crabs wanted

[LeslieH]

Hi everyone --

Want to get rid of your pesky crabs? Why not donate them to science instead of freezing or flushing them? There are some people here at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County that are doing a genetic research project on crabs. They need freshly preserved specimens in 95% alcohol so you can send them either live or in alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is best, rubbing alcohol from the drugstore is okay, so is white rum or vodka as long as it's 150 proof or higher (and you get to drink the rest, win-win!). Along with the crab we absolutely need to know where it came from: Bali rock, Fiji rock, Florida rock, etc. If we don't have locality we can't identify them; if we can't identify them we can't use them.

To preserve a crab just throw it into a container filled with alcohol. Leave it in overnight to make sure the body tissues are saturated with alcohol. Take it out & wrap it in a paper towel soaked with alcohol. Triple bag it in ziplocks or baggies so the towel doesn't dry out & there's no leakage during shipping (if you can heat seal the plastic that's even better). Place the bag into a crush-proof container. It can be shipped 1st class or overnight. Sorry, we can't pay postage - we might go bankrupt if we got a lot & had to pay for them all! - but it's tax deductible.

Send them to me here at the museum:
Leslie Harris
Collection Manager, Polychaetes
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Many thanks, Leslie