Technique of Palynomorphs Extraction from Dental Calculi of South American Gomphotheres

Abstract

A laboratory technique was developed to extract palynomorphs from dental calculi of South American gomphotere Notiomastodon platensis individuals. The samples were obtained from molar specimens from Northeastern and Southern Brazil. The laboratory procedure consists in steps of maceration, addition of Lycopodium clavatum exotic spores, reaction with concentrated hydrochloric acid, washing with distilled water and sonication. Glycerin gelatin was used to prepare the microscope slides containing the microfossils. Pollen grains, pteridophyte spores and fragments of plant tissues were recovered. This methodology allows the extraction and observation of other microfossils, such as phytoliths, that might also be present in dental calculi of herbivorous mammals.