[Nhcoll-l] Advice on removing specimens from glass tubes

[John E Simmons]

This technique was published in Turtox News 15(10:129 in October of 1937 in
an anonymous short article with the title "A method of displaying snakes."
The article includes a photograph of a rack holding a number of long tubes
with preserved snakes stretched out in them, sent in by "Professor John M.
Frazier of the State Teachers College, Hattiesburg Mississippi." Prof.
Frazier reported that "The snakes are injected with formalin-alcohol
preservative and are hardened instraight and extended position. They are
then inserted in the glass tubes, the ends of which are sealed with cork or
rubber stoppers and coated with paraffin after the tubes have been
completely filled with the preserving solution."

There were several "formalin-alcohol preservative" mixtures that were
popular at the time, the idea being that you could reduce the two-steps of
fixation and preservation into one. These mixtures were not successful
because the chemical actions of the formaldehyde and alcohol interfered
with each other, resulting in uneven preservation as tissues were
dehydrated. For example, one mixture called for 95ml of 70% ETOH and 5 ml
of formaldehyde; another for 50 parts alcohol, 5 parts formaldehyde, and 45
parts water. It may also refer to what was more commonly called FAA, which
was formaldehyde, alcohol, and acetic acid.

You cannot tell just by looking what solution the specimens are in, but I
expect it is alcohol due to the discoloration (formaldehyde does not
extract lipids as readily as alcohol). However, I would handle these as if
they did contain formaldehyde and take appropriate precautions until you
are sure. The problem with re-housing the specimens will be that they are
going to be very stiff and it will be difficult to coil them up without
damaging them. If they are not leaking, and you do not need to remove the
specimens for examination, I would leave them as they are but house the
tubes in a way that will reduce the chance of breakage, such as in a box or
tray with half-rounds of cardboard to keep them from rolling or touching
each other. They are an excellent example of an old technique that was
rather quaint.

Any idea when the specimens were preserved?

--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
*and*
Associate Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
*and*
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima


On Mon, Feb 28, 2022 at 2:02 PM Luisa Zamora Chavez <lzamorac at asu.edu>
wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I have a few liquid-preserved snakes in glass tubes that were donated to
> our collections sometime ago. The tubes are sealed shut using what appears
> to be plastic corks, tape, and sealant. We're not sure if the liquid
> they're in is formalin or something other than ethanol.
>
> I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with this sort of
> preservation and any advice on how to transfer the specimens to a more
> stable mode? We'd like to keep some of them but fear the tubes might break.
> We are unsure of what liquid is typically used for this type of
> preservation and would like to be as prepared as possible so we can
> safely remove them from the tubes (if that is at all possible). I have
> included some pictures of the specimens for reference. Any help is greatly
> appreciated!
>
> Kind regards,
> Luisa
>
>
> --
> *Luisa Zamora Chavez *
> Pronouns: she/they
> Research Technician
> Arizona State University Biocollections
> Lzamorac at asu.edu
> 602-737-8357
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