An introduction to the study of fishes / by Albert C.L.G. Günther.

  • Günther, Albert C. L. G. (Albert Carl Ludwig Gotthilf), 1830-1914.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introduction to the study of fishes / by Albert C.L.G. Günther. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    724/746 (page 702)
    and expense. So very few large examples are exhibited in museums, the majority of the species being known from the young stage only, that the collector will find himself amply recompensed by attending to these desiderata. Scaly fishes ai'e skinned thus : with a strong pair of scissors an incision is made along the median line of the abdomen from the foremost part of the throat, passing on one side of the base of the ventral and anal fins, to the root of the caudal fin, the cut being continued upwards to the back of the tail close to the base of the caudal. The skin of one side of the fish is then severed with the scalpel from the underlying muscles to the median line of the back ; the bones which support the dorsal and caudal ai’e cut through, so that these fins remain attached to the skin. The removal of the skin of the opposite side is easy. More difficult is the preparation of the head and scapulary region; the two halves of the scapular arch which have been severed from each other by the first incision are pressed towards the right and left, and the spine is severed behind the head, so that now only the head and shoulder bones remain attached to the skin. These parts have to be cleaned from the inside, all soft parts, the branchial and hyoid apparatus, and all smaller bones, being cut away with the scissors or scraped off with the scalpel. In many fishes, which are provided with a characteristic dental apparatus in the pharynx (Labroids, Cypri- noids), the pharyngeal bones ought to be preserved, and tied with a thread to the specimen. The skin being now prepared so far, its entire inner surface as well as the inner side of the head are rubbed with arsenical soap; cotton-wool, or some other soft material is inserted into any cavities or hollows, and finally a thin layer of the same material is placed between the two flaps of the skin. The specimen is then dried under a slight weight to keep it from shrinking. The scales of some fishes, as for instance of many kinds of herrings, are so delicate and deciduous that the mere handling causes them to rub off easily. Such fishes may be covered with thin paper (tissue-paper is the best), which is allowed to dry on them before skinning. There is no need for removing the paper before the specimen has reached its destination.