[Nhcoll-l] Transferring a worm to new fixative

[Fabian Neisskenwirth]

Dear all,

just as a safety advice. Please do not smell preservation fluids. This 
practice is very dangerous and unprofessional. There are many simple 
methods to test physical properties and if there is an aldehyde content 
in the fluid.

The density alone of the fluid can give already a lot of information.


All the best,

Am 25.03.26 um 22:38 schrieb William Poly:
> Hi Nate,
>
> AFA (alcohol, formalin, acetic acid) is another possible solution as 
> it is used for worms, and the combination of odors could make it 
> difficult to identify by smell.
>
> Bill
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 12:57 PM Shoobs, Nate <shoobs.1 at osu.edu> wrote:
>
>     Hey all,
>     We have a display specimen of a Giant Australian earth worm
>     (/Megalascides/) with no data in our collection. It's in nice
>     condition, but the fluid it's preserved in is quite dark orange
>     (presumeably colors leeched from the animal) and thus it makes the
>     specimen hard to see and appreciate.
>
>     I want to transfer it to fresh fluid so it's easier to examine,
>     but I can't figure out what it's preserved in. I initially thought
>     it was in 10% formalin, but test-dipping a portion of the animal
>     in a fresh jar of 10% formalin caused a pretty immediate visible
>     reaction (skin started peeling). The preservative is definitely
>     not ethanol. It has an acrid odor like formalin. I don't have
>     Schiff's reagent on hand. The specimen was acquired in the mid 60s
>     early 70s, so I think it rules out many of the more obscure
>     Victorian fixatives.
>
>     Any suggestions on a protocol to safely transfer it to a fixative
>     that is less opaque (fresh formalin or ethanol)? The primary
>     purpose of the transfer is for display and teaching, as the
>     specimen is uncatalogued and has no data other than the ID, so the
>     only thing that matters in this case is making sure it's not
>     ruined aesthetically. (And of course, making sure I can figure out
>     what the old preservative is to safely dispose of it).
>
>     -Nate
>     -
>     *Nathaniel F. Shoobs, *Curator of Mollusks
>     College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and
>     Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University
>     Museum of Biological Diversity
>     1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212
>     614-688-1342 (Office)
>     mbd.osu.edu
>     <https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://mbd.osu.edu/___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6YjJjZTo5ODU1ZWM2ZjJiYTAwMGIwMDY3YWU5YTQ2NjFiNjNhZDc4YzljYTE2MTdiOGM0MzE0NDExMTc5ZDc3Mjg1M2JmOmg6VDpO>
>     _______________________________________________
>     Nhcoll-l mailing list
>     Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
>     https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NGRhZTozMGU0MDhiOTc3NDZjMTM5MWZkYWRiODE4ZDIzNmJmZjVkY2ZmMWJkZmJhNzNkZWFkMjQwOGVmZTg2YTVlNTllOnA6VDpO
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
>     Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
>     mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
>     natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
>     society. See
>     https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjAxNzk3NmU2NWY5ZjE1MjQ1ZmQ1MzRjNTgzMWRkZThjOjc6NzdhODpkNjAwZDhiNWQ2YzI3MjkyNzI3NWNhMjdjMmUwZTViZjhjN2MxNGI0MzUyNDFkMGIyMWIzNmE2OGI3MWJiMDcwOnA6VDpO
>     for membership information.
>     Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nhcoll-l mailing list
> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>
> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. Seehttp://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
-- 
*Fabian Neisskenwirth*
Restaurator/Präparator

Waterfohrstr. 20
DE-45139 Essen

Tel: +49 (0) 1573 2778729

www.naturhistorische-konservierung.de
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20260326/f176c3c5/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Logo.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 47337 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20260326/f176c3c5/attachment.jpg>