Collecting Microfossils Without Breaking The Bank

[Herb]

This is just a guide to people who want to collect microfossils and don't want to spend a lot of money.
This topic includes foraminifera,conodonts,ostracods,scolecodonts,and misc. mini fossils mainly too small to see without magnification. It will not be all encompassing, mostly for the beginners.
A) Collecting;
If you happen to live in an area that has a lot of shale/clay then you are in luck. The Ordovician and the Devonian both have lots of microfossils. Just gather up a bag of clay from between the rock layers. Soak the clay in a big bowl , crush it up with your hands, and slowly decant the clay (pour it off slowly), refill the bowl and repeat until the water turns clear. This may take numerous washings. What you have will have micros in it most likely. Dry the residue, if it is clean,it will not clump together if it sticks together too much, wash it some more. Then sieve the residue through at least 2 sieves one with door screen size openings and the other fine mesh (women's hose, or if you're Joe Namenth, your own hose )
Then look at the smaller material with at least 20x magnification and see what you find. The areas with sandy materials just usually have to be dried and sieved (Cenezoic, Cretaceous stuff) Cretaceous marls can be treated like clays for the most part.
I don't usually deal with hard rocks, they require an acid to break down, too much work and mess for me.
Materials:
Sieves
Fossil mounts
Magnifiers
Sorting tools
C) Sieves can be as cheap or as expensive as you are willing to spend. The ones I will show you how to make will cost under$10. They are made from cardboard cylinders and needle point hoops and mesh. Most of which can be found in your local hobby store. The pix tell the story. I use door screen for the coarse sieve and hose/mosquito netting for the fine.


You can buy a 4" plastic with brass mesh 5 piece sieve set from geologic/materials testing supply stores on line, about $40-50 a set. The advantage to these is you can wash the matrix directly through the sieves saving time.
D) Fossil storage
You can buy microfossil storage slides on the net from scientific supply houses for $4-7 each. The ones I use cost about a $1, and you can customize them to what you collect. I but plastic coin holders from hobby shops 2x3" and 11/2" square. I print my own lable inserts I printed using Excell to get the size needed. You may use my included for if you wish and it will print clear enough for you. If you figure out how to make money off this idea I want a cut.


End of part 1

Edited May 3, 2013 by Herb

[Malcolmt]

Nice post...........

[Missourian]

Thanks much for this. I was thinking of posting a question thread on the matter....

Speaking of hard rock, it may be somewhat productive to bust up fossiliferous limestone (particularly when the fossils pop out with relative ease), and then examine the pieces and the 'dust' and 'sand' left behind. Doing this with limestone from one site, I've recovered a number of ostracodes and a few free specimens of the submillimeter foram Glyphostomella.

[Herb]

Thanks much for this. I was thinking of posting a question thread on the matter....

Speaking of hard rock, it may be somewhat productive to bust up fossiliferous limestone (particularly when the fossils pop out with relative ease), and then examine the pieces and the 'dust' and 'sand' left behind. Doing this with limestone from one site, I've recovered a number of ostracodes and a few free specimens of the submillimeter foram Glyphostomella.

Very true, I was aiming my post to the novice. I find the easier the better for someone just starting out.

[Missourian]

Very true, I was aiming my post to the novice. I find the easier the better for someone just starting out.

For me, whacking rock with a hammer is the easiest.

[Herb]

For me, whacking rock with a hammer is the easiest.

Now that you mention it , washing all that clay is a chore.

[grandpa]

Herb,

Thanks for this and part 2 of "how to" do micros. And thanks again for the o-cods you sent. I too have some gravels from Mineral Wells, tx. I have been waiting to go thru them until I figured out a good way to do so. Your info helps a lot.

Tx again,

Grandpa

[pleecan]

Nice posting Herb! You also take clay and place it in an ultrasonic bath and the clay rapidly disassociates leaving the residue of micros behind.

PL

[Eero59]

Timely post, thanks.

I just booked a flight to St Louis next month.

I have time for a quick collecting trip in the area, some good ideas here for cheap, lightweight 'travel screens'.

[drhemlock]

a excellent topic for a sticky eventually as all will add to it. i was amazed at the micros that i got from herb i had forgotten about the smallest things which i used to be so interested in. the idea of using those coin things and the making of like a spreadsheet label is so cool thanks for that idea my friend.

doc

[Herb]

Nice posting Herb! You also take clay and place it in an ultrasonic bath and the clay rapidly disassociates leaving the residue of micros behind.

PL

I have a ultrasonic cleaner but never thought to use it on clay, thanks.

[Down under fossil hunter]

Very interesting post, I had never thought about sieving my local area until now.

Thanks Herb.

[DE&i]

Hi Herb,

So glad I've found this post, I've two questions if you don't mind. Firstly I've a set of Endecote sieves im going to use with my clay matrix. Is it a hand held magnifier you use to scan over the residue. Secondly did you get around to using your ultrasonic cleaner.

Regards,

Darren.

[Ben Thic]

Thanks for sharing this info Herb.

[Herb]

Hi Herb,

So glad I've found this post, I've two questions if you don't mind. Firstly I've a set of Endecote sieves im going to use with my clay matrix. Is it a hand held magnifier you use to scan over the residue. Secondly did you get around to using your ultrasonic cleaner.

Regards,

Darren.

Sorry on the late reply, I guess I should follow my own topic. I examine the dried sieved matrix under a low power stereo microscope 20x. Haven't used the ultrasonic yet may try it this weekend. I'll post the results if successful.

[Mike from North Queensland]

Also for a cheep sieve I looked a borrowing the wife's flower sieve from the kitchen but ended going for the safer option, of purchasing one from the budget outlets. For about $4 I picked up a stainless steal one. I then look at that through a 10 x USB microscope (instant photos) but use my loupe to extract.

Mike

[Herb]

there might be a lot of microfossils passing through a flour sieve, try running the residue through a piece of mosquito netting or womans hose.

[ZiggieCie]

Herb, ever get anything out of the waldron shale???

[Herb]

The only thing I have found is ostracods, but I haven't looked real hard.

[squali]

Herb,

Great post. What would you use to mount micro fossil shells and fragile objects?

[Herb]

I use 1/2 water and white glue mixture

[squali]

Thanks Herb.

[Angela V]

A good and cheap alternative to test sieves are the sieves found in aquaristic shops (the ones for sorting artemia). I found a set of small plastic sieves (180, 300, 560, 900 mµ) for a very small price (equivalent of 10 brittish pounds). Just search "hobby artemia sieve", most aquaristic shops sell them on-line.

[Herb]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Screen-Sieve-Set-of-4-Sieves-with-Lids-Geology-Earth-Science-Soil-/231111029804?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35cf4a742c You can buy a set of 4 sieves for $33 on E-bay