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From: Gladys Fehling [log in to unmask]

I don't collect chitons, so I don't really know what you are trying to
preserve but when I lived in the Bahamas in the 1970-80's my husband and I
saved a number of the animals from the sea, mostly various types of
starfish.  Along the way I preserved a few chitons.  What my husband and I
used for preserving was 1 part formaldehyde to 9 parts water.  We used a
syringe to inject this into whatever we were preserving.  I just looked at
the chitons we did and they are still dry without deteriorating.  You will
need to tie them down flat before using the formaldehyde.  Freezing might be
ok.  We didn't have that luxury where we were.  This drys the animal as well
as the rest of the chiton so that all parts are preserved.
Gladys Fehling
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Grebneff" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 3:15 AM
Subject: Re: Gumboot Chitons


> >I just collected a number of very large Cryptochiton stelleri and
> >am going to clean them today. What is the safest way to clean
> >them so that the plates don't crack...I've had a few chitons break
> >their plates due to rolling up in a ball when boiled.
> >
> >(No, I'm not going to preserve the girdles...to much bother for
> >such huge animals.)
> >
> >Maybe I should freeze them first and then make slits along the
> >girdles with a knife to relieve the stress...or then again maybe
> >none of them will crack.
>
> What I would do is keep them in a flat container with a bit of
> seawater, so they unroll and lie flat. Put this in a deepfreeze until
> they die, then remove the foot and viscera; pour in ethanol mixed
> with glycerine to preserve them; the glycerine will keep them
> pliable. Without girdle these things are near-valueless.
>
> Actually, I would not collect a large specimen; about 10-15cm would
> do fine for me.
> --
> Andrew Grebneff
> 165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
> <[log in to unmask]>
> Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
>