TRAPPING, COLLECTION

AND PRESERVATION
TECHNIQUES OF WILD
VERTEBRATES AND
SELECTED INVERTEBRATES
Katrina G. Gepilano
BIO 102
2nd Sem, S/Y 2019 – 2020

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I. MAMMALS
▶ Bats are usually collected by mist nets (2.5 m x 6.5 m or
larger) set on 4 m poles along a ridge or known passage
ways.
▶ Make sure to retrieve catches the following day for
release or sample specimens.
▶ Unentangle specimens carefully to prevent damage of
nets.
▶ Hold nape of bat using thumb and index fingers to prevent
bites.
▶ Always look for the correct shelves of the net where the
bat entered to make untangling of bats easier.
▶ Place specimens in cloth bags for easy handling while in 2
theG. field.
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 I. MAMMALS
▶ Rats are caught by live traps or snap traps.
▶ Use fresh coconut meat as bait.
▶ Toasting coconut may sometimes improve catchability of specimens.
▶ Retrieve specimens promptly.
▶ If successive trapping is needed, always change baits into fresh ones.
▶ Make sure snap traps are tied securely on nearby objects so that traps are
not lost easily.
▶ Attach one meter string on each strap and secure it on a branch in order
to prevent loss of straps.
▶ Twenty traps are usually enough to cover a one-km transect.
▶ 3
Provide colorful tapes or makers near the traps to easily identify location
Katrina G. Gepilano of traps in the field.
▶ Record the following standard measurements:
1. Weight
I. MAMMALS
2. Total body length
3. Tail length
4. Ear length
5. Hind foot length
6. Skull length and width
7. Sex
8. Pregnant
9. Lactating
▶ Also record the following:
1. Date of collection
2. Plot / transect number 4
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3. Specimen number
I. MAMMALS
▶ Clean specimen of any dirt or fluid.
▶ Cut a small incision on the lower abdomen to separate skin from abdominal
wall. Gradually loosen skin. Minimize enlarging incision.
▶ Cut tissues to separate genitalia from skin.
▶ Work on the legs by cutting on the knee joints. Expose lower leg bones and
remove most of the flesh.
▶ Work on the tail and loosen tissues on base of it. With your thumb and forefinger,
firmly separate tail bones from skin.
▶ Loosen skin upward until you reach the elbow joints. Similarly cut these joints to
expose the elbow bones. Clear flesh surrounding the forearm.
▶ Loosen skin on neck region until the base of ears. Carefully cut base tissue of ears
and nearby eye tissues. Also carefully cut lining of mouth and nasal tissues until
skin is completely separated.
▶ Fragments of flesh and fat tissues should be removed from the skin and cut limbs.
▶ Apply moderate amount of borax powder on the inside of the skin and set
aside. 5
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 I. MAMMALS
▶ Sever head from the body and remove eyes, tongue and most of the flesh. Attach
string and specimen number. Place where ants can devour remaining flesh of the skull,
taking care that lower jaw is not misplaced.
▶ Examine for the presence of fetus, if any.
▶ Make a triangle stitch to fix mouth.
▶ Shape cotton to approximate size of head. Insert in head region.
▶ For long-tailed specimens, insert a thin bamboo stick wrapped with thin layer of cotton.
Wrap up piece of cotton on leg and arm bones, with bulk closing on the distal end.
▶ Prepare cotton approximating size of body. Insert using forceps. When skin is fully
shaped, stitch abdominal incision.
▶ On the board, pin all feet down except for the sole of right foot exposed.
▶ Air dry skin or place under sun.
▶ Avoid ant attack.
▶ When dry, attach skull and label legs. 6
▶
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Legs may be crossed and tied together.
 II. BIRDS
▶ Birds are caught in mist nets
just in the same manner as the
bats.
▶ Retrieve specimens promptly.
▶ Nets are also retrieved if no
more bird specimens are
needed.
▶ Place specimens in cloth bags
for easy handling while in the
field.

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II. BIRDS

▶ Remove any dirt or blood stains on the feathers before skinning.

