tiniest trilobite ever?

[Newbie_1971]

Went out today and found some full trilobites and a good amount of partials. One I can't even believe I  seen.

It is so tiny that I  used a magnifying glass to confirm it. How should I  clean it? I believe it is whole.

 

 

 

 

[Newbie_1971]

It appears to be whole, but I  need to figure out how to clean it better

[grandpa]

That's either a tinobite or a trinonibble.   Very neat find.

[Newbie_1971]

10 minutes ago, grandpa said:

That's either a tinobite or a trinonibble.   Very neat find.

Hahaha, thanks

[Darktooth]

I really don't know how much you will be able to clean something that small.

[connorp]

If they are tightly enrolled an ultrasonic cleaner works well.

[Huntonia]

Wow, what a nice find! I just love the tiny bugs, a loose one like that would be a bit of a challenge but under magnification with air abrasive you can prep very small bugs. Smallest complete I've prepped so far was about 2mm long.

[Collector9658]

You could try using magnification and a needle. Resharpen the needle as needed, but go slow and steady. It would be very easy to ding it up. Also something like sticky tack can be used to hold the bug in place while cleaning it up. I've cleaned Flexis before with needles and razor blades with great results.

 

I would be intrigued to see how an ultrasonic cleaner would work out like @connorp suggested.

Edited October 29, 2023 by Collector9658

[EMP]

Cool find for sure! I didn't know they could get that small and still have their full exoskeleton like that! 

[erose]

On 10/28/2023 at 7:44 PM, connorp said:

If they are tightly enrolled an ultrasonic cleaner works well.

Be careful. I have had Ultrasonics just break fossils into bits.  You need something similar to test first.