Friday, April 22, 2011

Insects In Amber Fossils Oldest In The World

Amber Fossils
Insects In Amber Fossils


Amber is fossilized tree resin (not sap), which has been appreciated for its color and natural organic beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree resin,

These incredible pictures show tiny insects that were preserved in precious amber stones - 20 million years ago.

The tiny creatures are believed to have roamed the earth alongside dinosaurs and before the ice age three million years ago.

According to the Daily Mail, specimens from the period are rare but they were amazed when they unearthed the almost perfectly preserved creepy-crawlies in northern Peru.

They were found inside small chunks or precious amber rock in a 20 million year old reservoir in Chiclayo, northern.

Honningen Klaus, who led the research team, said: 'The pieces of amber contains insects Psocoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera and spiders, as well as spores and pollen fossils, and even a drop of blood and remains of hair from a mammal rodent.'

The research team was from the Meyer-Honningen Paleontological Museum in Peru.

No comments:

Post a Comment