It is a descriptive presentation about the Taxidermy and how Animals are preserved. Different methods are used for different types of Animals.

2. Contents:
• Taxidermy
• Purposes of taxidermy
• History of taxidermy
• Types of taxidermy
• Zoological specimen
• Types of specimen

3. Taxidermy:
Taxidermy is the preservation of an animal’s body via stuffing or
mounting over an armature for the purpose of study or display.
The word taxidermy is derived from the Greek words taxis and
derma. Taxis means "arrangement", and derma means "skin" (the
dermis). The word taxidermy translates to "arrangement of skin".
Purposes of taxidermy:
There are various purposes of taxidermy such as:
• Display
• Art purpose
• Scientific research
• Identify the species
• Increase public knowledge about the specimen
• Have the extinct species in the preserved form for study

4. Zoological specimen:
A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal
preserved for scientific use.
Type of specimen:
There may be various kinds of zoological specimen such as:
• Osteological specimens
• Insects and similar invertebrates
• Molluscs
• Wet specimen
• Pinned specimens
• Voucher specimens
• Models

5. Osteological specimens:
Osteological collections
consist of cleaned, complete
and partial skeletons, crania
of Vertebrates, mainly birds
and mammals. They are used
in studies of comparative
anatomy and to identify
bones from archaeological
sites.
Hog-nosed skunk skeleton

6. Molluscs Pinned insect

7. "Wet’’ specimen collections are stored in different solutions. A
very old method is to store the specimen in 70% ethanol with
various additives after fixing with formalin or in these days
sometimes with a salt-solution.

8. Composite specimen:
A single specimen may be a composite of various preparations.
e.g.
An invertebrate a cleared and stained head, the post-cranial
dried skeleton, histological, glass slides of various organs, and
frozen tissue samples.
Voucher specimen:
Such specimen which is used as a representative for an animal
used in a study.
e.g. the specimen collected in a field survey as a source of DNA
for a particular animal under study.
Models:
Models are used to display in the museums for different
animals.

9. History of taxidermy:
• Early stuffing and tanning
• Taxidermy as art (early 19th century)
John Hacknok father of modern taxidermist presented a
collection of stuffed birds in 1851 in London.
• Anthromorphic taxidermy (late 19th century)
people dressed the mounted animals to display.

10. Some of the methods used by the taxidermists are given below.
Traditional skin mount:
• The animals flesh is removed.
• The skin is retained as a whole
• The original skull and bones are maintained and other organs of
the body are removed.
• The skin is filled with some cotton or rugs and the specimens is
either Frozen or kept dried.
Recreation mount:
Re-creation mounts are accurate life-size representations of either
extant or extinct species that are created using materials not
found on the animal being rendered. They utilize the fur, feathers,
and skin of another species of animal.
Example of recreation giant panda.

11. Frozen dried mount:
• In this type of mounting, all the internal organs are removed.
• Except organs the other tissues of the body remain inside the
skin.
• The skeleton is maintained in the body.
• The animal is kept in a freezing vacuum chamber where the
vapors or moisture evaporate from the body.

12. Example of dermestid beetle damage to a freeze-dried taxidermy mount of a rattlesnake

13. Reproduction mount:
• Reproduction mounts are
commonly created for
(among others) trout, bass,
and large saltwater species
such as the swordfish.
• In this case the animal is
made unconscious with the
tranquilizer loaded gun and
the hunter poses the animal
to prepare the copy of a
particular body part .
• The original animal is not
harmed.
Reproduction mount of a
rhinoceros made of fiberglass

14. Study skin:
A study skin is a taxidermic zoological specimen prepared
in a minimalistic fashion that is concerned only with
preserving the animal's skin, not the shape of the animal's
body.
There are 4 steps of study skin:
1. Measurements are collected
2. Animal is skinned and internal organs are studied
3. Skin is stuffed with fur or cotton
4. Animal is labelled with data.

15. 1.Measurements are collected 2. Animal is skinned
3. skinned is filled with cotton 4. animal is labelled with data

16. Wet specimen preparation:
• The specimens are collected and preserved in various
solutions.
• Basic method is to preserve in 70% ethanol
• Some additives are added like formalin
• Modern specimens are stored in borosilicate glass due
to its thermal and chemical resistance.

17. References:
 "Taxidermy". Queensland Museum Network. The State Queensland.
Retrieved 22 June 2018.
 BLUM, J.: FormolalsConservierungsflüssigkeit. Zool. Anz. 16, 1893, Page
450-452
 COLEMAN, R. / KOGAN, I.: An improved low-formaldehyde embalming
fluid to preserve cadavers for anatomy teaching. J. Anat. 192, 1998, Page
443-446
 JORES, L.: Die ConservierunganatomischerPräparate in Blutfarbemittels
Formalin. Zbl. Path. Jena 7, 1896, Page 134
 KAISERLING, C.: Über die Conservierung von Sammlungspräparatenmit
der Erhaltung der natürlichenFarben. Klin. Wschr. 33, 1896, Page 725
 ROMÁNHYI, G.: EinfachesVerfahrenzurKonservierung in
natürlichenFarben. Virchows Arch. 328, 1956