Taxidermy

Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. The word taxidermy describes the process of preserving the animal.The word taxidermy is derived from the 

Greek words taxis and derma.Taxis means "arrangement", and derma 

means "skin" .The word taxidermy translates to "arrangement of skin".

Taxidermy is practiced primarily on vertebrates (mammals, birds, fish, 

reptiles, and less commonly on amphibians) .

In this process, three dimensional view is maintained by stuffing the animal with cotton or saw dust mixed with chalk and copper sulphate. A living animals are aken and anaesthesize it with chloroform. When fully anaesthesized, keep it in a dissecting tray. Make a vertical incision along the mid-ventral abdominal axis and carefully 

remove internal organs. Remove muscles and bones of the fore and hind limbs. Fill the gap by packing it with cotton mixed with chalk and copper sulphate. Let the animal dry. Classify and label the specimen. 

The label must contain date of collection, place of collection and name of specimen. 

Let the specimen become completely dry and then keep it in museum. 

Dried articulated and disarticulated skeletons, such as those of fish, frog, snake, Varanus, fowl, etc., are mounted on wooden board, with 

classification and labelling.

A person who practices taxidermy is called a taxidermist. They may practice professionally, catering to museums and sportspeople (hunters and fishermen), or as amateurs (hobbyists). A taxidermist is aided by familiarity with anatomy, sculpture, painting, and tanning.