ANN ARBOR, MI — Rodent skulls. Dead caecilians. Beetles. Coral snakes in jars. An extinct anole from Puerto Rico. Cordyceps. Plants that smell like gym socks.

Squeamish readers, look away. This is how the University of Michigan preserves animal and plant specimens at its Museum of Zoology and Herbarium, full of interesting displays of long-conserved life.

During a visit to the University of Michigan Herbarium and Museum of Zoology, staff toured the two collections and highlighted some of the many specimens.

The herbarium, directed by UM professor and naturalist Thais Vasconcelos , has over 1.7 million plant specimens from around the world. The museum of zoology, directed by UM professor and evolutionary biologist Alison Davis Rabosky , has approximately 15 million specimens.

This y

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