Microminiature fish skeleton specimen manufacturing method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of animal morphological research and specimen making, in particular to a microminiature fish skeleton specimen making method which comprises the following steps: step 1, standardized trapping and feeding of white skin beetles: preparing a feeding box and a worm-eaten box, trapping and feeding the white skin beetles, and screening out vigor larvae with the body length of more than or equal to 0.5 cm for later use; step 2, pretreatment of fish materials: selecting microminiature sclerobone fish with the body length of less than 10cm, freezing to death, sterilizing and dehydrating with 75% or more alcohol, and drying and shaping at the temperature of less than 65 DEG C after primary treatment of epidermis; according to the method, accurate fleshing is conducted on the larvae of the white skin beetles, damage to fine skeletons such as fin rays and gill bones is close to zero, the problem of structural damage of a traditional fleshing method is solved, the fine skeleton features of a specimen are clear and distinguishable, a standardized breeding system and an atomization bleaching process of the white skin beetles are established, the risk of skeleton disintegration of traditional soaking bleaching is avoided, and the method is suitable for large-scale popularization and application. And the manufacturing process is repeatable and small in error.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of animal morphology research and specimen preparation technology, specifically a method for preparing miniature fish skeletal specimens. Background Technology

[0002] Skeletal specimens are the core carriers for conducting morphological and taxonomic research on fish. However, the preparation of complete dried skeletal specimens of small bony fish with a body length of less than 10 cm has always been a technical challenge in the industry due to their delicate and fragile skeletons. In existing fish skeleton specimen preparation techniques, methods such as cold scraping, hot scraping, alkaline etching, and water etching are commonly used in the flesh removal process. These methods can easily cause irreversible damage to the delicate bones such as fins and gill bones of small fish. The bleaching process often uses hydrogen peroxide immersion, which can easily lead to the disintegration of the skeletal structure and make it impossible to preserve complete morphological features.

[0003] Because the mouthparts of the white-bellied ground beetle larvae cause minimal damage to the skeleton, they are often used in forensic identification for deboning. However, there is currently no technical solution adapted to this method for preparing skeletal specimens of micro- and small fish. Furthermore, there is a lack of standardized white-bellied ground beetle rearing systems and corresponding specimen processing techniques. This results in a technical gap in the preparation of complete dried skeletal specimens of micro- and small fish, which cannot meet the precise needs of scientific research and popular science. Therefore, this paper proposes a method for preparing skeletal specimens of micro- and small fish. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a method for preparing miniature fish skeleton specimens to solve or alleviate the technical problems existing in the prior art, and at least provides a beneficial alternative.

[0005] The technical solution of this invention is achieved as follows: a method for preparing miniature fish skeleton specimens, comprising the following steps:

[0006] Step 1: Standardized trapping and rearing of white-bellied ground beetles: Prepare rearing boxes and insect-eating boxes, trap and rear white-bellied ground beetles, and select viable larvae with a body length ≥ 0.5 cm for later use.

[0007] Step 2: Pre-treatment of fish materials: Select small bony fish with a body length of less than 10cm, freeze them to death, disinfect and dehydrate them with alcohol of 75% or higher concentration, perform initial skin treatment, and then dry and shape them at a temperature below 65℃.

[0008] Step 3: Precise removal of flesh by cutting with skin beetle larvae: Place the dried fish body and 40 white-bellied skin beetle larvae in a 25°C, light-proof cutting box and cut with the skin for 4 days until the flesh is completely removed.

[0009] Step 4, Degreasing the skeleton: Use organic solvents such as acetone and xylene to treat the insect-eaten skeleton components until the solution color stabilizes;

[0010] Step 5, Atomized Bleaching: Spray a 5% hydrogen peroxide solution onto the bone surface using an ultrasonic atomizer, and allow it to air dry.

[0011] Step Six: Assembly and Shaping: Use 0.2mm copper wire and 502 glue to complete the in-situ bonding and shaping of the skeleton components.

[0012] More preferably, in step one, the dermestid beetle rearing box is a 2L plastic box with a lid, with the bottom suspended more than 1cm above the ground and covered with a 1cm thick plastic support grid board. The rearing environment temperature is ≤30℃ and it is kept away from light. The insect-eating box has a size of 20cm×20cm×20cm and the bottom is lined with white cardboard.

[0013] More preferably, in step two, the method of killing the fish material is ice freezing, the alcohol concentration is above 75%, the soaking time is above 1 day, and the drying process is a constant temperature of below 65°C for above 3 hours.

