida, are preserved as pinned specimens. Either while still fresh, or after rehydrating them if necessary because they had dried out, specimens are transfixed by special stainless steel
entomological pins Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
. As the insect dries the internal tissues solidify and, possibly aided to some extent by the integument, they grip the pin and secure the specimen in place on the pin. Very small, delicate specimens may instead be secured by fine steel points driven into slips of card, or glued to card points or similar attachments that in turn are pinned in the same way as entire mounted insects. The pins offer a means of handling the specimens without damage, and they also bear labels for descriptive and reference data. Once dried, the specimens may be kept in conveniently sized open trays. The bottoms of the trays are lined with a material suited to receiving and holding entomological pins securely and conveniently. Cork and foam plastics are convenient examples. However, open trays are very vulnerable to attack by museum beetle and similar pests, so such open trays are stored in turn inside glass-topped, insect-proof drawers, commonly protected by suitable
pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and ...
s or repellents or barriers. Alternatively, some museums store the pinned specimens directly in larger trays or drawers that are glass-topped and stored in cabinets. In contrast to such dried specimens, soft-bodied specimens most commonly are kept in "wet collections", meaning that they are stored in alcohol or similar preservative or fixative liquids, according to the intended function. Small specimens, whether hard or soft bodied, and whether entire, dissected, or sectioned, may be stored as microscope slide preparations.


Wet specimens

"Wet" specimen collections are stored in different solutions. A very old method is to store the specimen in 70%
ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
with various additives after fixing with formalin or in these days sometimes with a salt-solution. Some methods are very useful, because the color can be preserved. (Salt-)Solutions like this are Jores, Kaiserling and Romhányi. Modern specimens are stored in borosilicate glass due to its chemical and thermal resistance and good optical clarity.


Data

Minimum data associated with zoological specimens is the place and date of collection, attached to the specimen by a label. Additional information is the name of the collector and the habitat. Tissue from specimens may be saved for genetic studies (molecular data, DNA). Depending on the animal group, other data may be included, for instance in bird collections the bird’s breeding condition, weight, colours of its eyes, bills and legs and nature of the stomach contents.


Composite specimens

A single specimen may be a composite of preparations sharing a unique number. An example would be a vertebrate with an alcohol-preserved skin and viscera, a cleared and
stained A stain is a discoloration that can be clearly distinguished from the surface, material, or medium it is found upon. They are caused by the chemical or physical interaction of two dissimilar materials. Accidental staining may make materials app ...
head, the post-cranial dried skeleton, histological, glass slides of various organs, and frozen tissue samples. This specimen could also be a voucher for a publication, or photographs and audiotape.


Voucher specimens

A voucher is a representative specimen of the animal used in a study, such as a specimen collected as part of an ecological survey or a specimen which was the source of DNA for a molecular study. Voucher specimens confirm the identity of the species referred to in the study. They are a backup against misidentification, changing
species concepts The species problem is the set of questions that arises when biologists attempt to define what a species is. Such a definition is called a species concept; there are at least 26 recognized species concepts. A species concept that works well for se ...
which mislead results. Type specimens are a special type of voucher specimen used in taxonomy.


Historic specimens

Museum zoological specimens may have historic significance. For example, the specimens collected by Johann Baptist von Spix and
Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botanist and explorer. Life Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary. He graduated PhD ...
during their Brazil Expedition (1817–1820) are housed in the Munich Zoology Museum.


Models

Museums make extensive use of models. When these are accurate they are considered to be specimens in their own right. Examples are the glass
invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...
of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka.


Examples

File:Eléphant d'Afrique naturalisé.JPG, Mount of African elephant and other animals in Paris Museum File:Chitra indica, skeleton.jpg, ''
Chitra indica The Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle (''Chitra indica''), also known as the small-headed softshell turtle or the Indo-Gangetic softshell turtle, is an endangered species of softshell turtle native to waterways and rivers of the Indian subc ...
'' (narrow-headed soft-shelled turtle) skeleton File:Dynastinae.jpg, Pinned insects ( Dynastinae) File:Caixa de preparacións microscópicas (vista frontal).jpg, Microscope slides File:Pseudocrypturus.jpg, Cast of a bird fossil File:Doris Mable Cochran (1898-1968), measuring a turtle shell.jpg, Zoologist measuring a turtle shell File:Acanthopterygii-senkenberg hg.jpg, Acanthopterygii (fish) at
Naturmuseum Senckenberg The Naturmuseum Senckenberg is a museum of natural history, located in Frankfurt am Main. It is the second-largest of its type in Germany. The museum contains a large and diverse collection of birds with 90,000 bird skins, 5,050 egg sets, 17,0 ...
File:Zoological Exhibition - NM Prague 17.JPG, Model of ''
Arenicola marina The lugworm or sandworm (''Arenicola marina'') is a large marine worm of the phylum Annelida. Its coiled castings are a familiar sight on a beach at low tide but the animal itself is rarely seen except by those who, from curiosity or to use as ...
'' in a zoological exhibition at National Museum (Prague) File:Technique of diaphanization applied in a fish.jpg, Specimen of fish clarified for visualization of anatomical structures on display at the MAV/USP.


See also

*
Bird collections Bird collections are curated repositories of scientific specimens consisting of birds and their parts. They are a research resource for ornithology, the science of birds, and for other scientific disciplines in which information about birds is us ...
* Cryopreservation *
Insect collecting Insect collecting refers to the collection of insects and other arthropods for scientific study or as a hobby. Most insects are small and the majority cannot be identified without the examination of minute morphological characters, so entomo ...
* Seed bank *
Type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...


Further reading

*Hall, E. R. 1962. ''Collecting and preparing study specimens of vertebrates''. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publications no. 30. 46 pp. *Hangay, G., and M. Dingley. 1985. ''Biological museum methods''. Volume I. Vertebrates. Academic Press, Sydney, Australia *Howie, F. M. P. 1985. Conserving Natural History Collections: Some Present Problems and Strategies for the Future. ''Proceedings of the 1985 Workshop on Care and Maintenance of Natural History Collections'':1-6. *Kageyama, M., R. Monk, R. Bradley, G. Edson, and R. Baker. 2006. The changing significance and definition of the biological voucher. ''In'' S. Williams and C. Hawks (eds.) ''Museum Studies: Perspectives and Innovations''. Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, Washington, D.C., 259-266. *McAlpine, Donald F. 1985. Curators and Natural History Collections: Have We Become Islands in Science?. ''Proceedings of the 1985 Workshop on Care and Maintenance of Natural History Collections'':7-14. *Suarez, Andrew V. and Neil D. Tsutsui. 2004. The Value of Museum Collections for Research and Society. ''BioScience'' 54(1):66-74.


References


External links


Naturkundemuseum StuttgartZoological Collection Database SZN
Impressive. Images of wet specimens,labels,catalogues etc.

The role of voucher specimens in validating faunistic and ecological research
Museum handbook
Bird skin preparation
Texas Tech University
Halter, A.S. Standards for management of the recent mammal and bird collections Texas Tech University
Natural history collections of the University of EdinburghWet Specimen collection of the National Museum of Australia


See also

*
List of natural history dealers Natural history specimen dealers had an important role in the development of science in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. They supplied the rapidly growing, both in size and number, museums and educational establishments and private colle ...
{{Authority control Zoological nomenclature Zoology