Recovery of ostracods in Cretaceous dolomitic carbonate: The efficiency of acetolysis

The aim of this paper was to test different reagents and reaction conditions to determine which is the most efficient and safest for the disaggregation of dolomite carbonate rocks. The ideal reagent should show the ability to recover the largest number of ostracods under conditions providing a good cleaning of the carapaces without causing damage and posing little risk to the laboratory technician and the environment. The method for the extraction of ostracods from lithified dolomitic carbonate was improved. The tests using glacial acetic acid showed the best results. The procedures carried out with acetic acid in samples without moisture, with slow rate of reaction and at room temperature, were the most effective and allowed the recovery of many specimens with no evidence of dissolution. The analysis carried out with this acid using a fast reaction on a hot plate showed good results, but there were fewer specimens recovered along with evidence of dissolution.