Herpetology collections typically fall into 2 main categories: wet and skeletal. The Yale Peabody Museum’s Division of Vertebrate Zoology has over 22,000 wet specimens, and over 2,500 skeletons.
The
term “wet” in wet collections is literally true. Specimens in wet
collections are stored in some sort of fluid, which differs depending
on the developmental stage of the animal and the desired use of the
specimen.
At the Yale Peabody Museum amphibian larvae are kept in 10% buffered
formalin, while other specimens are maintained in 70% ethanol. The main
reason for storing larvae in formalin is that ethanol tends to
dehydrate specimens, resulting in a reduction in their usefulness to
researchers.
Another “wet” preparation type is that of clearing and staining, a
process whereby a specimen is made transparent and the bones and
cartilage are stained different colors. This is particularly useful
when studying the developmental biology of a given species.
Specimens maintained as “wet” are useful to several different types of
research. Most recently, the herpetology wet collection has been used
in studies of feeding ecology, reproductive biology, developmental
biology and parasitology. Additionally, specimens are used for studies
in conservation genetics and systematics.
The Yale Peabody Museum’s collections are available to legitimate
researchers for scholarly use. Loans are issued to responsible
individuals at established institutions. Loans and access to the
collection can be arranged through the Collections Manager.
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