Methods of biological maceration in the preparation of bat skulls: benefits and limitations

Abstract Osteologic collections are used as an aid to scientific and teaching activities, to provide information on specific vertebrate characteristics, such as body support, posture, mode of locomotion, feeding habits and ecological niche. Known techniques for cleaning entire skeletons or mammalian skulls vary according to the destination of the material, the objective of the study, the taxonomic group, and the size of the specimen. The objective of this study was to test three different methods of maceration for cleaning bat skulls (traditional biological maceration, controlled biological ma...