Amphibians Are Wet; Reptiles Are Dry

Ask any kid about herptiles, and they will likely dive into a story about climbing around the muddy bank of a pond to catch their sixth frog of the day. Or they'll bring up the "giant" snake that moved through the tall grasses of their backyard; or proudly state that they even watched a turtle lay her eggs in the shoulder of a rural road. No matter what encounters children have with amphibians or reptiles, they typically grasp that amphibians need to stay wet as necessitated by their thin, breathable skin, and that reptiles are outwardly dry. But what happens once reptiles and amphibians become preserved? They actually tend to adhere to those same norms in the museum, too. 

Think about the methods available to preserve animals. While mummification or freezing are certainly options, they aren't practical for museum display. Animals are either maintained in storage through fluid preservation, or dried and sculpted through taxidermy. 

But while frogs and other amphibians dry well when pressed against hot pavement, they don't hold up as well as taxidermy preparations. At least, the process isn't as simple as flattening them out with tires. Amphibians have thin skin which is penetrable by the oxygen in their environment. This allows them to breathe when submerged under land or water. It also allows their bodies to preserve well when submerged in a fluid solution of alcohol after death. 

Reptiles hold up well in fluid preservative also. Actually, all animals do--a full-grown deer could be stored in fluid if a large enough container was available, and insects are often stored in much smaller containers of alcohol solution. That doesn't mean that reptiles--snakes, turtles, and lizards--are not often dry preserved. 

Most of our museum's reptile specimens have been turned into taxidermy mounts. Much like mammals and birds, their internal organs must be discarded and outward features treated before being wrapped around a form. Their usually thick skin poses little problem during this process. 

So, while it is normal to see reptiles stored in fluid, their bodies are much more compliant during the process of dry preservation than a frog or salamander's could be.