If we get a fresh fish, we will take a piece of the tissue. And for molecular studies, we want to store the animal's DNA. Then we'll preserve it in formalin, which stabilises this specimen and then, for long-term keeping, we'll keep it in alcohol. It seems to work for hundreds of years we know, for ever we hope. We have fluid preserved fishes from 1774 which are still in good condition. You couldn't eat them now, of course, but for science they are very valuable materials even after all that time. Hard to love? Certainly not for me. Some, to our perception, seem quite ugly but of course not to another member of their own species. As you incorporate new specimens into the collection, this feeling of continuity and your role as custodian of something that outlives you. There is a feeling of responsibility and you can become quite pleased with the role that you play.


得到一条新品种的鱼之后，我们会取下一小块组织，进行分子级研究，存储该鱼种的DNA资料。然后在福尔马林中浸泡，避免标本变质，接着放进酒精中进行长期保存，这样可以保存数百年，希望能永久保存。我们1774年的液体浸泡鱼标本，至今仍然状态良好。 当然，吃是没法吃了。但它们有非常重要的科学价值，即使在这么多年以后，不喜欢这项工作，说的肯定不是我。有些鱼，在我们看来非常丑陋，但在它们同类的眼中却貌美如花，每当你增加一个新物种的标本，你会感叹物种的绵延，而你看管的标本，比你寿命还长。这是一种责任，你会为你的工作感到非常骄傲。