Mammal skin preparation

Preparing museum skins is the best way for a biologist to examine morphological details when alive specimens aren't accessible. As a biologist, I enjoy this activity which holds lots of interresting discoveries!

The Coast mole (Scapanus oratus):

The coast mole is a medium-sized North American mole (~20 cm long including the tail) and weighs about 60 grams. Its short pointy snout, broad strong paws and its tiny eyes are the first fascinating morphological traits that got my attention. Moles spend most of their time underground foraging for earthworms and other type of invertebrates, so having strong paddle-like paws to travel seems to be a useful attribute to have. Coast moles are found in forested to open areas with moist soils along the Pacific coast from southwestern British Columbia, Canada to central California, USA. They are solitary mammals except in late winter when they mate. Females with litter build a deep underground burrow where they can have a litter from two to four young. Dissecting a coast mole was very interresting and finding its tiny eyes was quite challenging.

The Northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)

The Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)