Effects of four different methods of skeletal processing on the guinea fowl (Numida meleagridis).

Abstract

The process of skeletal processing which involves soft tissues removal, bone cleaning, articulation and labelling is a fundamental step in achieving gross anatomical and archeological studies in museum display of skeletal specimens. It also helps to further highlight the functional anatomy of bones. Several methods of bone preparation have been practiced so as to achieve desired quality bone specimens in the shortest possible time with limited resources. To this end, this study was carried out on 16 (8 males and 8 females) helmeted guinea fowl (Numida meleagridis) a representative of the avian species using four different bone preparation methods (Burial, cold maceration, chemical and insect larvae) at 31ºc to determine the most suitable in this species. Dissection to remove feathers, skin and internal organs was performed prior to each method. Burial in soil took 14 days for complete bone recovery, turned the bones uniformly light brown while producing an indelible putrefying smell with no evidence of cracks on the bones. Cold maceration also took 14 days for complete bone recovery, however, the bones turned whitish, producing a strong putrid smell with no cracks on the bones observed. Chemical method using 3 concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (2%, 3% and 5%) took approximately 10 hours, 8 hours and 4 hours respectively for complete cream coloured bone recovery with no odour but cracks were conspicuous on the bones with increasing concentration of sodium hydroxide. Use of insect larvae took approximately 4 months to produce non-uniform brown-coloured bones articulated via the ligaments having an unpleasant odour with no cracks. Considering the pros and cons of the effects associated with each method, this study concludes that the use of insect larvae was most suitable for a non-urgent bone recovery while the use of NaOH at 3% concentration was suitable for urgent bone recovery of the helmeted guinea fowl.