Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum

Struthio camelus

Emily K. and I spent some time a few weeks ago clearing out the dermestid colony in anticipation for the massive bison skull we are cleaning for MTFW&P, and as a result we finally got the opportunity to rescue this ostrich leg which had been buried at the bottom of the colony for the past year.  The initial cleaning was completed by a previous volunteer, so all Emily and I had to do was first soak it in 3% h2o2 for 24 hours, then set it to a slow simmer underneath the fume hood for a few additional hours to loosen the extraneous tissue and cartilage.  In my opinion it is hard to argue against the existence of dinosaurs when you are handling something as primitive looking as the bones of an ostrich leg.