CLEARING AND STAINING WHOLE FISH SPECIMENS FOR SIMULTANEOUS DEMONSTRATION OF BONE, CARTILAGE, AND NERVES

Comparative anatomical studies of nerves alone, or combined with those of bone and cartilage, are rare in ichthyology because of lack of a r eliable, repeatable protocol for preparing specimens that demonstrate all three character systems. We present a method for enzyme clearing a nd staining whole fish specimens for simultaneous demonstration of bon e, cartilage, and nerves. Nerves are stained dark blue with Sudan Blac k B following alcian blue-alizarin red S staining. Our protocol for Su dan Black B staining differs from others in concentration of Sudan Bla ck B solution, length of time in that solution, and method of differen tiation.