Comparative Rehydration of Vertebrate Natural History Museum Specimens

Abstract

The Natural History Museum at Southwestern Oklahoma State University houses an important vertebrate zoology collection from the state of Oklahoma dating back to 1929. These specimens vary in quality of soft tissue conservation, including specimens preserved in liquid and desiccated states. For this study we replicated the rehydration procedure described by Singer (2014) to examine the effects of rehydration on different types of vertebrates. Specimens were selected from the collection based on their small relative size and condition, and include representation from fish, toads, salamanders, snakes and turtles. Dehydrated specimens were hydrated with DI water and thymol before being staged through increasing concentrations of ethanol. Preliminary results show consistent mass increases between 70% and 95% across the different organisms as well as a notable increase in pliability and improvement in physical appearance. These results support the utility of rehydration techniques in collections management as well as the recovery of specimens for research.