Zoological specimen

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), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology. Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Examples are bird and mammal study skins, mounted specimens, skeletal material, casts, pinned insects, dried material, animals preserved in spirit and microscope slides. Natural history museums are repositories of zoological specimens

Birds and mammal specimens are conserved as dry study skins. The skin is removed from the specimen, treated with absorbents and filled with cotton or polyester batting (in the past plant fibres or sawdust). Projecting thin wooden supports inside the bird specimens allow handling.Preparators use owire to support the legs and tail of mammals.Labels are attached to a leg of the specimen with thread. Study skins may be dried with heat or chemicals.

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. Human bones are used in medical and forensic studies.

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 which also affects birds eggs.The study of dry mollusc shells is called conchology as distinct from malacology (wet specimens).

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. 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.

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