Amber

Eupachypterus eocenicus gen. and sp. nov. from the Lowermost French Eocene Amber is described. The genus is most similar to the genera Neopachypterus and Pseudolamus from the tribe Opatrini by the shape of trochanters, but differs in the large eyes, presence of a row of spines along protibiae, very long spurs of protibiae (about as long as tarsomere 3), narrow subcylindrical apical maxillary palpomere, shape of apical labial palpomere and acute apex of penis trunk.

Evolutionary microbiology studies based on the isolation of ancient DNA and/or microbial samples are scarce due to the difficulty of finding well preserved biological specimens. However, amber is a fossil resin with natural preserving properties for microbial cells and DNA. The visualization by transmission electron microscopy of different microorganism-like specimens found in amber nuggets from both the Miocene and the Cretaceous periods was accompanied by studies of ancient DNA obtained from the nuggets. After the design of specific primers based on the present sequences of both genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the ancestral AGP2 sequence from the Miocene, as well as the 18S rRNA from the Cretaceous, were amplified.

Computed tomography (CT) methods were applied to a problematic fossil spider (Arachnida: Araneae) from the historical Berendt collection of Eocene (ca. 44-49 Ma) Baltic amber. The original specimens of Ocypete crassipes Koch and Berendt 1854 are in dark, oxidised amber and the published descriptions lack detail. Despite this, they were subsequently assigned to the living Pantropical genus Heteropoda Latreille, 1804 and are ostensibly the oldest records of huntsman spiders (Sparassidae) in general. Given their normally large size, and presumptive ability to free themselves more easily from resin, it would be surprising to find a sparassid in amber and traditional (optical) methods of study would likely have left O. crassipes as an equivocal record-probably a nomen dubium. However, phase contrast enhanced X-ray CT revealed exquisite morphological detail and thus 'saved' this historical name by revealing characters which confirm that it's a bona fide member both of Sparassidae and the subfamily Eusparassinae. We demonstrate here that CT studies facilitate taxonomic equivalence even between recent spiders and unpromising fossils described in older monographs. In our case, fine structural details such as eye arrangement, cheliceral dentition, and leg characters like a trilobate membrane, spination and claws, allow a precise referral of this fossil to an extant genus as Eusparassus crassipes (Koch and Berendt 1854) comb. nov.

The early fossilization steps of natural resins and associated terminology are a subject of constant debate. Copal and resin are archives of palaeontological and historical information, and their study is critical to the discovery of new and/or recently extinct species and to trace changes in forests during the Holocene. For such studies, a clear, suitable definition for copal is vital and is herein established. We propose an age range for copal (2.58 Ma-1760 AD), including Pleistocene and Holocene copals, and the novel term "Defaunation resin", defined as resin produced after the commencement of the Industrial Revolution. Defaunation resin is differentiated from Holocene copal as it was produced during a period of intense human transformative activities. Additionally, the "Latest Amber Bioinclusions Gap" (LABG) since the late Miocene to the end of the Pleistocene is hereby newly defined, and is characterized by its virtual absence of bioinclusions and the consequent lack of palaeontological information, which in part explains the historical differentiation between amber and copal. Crucial time intervals in the study of resin production, and of the biodiversity that could be contained, are now clarified, providing a framework for and focusing future research on bioinclusions preserved in copal and resin. Amber and copal originate from plant resins (both gymnosperms and angiosperms), which are progressively hardened through polymerization of their non-volatile compounds. Amber is well defined as a resin that has existed for millions of years 1 and that can preserve microorganisms, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates, largely since the Cretaceous period to the Neogene. Even more ancient ambers, frequently preserved in small quantities or even as traces, going back to the Late Triassic are known to have ensnared minute arthropods 2. Traces of Palaeozoic amber are not known to contain inclusions. Due to their exceptional preservation potential, polym-erized natural resins have been studied for centuries. Amber research provides data on the evolutionary history of organisms and their behaviour, that are otherwise rarely preserved in the fossil record, and on the ecology of forest ecosystems millions of years old (e.g. 3). Conversely, the study of bioinclusions in copal and resin is especially relevant for understanding modern biodiversity, particularly in relation to Recent biogeographic or climatic changes as well as documenting recently extinct species or those that remain to be discovered 4-8. Polymerized natural resins, such as amber and copal, can also be used as indirect proxies of atmospheric composition and climatic changes through time 9,10. Comparatively, the term copal is controversial as it has been used in varied contexts with different cir-cumscriptions in different research fields; for example palaeontology, biology, geology, geochemistry, or archaeology 11-15. This is owing to the fact that the term copal has been used without considering any typology of the resins based on their different states of polymerization or on their established ages. Copal and amber can be differentiated by FTIR analysis by observing precise exocyclic methylene bands 16. In such analysis the intensity of the absorbance at 1600-1800 cm −1 and 1300-1500 cm −1 is related and conditioned by the oxidation history of the samples, which allows us to discriminate modern (less oxidized) resin samples from those that OPEN

Bathymyza longirostris gen. et sp. n. (Dictyopharinae: Orthopagini?) is described from an early instar nymph from Eocene Bitterfeld amber. The new genus is similar to Alicodoxa Emeljanov et Shcherbakov, 2011 based on nymphs from Eocene Rovno and Baltic ambers.

It tells about the work of the famous Russian amber artist Igor Brasyunas (1955-2004).
A wonderful Carver and Creator of the Association of amber masters "Romantic project" tried to establish carving as one of the main directions in working with amber.

