Spectra FT-NIR of anurans fixed in formaldehyde and conserved in alcohol

Near-infrared spectroscopy is efficient for identification of species in many taxa and may be a viable alternative to classical taxonomy as it is highly cost-effective, rapid and non-destructive. Animal specimens are often conserved in alcohol and formaldehyde, which hinders some techniques. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of near-infrared spectroscopy in recognizing species of fixed specimens of closely related anuran species. We used individuals of adult frogs belonging to different species, sizes and time conserved in alcohol. The tests were divided into spectral readings of the belly and back of each sample in wet and pre-drying manipulations.