Recovery of skeletal elements and extended wing from a mounted specimen of the nearly extinct Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris)

Abstract

The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) is a very rare Palaearctic Scolopacidae, classified Critically Endangered by the IUCN, with the last accepted record in 2001. In the museum collections, it is commonly preserved with mounted specimens and study skins, but only two skeletons have been reported in the world. Here we present the re-preparation of a mounted specimen from the collection of the Museo di Zoologia of the Torino University in order to obtain as much osteological material as possible. This practice, especially with rare or extinct species, is recommended in different papers to maximize the value of the museum specimens and remedy the lack of skeletal elements of very rare or extinct species.