Abstract
THE hystrichospheres, a group of micro-organisms defined by shell constitution and morphology, with a size-range of 5–350µ and typically less than 120µ, were first described fossil from translucent flakes of flint and chert in 1838 1. Exactly a century later, it was demonstrated that assemblages could be concentrated from sediments by application of the chemical techniques developed for spore and pollen studies2. This has now become standard procedure, sediment samples being successively treated with hydrochloric acid, to dissolve carbonates, and hydrofluoric acid, to dissolve silicates; when necessary, the concentration of microfossils in the resultant residue may be further increased by heavy liquid separation or by mild oxidation, usually with Schulze's solution.
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References
Ehrenberg, C. G., Abh. K. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1, 109 (1838).
Deflandre, G., Trav. Stat. Zool. Wimereux, 13, 147 (1938).
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EAGAR, S., SARJEANT, W. Fossil Hystrichospheres concentrated by Sieving Techniques. Nature 198, 81 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/198081a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/198081a0
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