How to Preserve a Dead Stingray

Featuring flat, diamond-shape bodies and long, serrated and poisonous spines at the base of their tails, stingrays are both frightening and elegant. Typically found along the bottoms of bodies of water, stingrays are parts of the Dasyatidae and Urolophidae families. When you come in contact with a dead stingray, preserving it can be both educational and decorative. A preserved stingray allows people to have up-close views of a marine animal that they might not otherwise see in such detail.

Things You'll Need

  • Glass jar or container
  • Distilled water
  • Rubbing alcohol, 70 percent or higher
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Instructions

    • 1

      Find a glass jar or container large enough for the stingray to fit in loosely. The glass jar or container must have a lid that fits snugly on it. According to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, a bail-top jars that features a rubber gasket and a glass lid is best.

    • 2

      Hold the dead stingray over a tub and rinse surface dirt and debris off the specimen with distilled water. Using tap water can leave a layer of residue of minerals that can affect the preserving process.

    • 3

      Place the dead stingray carefully in the glass jar or container. Make sure the area of the stingray that you want to view -- such as its mouth, which is located on the underside of the marine animal -- is against the inside of the glass jar.

    • 4

      Fill the glass jar with rubbing alcohol of at least 70 percent purity. Carefully pour the alcohol over the dead stingray until you have completely covered the stingray with the liquid. Store the stingray out of direct sunlight and away from direct heat.

    • 5

      Check the stingray on a regular basis. Look for leaks or evaporation. Add more fluid if needed. Discard the dead stingray if decomposition begins to happen.