[Nhcoll-l] [EXTERN] Re: Mold or fungal growth in herpetology collection

Fri Aug 22 12:32:46 EDT 2025

Dear Fabian and all,

it is advisable to have a closer look first. Mould hyphens should be recognisable under a microscope, crystalline efflorescence looks different as waxy deposits.

However, it is advisable to remove acidic or waxy deposits as long as this still is possible, as they can damage the specimen. Especially in fish, it can decalcify scales or weaken the tissue of scale pockets leading to scale loss, thus decreasing the scientific value of the specimen. Also blooming usually goes in line with volume increase and damages the specimen.

With best wishes
Dirk

Am 22.08.2025 um 17:48 schrieb Fabian Neisskenwirth:

Dear Indah,

Thanks for presenting this very interesting alterations. Are you certain that you are dealing with mold here? As already suggested, this two different alterations seem to be more of an efflorescence of some kind. The questions from John are indeed very helpful in trying to find out the cause.

But, is it really necessary to remove the residues? For the specimen, it might be better to keep them on until you are sure that they need to go away, specially if you don't know what they exactly are. From the pictures I can't really detect an deterioration of the soft tissue, it seems to be more of an esthetic problem.

And just from a conservation point of view: Its not really recommended to wash specimens with water if they are kept in ethanol, because it could damage the soft tissue due to osmotic shock. Besides you don't know how the efflorescence will react to water. And please don't use detergent either, you don't know what additive you might be adhering to the tissue and fluid, and adding surfactants to your mixture could cause a bigger issue as well.
If the alteration has to be removed because of an esthetic reason, you might first try to take a small sample of it and see how it react in different a different medium.

And please send more pictures to the community if you find other interesting cases. Thanks!

All the best,

Am 22.08.25 um 16:15 schrieb John E Simmons:
I agree with Dirk, but I would add that it is also possible that some of the stuff could be an efflorescence due to anexcess of salts used to buffer the fixative (I have seen this happen when a formaldehyde fixative is buffered with an excess of borax and a few other buffers).

Following Dirk's recommendations should clear up the problem. Do be very careful if you need to brush away the white stuff so that you do not damage the skin of the specimen.

Thank you for sending these excellent photos, they are much better than the photos most us post of our problem specimens.\

You mentioned that you were new to the collection so you don't know the history of the specimen, but I do have a few questions that might help better diagnose the problem:
1-Do you know how long it has been in the collection?
2-Is denatured ethanol used in the collection?
3-Is the alcohol diluted with tap water?

Thanks,
John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
and
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima

On Fri, Aug 22, 2025 at 8:44 AM Indah Huegele <indahhuegele at isu.edu<mailto:indahhuegele at isu.edu>> wrote:
Hello everyone,

I was wondering if I could get feedback on some scary-looking growths on a few herpetology specimens in our collection (photos attached here). Any thoughts on what these residues are and/or advice on how to treat them would be much appreciated!

Orange-brown bumps. (images 143927 and 143900) There are small, orange-brown, round bumps on one specimen that has had its tail exposed from fluid levels that are too low. I completely replaced the ethanol for this specimen and tried to gently scrape off the growth, but most of it was quite dried on, so I left it soaking in fresh 70% ethanol for the time being. Is this definitely fungal? Should I try to scrape the rest of the growth off the specimen's tail or leave it alone?

White layer of residue. (all other images) On a few salamander specimens, there is this opaque, white layer of residue. This is occurring on salamander specimens that are completely submerged in ethanol. (However, I am not sure what the concentration of this ethanol is or the last time that it was changed out; I worry it might have lost ethanol concentration over time.) Any thoughts on what this might be and how to treat it?

I took over this collection a few months ago, so I am still discovering issues with specimens. I appreciate any suggestions that you folks have to offer on how to help these poor specimens!

Thanks,

Indah

Indah B. Huegele, PhD
Life Sciences Collection Manager | Idaho Museum of Natural History

Museum Bldg | Room 220
921 S 8th Ave, Stop 8096 | Pocatello, Idaho 83209
(208) 282-2815 | indahhuegele at isu.edu<mailto:indahhuegele at isu.edu>

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Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany

Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts;
Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Grüter (Kaufm. Geschäftsführer)
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