[0014] In a further preferred embodiment, in step three, the insect infestation process requires opening the lid for ventilation for 2 hours daily and replacing the padding paper. The criterion for terminating insect infestation is that the fish's muscles are completely eaten and the skeletal structure is clearly exposed.

[0015] More preferably, in step five, the amount of spray for atomized bleaching is limited to "the bones are moist but there is no liquid accumulation". The spray-drying process can be repeated, but soaking in high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide is strictly prohibited.

[0016] In a further preferred embodiment, in step six, copper wires are inserted through the bone medullary foramina to connect the head and torso, and copper wires are bonded parallel to the spine at the waist belt area for reinforcement. The glue needs to be applied precisely with a rat tail tube.

[0017] More preferably, the micro-sized fish are adult bony fish with a body length of less than 10cm, including but not limited to the Guizhou rock loach.

[0018] The embodiments of the present invention have the following advantages due to the adoption of the above technical solutions:

[0019] I. This invention uses the larvae of the white-bellied ground beetle for precise meat removal, with near-zero damage to the fine skeletons such as fins and gill bones. It solves the structural damage problem of traditional meat removal methods, and the fine skeletal features of the specimen are clearly identifiable. It establishes a standardized breeding system and atomized bleaching process for the white-bellied ground beetle, avoiding the risk of skeleton disintegration in traditional soaking and bleaching. The production process is repeatable and has small errors.

[0020] Second, this invention is applicable to all micro-sized bony fish with a body length of less than 10cm, and can meet the needs of skeletal specimens in various scenarios such as scientific research and popular science, filling the technical gap in the production of whole-body skeletal specimens of fish of this size.

[0021] The above overview is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. Attached Figure Description

[0022] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0023] Figure 1 This is the overall flowchart of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0024] In the following description, only certain exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As those skilled in the art will recognize, the described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the drawings and description are considered to be exemplary in nature and not restrictive.

[0025] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment of the invention provides a method for preparing miniature fish skeleton specimens, including the following steps:

[0027] Step 1: Standardized trapping and rearing of white-bellied ground beetles: Prepare rearing boxes and insect-eating boxes, trap and rear white-bellied ground beetles, and select viable larvae with a body length ≥ 0.5 cm for later use.

[0028] Step 2: Pre-treatment of fish materials: Select small bony fish with a body length of less than 10cm, freeze them to death, disinfect and dehydrate them with alcohol of more than 75% and pre-treat the skin, and then dry and shape them at less than 65℃.

[0029] Step 3: Precise removal of flesh by cutting with skin beetle larvae: Place the dried fish body and 40 white-bellied skin beetle larvae in a 25°C, light-proof cutting box and cut with the skin for 4 days until the flesh is completely removed.

[0030] Step 4, Degreasing the skeleton: Soak the insect-eaten skeleton components in solvents such as acetone or xylene until the solution color stabilizes;

[0031] Step 5, Atomized Bleaching: Use an ultrasonic atomizer to atomize and spray a 5% hydrogen peroxide solution onto the bone surface, and allow it to air dry.

[0032] Step Six: Assembly and Shaping: Use 0.2mm copper wire and 502 glue to complete the in-situ bonding and shaping of the skeleton components.

[0033] In one embodiment, in step one, the dermestid beetle rearing box is a 2L plastic box with a lid, with the bottom suspended more than 1cm above the ground and covered with a 1cm thick plastic support grid board. The rearing environment temperature is ≤30℃ and it is kept away from light. The insect-eating box has a size of 20cm×20cm×20cm, with white cardboard lining the bottom.

[0034] In one embodiment, in step two, the method of killing the fish material is ice freezing, the alcohol concentration is above 75%, the soaking time is above 1 day, and the drying process is a constant temperature below 65°C for above 3 hours.

[0035] In one embodiment, in step three, the insect infestation process requires opening the cover for ventilation for 2 hours daily and replacing the padding paper. The criterion for terminating insect infestation is that the fish's muscles are completely eaten and the skeletal structure is clearly visible.

[0036] In one embodiment, in step five, the amount of spray for atomized bleaching is limited to "the bones are moist but there is no liquid accumulation". The spray-drying process can be repeated, but soaking in high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide is strictly prohibited.

