Manoj Chaudhari, curator of natural history at CSMVS, said the collection primarily comprises specimens documented and preserved before 1930s.
Mumbai: A 28-ft-long whale shark, a 20-ft-long largetooth sawfish and a king cobra from Northeast India are among the specimens back on display at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) in Fort.
Museum director general Sabyasachi Mukherjee said the gallery has been upgraded with a wider variety of aquatic species to make it more engaging for younger visitors. “The reopening comes in response to repeated requests from young museum visitors, many of whom have been eager to explore this gallery,” he said. Explaining the techniques involved, Chaudhari said clay is primarily used as stuffing material, but the process varies across fish species to ensure their original appearance is retained. The reconstructed body is then meticulously painted to match the fish’s original colour, texture and appearance,” he said.
One of the specimens undergoing restoration is a silver pomfret, which has reached the final stage of the taxidermy process. “For certain fishes, the original fins and tails are carefully preserved and reused, while the rest of the body is replicated to recreate its natural shape and structure. The museum reopened its Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles Gallery on Friday after nearly four years, just in time for Diwali holidays.
Manoj Chaudhari, curator of natural history at CSMVS, said the collection primarily comprises specimens documented and preserved before 1930s. Restoration and conservation work is still underway, with several more specimens yet to be put on display. The collection features aquatic and terrestrial species found in and around Mumbai and Nashik, as well as those from Northeast India. Besides the whale shark, listed as endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and largetooth sawfish, classified as critically endangered, exhibits include the Indian barramundi, zebra shark and guitarfish. The reptile section has separate displays of the giant tree frog, Indian star tortoise and king cobra. Snakes are classified into three categories: non-venomous, venomous and mildly venomous.
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