[NHCOLL-L:3539] Re: Tiny silicified trilobite bits

[rjb at ou.edu]

Janet:

Nearly all of our silicified materials are stored dried, either mounted on micropaleo slides, SEM stubs, or loose on acid-free tissue paper in plastic boxes. Some of the older collections of silicified trilobites are fairly robust and are stored loosely. Robust is a relative term here, they are all quite fragile. I would prefer loose storage for ease of manipulation, I would think that once glued to a slide or SEM stub, they will be there forever. We also have been reluctant to loan any of this material due to the high likelyhood of damage in shipping.

Roger J. Burkhalter
Collections Manager, Invertebrate Paleontology
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
University of Oklahoma
Norman



----- Original Message -----
From: Janet Waddington <janetw at rom.on.ca>
Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 3:01 pm
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:3537] Tiny silicified trilobite bits
To: NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu


> Dear List,
>  We have just become the happy recipients of a small collection of 
> really tiny delicate silicified trilobite parts.  They are stored, 
> several to a vial, in about 18 small glass vials with poly stoppers, 
> filled with distilled water. Some are so tiny I don't see anything in 
> the vial.  One of the vials has leaked and the little trilobites are 
> just sitting against the glass in their tiny water droplets.
>  
>  Has anyone had experience with this type of storage for tiny 
> silicified fossils?  I'm worried about the water leaking or 
> evaporating (it's certainly not enough volume to cause a hazard to 
> anything else) Is there a risk of mold growing in the water?
>  Should I just bag the whole lot and leave them as is, or should I 
> transfer them to micropaleo slides? 
>  
>  Thanks,
>  Janet
>  
>  Janet Waddington
>  Assistant Curator and Collection Manager
>  Department of Natural History - Palaeobiology
>  Royal Ontario Museum
>  100 Queen's Park
>  Toronto, ON
>  Canada M5S 2C6
>  Phone  (416) 586-5593  Fax  (416) 586-5553
>  Email  janetw at rom.on.ca