Biodeterioration: Recovery of Wooden Containers Used in Paleontology Collections.

ALVAREZ, STELLA; RIGUETTI, FACUNDO

Londres

Simposio; Symposium on Palaeontological Preparation and Conservation; 2021

The Geological Curators' Group

In 2011, a new integral conservation project of the Vertebrate Palaeontology collections ofthe Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ´Bernardino Rivadavia´ began. Between 2011-2012,diagnostic evaluations were carried out and the urgent needs of the collection were resolved. Threestages were then established according to the containment structure of the fossils: large woodenboxes, shelves and cabinets. These structures were damaged by insects identified as Anobiumpunctatum, Coleoptera. Long, winding circular tunnels and sawdust were observed in the affectedareas. In the first stage (2013-2015) we worked on 560 wooden boxes containing 3,814 records(including 39 type specimens) with the collaboration of volunteers and museum maintenance staff. In each box we were carefully removing, cleaning, consolidating and gluing the fossils; listing thecatalogue numbers of the fossils; and comparing this list with the database to verify the location ofthe material in that box. Handwritten labels were incorporated into airtight bags. The old separationof the fossils with tow and straw was replaced by wadding (100% polyester fibres bonded together by a melt bonding process) or polyethylene foam. The boxes were treated with a preventive and curative wood preservative to avoid deterioration caused by biological agents.