Museums of Natural History 187 



a mount can be accentuated. But for heavens sake, do not 

 stretch the fins to their extreme width and do not force them 

 away from the body. 



It is practically impossible to find a mount that does not 

 have its fins dried flat, stretched to their fullest and away from 

 the body. The fish appears to be frozen in fright— like a "funny 

 cartoon" which shows a man's hair standing straight up when 

 he sees a ghost. Again, think. When a fish is stationary or 

 swimming, its fins are undulating in movement; there are smooth 

 curves within the fins which do not stretch violently. The fins 

 do not open and close like a Japanese fan. Form pleasing curves 

 in the fins, whether you dry them in position or reproduce them 

 in plastic. For example, you can portray a mount, swimming 

 swiftlv, by positioning the fins backward, especially the dorsal 

 fins. Fishes use their tails and body for propelling themselves 

 through the water. The fins are mostly stabilizers in one re- 

 spect or another. 



3. Mouth. Here again, the tendency is to exaggerate. The 

 open mouth is forced wide beyond all reasonable action. This 

 fault is especially apparent in the largemouth bass. Have you 

 ever seen a mount of this species which did not have its mouth 

 pulled wide into distortion? If you have it's a rarity. Why 

 do taxidermists stretch a fish's mouth into ugliness? Wouldn't 

 it be more pleasing to open a mouth partially? Every mounted 

 largemouth bass I have seen looked worse than if it were trying 

 to regurgitate a big bullfrog and failing in the attempt. We 

 know it is a largemouth bass because the end of the maxilla 

 ( upper lip ) reaches backward beyond the eye, not because its 

 mouth has been stretched to appear like the opening of a sewer- 

 pipe. 



4. Eye. The eye of a mounted fish is nearly always too 

 large, and it is easy to find out why. Next time you see a fresh 

 fish, observe its eye closely. Notice that the eye is in a ball 

 that fits into a socket. Also note that the extreme width all 

 around the eye is not as wide in diameter as the eye socket. A 

 taxidermist removes the eyeball, and replaces it with a glass 



