>  Micropaleontologists use nested screens that get fine enough to catch small foraminifera.  In a pinch, a screen for sifting flour should be fine enough.<

Another very fine mesh screen, readily available, is nylon hose.  When a pair gets a run in one leg, the other leg is still fine for sieving microshells.  They also work as plankton nets, to catch pteropods, heteropods, etc.  (No, I don't wear the hose myself.)

This can be combined with drying out to make a fairly efficient technique.  Take the dry sample and dump it into a bucket of water.  Most of the shells will have air bubbles and float.  Pour the water through the stocking.  The floating shells will be caught and easily examined.


    Dr. David Campbell
    Old Seashells
    University of Alabama
    Biodiversity & Systematics
    Dept. Biological Sciences
    Box 870345
    Tuscaloosa, AL  35487-0345 USA
    [log in to unmask]

That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at Droitgate Spa

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