Conservação e documentação em acervos fossilíferos microscópicos de vertebrados.

Abstract

The curating of museum collections comprises actions aimed at the conservation of objects through physical protection, cataloging and dissemination of knowledge, however, the practices are established daily to macroscopic objects, those visible to the naked eye. In the case of vertebrate microfossils - here taken as the basis for Ictiólitos - the traditional curatorial actions followed activities such as the separation of the rocky matrix; cleaning; collage; waterproofing; tipping and cataloging, generally performed almost mechanically. The storage method used was dug blades, kept in small cardboard boxes, where handling was insecure, facilitating loss, and making individual access impossible, being dropped by lot. In order to create a microfossil storage and cataloging system, forms of storage, fixers and specific documentation for this type of collection were analyzed. The specimens were fixed on slides approved for being chemically stable, economically viable and safe, and for the documentation, the specimens' specificities were considered and an ichthyolites cataloging sheet was created. The results demonstrate that these new curatorial techniques facilitated the safety, access and handling of this material, assisting in future research regarding the morphology and comparison studies of these specimens in different fossiliferous units and even, their exposure by the institution, facilitating access the information about them produced.