▶ Place a piece of cotton inside the mouth to prevent any spillage of
body fluid.
▶ Work on sheets of old newspapers for easy cleaning.
▶ Fine saw dust or corn meal may be used while skinning to avoid feathers
from clinging to flesh.
▶ On the lower abdomen, make a short incision and start separating the skin
and flesh. Be careful in this process since bird skin is thinner and
easily tear than that of the mammals.
▶ Expose the entire leg muscle up to the shank and cut on the knee joints.
Cut on the tissues of the cloaca and vent.
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II. BIRDS
▶ Work upwards until you reach the wing bones.
Expose the elbow joints and cut.
▶ Slowly loosen skin on the neck up to the base skull.
With a pair of scissors, cut the base of the skull
enough to easily remove the brain. Also, carefully
remove the eyes. Whole skin of the head should still
be intact.
▶ Snip off most of the flesh, clinging on the remaining
bones of the feet and wings. Generously apply borax
powder on the inner surface of the skin.
▶ Approximate the shape and size of the head of the
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bird on a mass of cotton and insert accordingly using
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a forceps.
II. BIRDS
▶ Wrap thin sheets of cotton on the leg and wing bones following a
triangular shape. Pull back legs and wings to normal position.
▶ Prepare another mass of cotton to approximate shape and size of
body, then insert it. Shape the whole skin and arrange feathers into
position.
▶ Tie legs together and attach label. Label should contain scientific
name; sex; young or adult; measurements on wing span, bill’s length
and width; weight; date of collection’ plot/transect number; specimen
number; location and collector’s name.
▶ Wrap the whole skin with a thin sheet of cotton to prevent
disarrangement of feathers while drying.
▶ Skin can be airdried or placed under the sun.
▶ For a larger specimens, it may require to inject 10% formalin
into the feet and remaining muscles of the wings to prevent decay. 10
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III. AMPHIBIANS
▶ Frogs, caecilians and toads are caught by hand or by hand nets.
▶ Some are caught in the day but best sampling is done at night time using
flashlights.
▶ Large plastic pails buried to rim may also be used to trap amphibians and even
small lizards and snakes.
▶ Three pails placed strategically along a transect tine will be sufficient.
▶ However, they should be promptly retrieved the following morning to avoid
stress on the animals.
▶ Normally, specimens are pickled in 10% formalin solution or 70% ethyl
alcohol.
▶ Make a longitudinal slit on the abdominal wall to facilitate preservation on
internal organs.
▶ Tags written in pencil or India ink should always accompany a specimen.
▶ Indicate date, plot/transect number, specimen number, location, collector’s name
and scientific name in the tag.
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IV. REPTILES

▶ Snakes, lizards and turtles are also caught by hand or hand nets.
▶ Care should be taken for biting lizards and some poisonous snakes.
▶ Except for turtles, most reptiles are best preserved as pickled specimens in
10% formalin or 70% ethyl alcohol.
▶ Also make an incision on the abdomen of lizards to make preservation faster.
▶ Arrange specimen in wide mouthed bottles approximating normal position when
alive.
▶ Snake specimens are usually coiled inside a jar before adding preservative.
▶ Turtles are drowned first so that head, tail and limbs are relaxed at death.
▶ Skinning procedures for turtles also follow the methods being used for birds and mammals.
▶ Attach to specimen individual labels written in pencil or India ink.
▶ Label should contain scientific name, plot/transect number, specimen number, date of collection and collector’s name.
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V. GASTROPODS (MOLLUSKS SUCH
AS SNAILS AND SLUGS)

▶ They are also hand picked.

▶ Snails and slugs are drowned before fixing in preservatives to
reveal vital parts useful in identification.

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 VI. ANNELIDS
(EARTHWORMS
AND LAND
LEECHES)
▶ Earthworms come out of
their hideouts usually after
a heavy rain.
▶ Digging of soil may yield
samples of earthworms.
▶ Land leeches are easily
sampled while inside a
forest.
▶ They are picked up and
fixed in preservative. 14
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 VII. LEPIDOPTERA,
COLEOPTERA AND
HYMENOPTERA

▶ Insects are best collected by insect nets or sometimes just hand

picked.
▶ Lepidoptera are killed by pinching the thorax with thumb
and finger.
▶ They are placed in individual paper triangles and labeled with
plot/transect number, specimen number, date, location and
collector’s name.
▶ Other insects are killed instantly by placing them in cyanide
bottles.
▶ Afterwards, they are air or sun dried and placed in a box with 15
their individual name tags.
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 VIII. CRUSTACEANS
▶ Found in bodies of water
like creeks and
impoundments, they are
handpicked or netted.
▶ They die easily if taken
out of water for
sometime.
▶ Also, fix them in
formalin or ethyl alcohol
as pickling solution.

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IX. FISHES

▶ Use nets of whatever kind of fish in

creeks, rivers or impoundments.
▶ Place specimens in ethyl alcohol or
formalin.
▶ Write transect/plot number, specimen
number, date of collection and collector
on a label and include in the preserving
bottle.
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NEXT READING: TAXIDERMY

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