Technical Devices and Equipment
Maceration unit with osmosis function
Maceration enzymes are used on pre-prepared carcasses of large animals. The osmosis function prevents calcium deposits forming
on the bones.
Bone fat removal device
Designed to reduce the fat content in bones. A pressurized solvent (DCM) extracts fat from the bones, making them easier to
preserve and handle for further scientific research work.
Skin beetles
Skin beetle larvae are eat away at the tissue left on small and very small vertebrates. This makes it possible to preserve
most ligaments and tendons on the skeleton. The NHM has bred skin beetles (Dermestes ater) for this purpose since 1980.
Dry-freezing
The NHM Vienna’s taxidermy department has two dry-freeze chambers: a small one measuring around 0.03 m³ and a large one measuring
around 1.1 m³. These make it possible to preserve certain animals – small vertebrates such as fish and amphibians, as well
as small mammals – in great detail, which would not be possible with other techniques. A vacuum draws water out of the animal
at very low temperatures.
Nitrogen preservation
Nitrogen is used to preserve items by preventing the development of harmful insects or fighting them if they are already present.
Measuring around 12 m³, the chamber is big enough to accommodate large objects. This technique involves withdrawing oxygen
from the chamber, leaving a pure nitrogen atmosphere in which the insects cannot survive.
Cool room
New deliveries to the taxidermy department are stored in the cool room. The temperature can be adjusted from 5°C to a freezing
-18°C. This 40 m³ room usually contains around 4000 exhibits.