[NHCOLL-L:3537] Tiny silicified trilobite bits

[Janet Waddington]

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