[0037] In one embodiment, in step six, copper wires are inserted through the bone medullary foramina to connect the head and torso, and copper wires are bonded parallel to the spine at the waist belt area for reinforcement. The glue needs to be applied precisely with a rat tail tube.

[0038] In one embodiment, the micro-fish is an adult bony fish with a body length of less than 10 cm, including but not limited to the Guizhou rock loach.

[0039] Preparation of a complete skeletal specimen of *Guizhou rock loach* in one embodiment.

[0040] White-bellied Dermestidus Rearing: Prepare rearing boxes and insect-eating boxes as described above, trap adult white-bellied dermestidus in the wild, and obtain 40 viable larvae with a body length of 0.6 cm after standardized rearing.

[0041] Material pretreatment: Select adult Guizhou rock loach with a body length of 3.5cm, freeze them to death with ice, soak them in 75% alcohol for 2 days, scrape off the scales and skin, and dry them at 60℃ to set their shape.

[0042] Insect-eaten flesh removal: The dried fish body is placed in an insect-eaten box with 40 skin beetle larvae and eaten at 25°C in the dark for 4 days to obtain the separated head and torso skeleton.

[0043] Degreasing and bleaching: After degreasing with acetone, spray twice with 5% hydrogen peroxide mist, and let it air dry after each spray. There is no residual muscle on the bone surface and the color is uniform.

[0044] Assembly and shaping: The head and torso were connected using 0.2mm copper wire, and copper wire was glued to the waist belt area for reinforcement, finally obtaining a complete skeleton specimen of Guizhou rock loach, with its fins, gill bones, ribs and other fine structures completely preserved.

[0045] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various variations or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and these should all be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for preparing a small fish skeleton specimen, characterized by: The method comprises the following steps: Step 1: Standardized trapping and rearing of Dermestes maculates: Prepare rearing boxes and insect boxes, trap and rear Dermestes maculates, and select live larvae with a body length of greater than or equal to 0.5 cm for standby; Step 2: Pretreatment of fish materials: Select small hard fish with a body length of less than 10 cm, freeze to death, disinfect and dehydrate with alcohol with a concentration of more than 75%, and dry and shape at a temperature of less than 65 DEG C after initial treatment of the epidermis; Step 3: Precise meat removal of Dermestes larvae: Place the dried fish body and 40 Dermestes larvae in a 25 DEG C light-proof insect box, and the larvae are eaten for 4 days until the muscle is completely removed; Step 4: Bone skeleton assembly: Soak the insect-eaten bone skeleton assembly in organic solvents such as acetone and xylene until the solution color is stable; Step 5: Atomization bleaching: Spray 5% hydrogen peroxide solution on the surface of the bone skeleton assembly with an ultrasonic atomizer, and dry naturally; Step 6: Assembly and shaping: Use 0.2 mm copper wire combined with 502 glue to complete the in-situ adhesion and shaping of the bone skeleton assembly.

2. The method for preparing a micro-sized fish skeletal specimen according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step 1, the Dermestes rearing box is a 2L plastic box with a cover, and a 1cm-thick plastic support grid plate is placed on the bottom, and the rearing environment temperature is less than or equal to 30 DEG C and light-proof; the insect box is 20cm x 20cm x 20cm in size, and white cardboard is placed on the bottom.

3. The method for preparing a micro-sized fish skeleton specimen according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step 2, the fish material is killed by ice block freezing method, the alcohol concentration is more than 75%, the soaking time is more than 1 day, and the drying process is constant temperature of 65 DEG C or lower for more than 3 hours.

4. The method for preparing a micro-sized fish skeleton specimen according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step 3, the termination standard of insect eating is that the fish muscle is completely eaten and the bone skeleton is clearly exposed.

5. The method for preparing a micro-sized fish skeleton specimen according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the step 5, the spraying amount of atomization bleaching is limited to "bone skeleton wetting without fluid accumulation", and the spraying-drying process can be repeated, and high-concentration hydrogen peroxide soaking is strictly prohibited.

6. The method for preparing a micro-sized fish skeleton specimen according to claim 1, wherein: In the step 6, the copper wire is inserted into the connection head and trunk from the bone marrow hole, the waistband part is parallel to the spine to adhere the copper wire for reinforcement, and the glue needs to be installed with a mouse tail pipe for precise point coating.

7. The method for preparing a micro-sized fish skeleton specimen according to claim 1, wherein: The small fish is a hard fish, including but not limited to Guizhou climbing catfish.

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