> You need to have some good salt water and a large pan they can sit in. Keep
> them in water until you get to wherever you're staying , then put them in
> the clean water and wait for them to relax. I have a box that they fit in
> nicely (a breadbox) and put a piece of hard plastic under them. When they're
> flat I pick up the plastic, holding the chiton on it, pour out the salt
> water and tie the chiton down with strips of panty hose (Place another strip
> of plastic between the chiton's back and the hose to avoid having
> indentations on the chiton from the hose.) Then immerse it in alcohol for at
> least a day. Dry thoroughly.


Have a heart! These things have pain receptors. How would you like to
have your lungs filled with ethanol?

When I collect chitons I do it thus:

Place live chitons in a water-free container with flat sides & bottom.
Wait until the animals are comfortable attached to a flat surface.
Place in freezer for 24 hours. Transfer container to fridge to thaw
gradually; when thawed, slide chitons off and immerse in mixture of
ethanol and glycerine (or better, 4% formalin and glycerine) and leave
for a week or more (much less if using formalin, because it may attack
the shell unnoticably). Then pat specimens dry; the glycerine will
keep the soft parts pliable. You may want to remove the foot and
innards before placing in preservative, and this will reduce the time
in formalin to a safe couple of days For smaller species than adult C.
stelleri). Preferably then keep the specimens in sealed containers to
stop the glycerine from absorbing moisture from the atmosphere
(good-quality heavy ZipLoc bags could be used).


--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Mollusc, Toyota & VW van nut
Temporarily in Calgary, AB, Canada
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