"Lurch Out – Shed Off": Vienna NHM Showcases Amphibians and Reptiles in a New Light

The aim is to present the perhaps brittle-seeming "beauty" of amphibians or lurches and reptiles - commonly known as creeping animals - in a contemporary manner, as stated during the presentation on Tuesday. The now significantly brighter halls 27 and 28 are part of a larger renovation plan.

The redesign of the rooms for specimens of snakes, turtles, monitor lizards, crocodiles, frogs, newts, and others, which started in November 2023, is a piece of a major project in which the zoological tour on the upper floor of the house on Vienna's Ringstraße is being gradually rejuvenated, explained NHM Director General Katrin Vohland to journalists. This is also evidenced by the four bird halls currently in the early stages of renovation, which are next in line.

1,000 Animals in Vienna's NHM in New Light

Since the museum's inception at the end of the 19th century, this tour has been based on the then visionary and by no means universally accepted concept of evolution - starting the journey with single-celled organisms and ending with mammals, concluding with the great apes. This concept remains unchanged, albeit under new conditions: The historical showcases in the herpetological halls have been preserved. They still contain many historical jars with animals of all kinds preserved in alcohol - around 1,000, some rare or extinct animals are on display. Some of them can also be found on the old ceiling paintings, which have been elaborately restored, as restorer Anna Boomgaarden described.

New is the presentation technology with pleasantly shimmering light, which accordingly highlights many of the also visually appealing specimens, explained Silke Schweiger, head of the Herpetological Collection, to the APA. All this is accompanied by "low-threshold written" information that is also understandable for laypeople. There are also special showcases explaining what makes amphibians and reptiles unique, how they camouflage, communicate, why they are endangered - keyword snake leather and crocodile handbag - and in which sometimes intricate positions they reproduce.

Giant Python Welcomes

Above the display cases, you can see stately snake skeletons and equally impressive turtles - the latter now hang again as they did at the museum's opening. In addition to the historical specimens - the collection includes around 200,000 objects in total - there is also completely new to see. For example, a giant python that greets you in the snake hall. It comes from a private owner and had been stored frozen for about 20 years before the preparator team impressively staged it over months of work, according to Schweiger.

A highlight of these works is also a frilled lizard, seen running on just one leg. For this, but also for other new specimens, there were awards at relevant international competitions, emphasized the collection manager. Those who want to get an idea of which representatives belonging to these two animal groups can be encountered in gardens, forests, or meadows in this country with a bit of luck, will be updated on the distribution of horned vipers, adders, salamanders, or various frogs and toads with an "Austria showcase."

(APA/Red)

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