Nel 2005 è stata avviata una ricerca di carattere archeologico e archeometrico su una serie di manufatti in ambra provenienti da contesti della preistoria siciliana. Il progetto, dal titolo I.N.D.A.S ("Indagini Non Distruttive su Ambre della Sicilia"), nasce da una collaborazione con il Dipartimento di Chimica dell'Università degli Studi di Catania (prof. Enrico Ciliberto) e con l'Amber Research Laboratory (Vassey College, New York), diretto dal compianto prof. Curt W. Beck 1 .

Amber artefacts in the communities of West Balts played role not only as a fashion jewellery but keeps also mythological meaning, expressed people's worldview. Legend, myths, folktales are common to every culture. They all aim to provide explanations for significant phenomena that were important to the person at that time and amber was one of those. Amber attracted man since prehistoric times. Glorified in songs and legends, made famous by poets and scholars of Antiquity, it became part of the history of human culture. Just as long ago, also nowadays amber is called sun-stone, pearl of the Baltic Sea.
The aim of the article is to compare mythological meaning of amber artefacts belonging to one of the Western Balts tribes, Curonians (kuršiai), and similar heritage of other communities’ folklore.

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Among the many challenges in paleobiology is the inference and reconstruction of behaviors that rarely, if ever, leave a physical trace on the environment that is suitable for fossiliza-tion. Of particular significance are those behaviors tied to mating and courtship, individual interactions critical for species integrity and continuance, as well as those for dispersal, permitting the taxon to expand its distribution as well as access new habitats in the face of local or long-term environmental change. In this context, two recently discovered fossils from the Early Cretaceous amber of Spain (ca. 105 mya) give a detailed view of otherwise fleeting ethologies in Collembola. These occurrences are phylogenetically spaced across the class, and from species representing the two major clades of springtails—Symphypleona and Entomobryomorpha. Specifically, we report unique evidence from a symphypleonan male (Pseudosminthurides stoechus Sá nchez-García & Engel, 2016) with modified antennae that may have functioned as a clasping organ for securing females during mating on water's surface, and from an aggregation of entomobryomorphan individuals (Proisotoma commu-nis Sá nchez-García & Engel, 2016) purportedly representing a swarming episode on the forest floor. We demonstrate that the mating behavioral repertoire in P. stoechus, which is associated with considerable morphological adaptations, likely implied elaborate courtship and maneuvering for guarantee sperm transfer in an epineustic species. These discoveries reveal significant behaviors consistent with modern counterparts and a generalized stasis for some ancient hexapod ethologies associated with complex mating and courtship and social or pre-social aggregations, so critical to specific constancy and dispersal.

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Two mammalian hairs have been found in association with an empty puparium in a ∼100-millionyear-old amber (Early Cretaceous) from France. Although hair is known to be an ancestral, ubiquitous feature in the crown Mammalia, the structure of Mesozoic hair has never been described. In contrast to fur and hair of some Jurassic and Cretaceous mammals preserved as carbonized filaments, the exceptional preservation of the fossils described here allows for the study of the cuticular structure. Results show the oldest direct evidence of hair with a modern scale pattern. This discovery implies that the morphology of hair cuticula may have remained unchanged throughout most of mammalian evolution. The association of these hairs with a possible fly puparium provides paleoecological information and indicates peculiar taphonomic conditions.

Extraordinary preservation in amber of the Miocene termite Mastotermes electrodominicus has led to the discovery of fossil symbiotic microbes. Spirochete bacteria and wood-digesting protists were identified in the intestinal tissue of the insect. Fossil wood (xylem: developing vessel-element cells, fibers, pit connections), protists (most likely xylophagic amitochondriates), an endospore (probably of the filamentous intestinal bacterium Arthromitus ‫؍‬ Bacillus), and large spirochetes were seen in thin section by light and transmission electron microscopy. The intestinal microbiota of the living termite Mastotermes darwiniensis, a genus now restricted to northern Australia, markedly resembles that preserved in amber. This is a direct observation of a 20-million-year-old xylophagus termite fossil microbial community.

The occurrence of amber in Sierra de Cantabria (Á lava, Basque Country) has been known for more than two decades but biological inclusions have only recently been found. The existence of crustaceans (amphipods and isopods), chelicerates (acari and arachnids), 12 orders of insects, and several bird feathers are reported in this preliminary study. In addition, there are leaf remains, molluscs, and a fair number of inorganic inclusions.

May 2012: Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG), At SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, NY

Archaeological interpretations of human-material interaction consistently rely on overly functional and modernist conceptions of materiality. However there is a different way to engage with materials – the analysis of artifacts as objects in motion. This is not a processual analysis of movement across the landscape, but a discussion of materials as loci for culturally ascribed value. The relationship between past peoples and their artifacts can be accessed through the examination of an object’s trajectory. This highlights the cultural directionality of this motion: how the force of cultural behaviors, values and social practices compelled the valuation of objects. In the case of the Western Hallstatt Culture of Iron Age Europe, amber and coral were exotic imports, used and reused over time for elaborate bodily adornment, presentations of affluence, but also ritual consumption. These were highly mobile materials that were brought into the Hallstatt sphere, circulated within it, and imbued with multiple cultural meanings. An examination of the trajectories of coral and amber reveals the cultural logics that moved these materials throughout the Hallstatt region and dictated the terms of their consumption. These materials were not solely expressions of elite wealth; rather I will demonstrate that there were multiple aspects of value, both physical and ideological, that were all co-constituted. In addition, the distinct values conferred upon the same material may have been given preference at certain points in their social lives, which may also be traced archaeologically.

Two bacterial isolates, designated AMG-D1T and AMG-D2, were recovered from 25-35-million-year-old Dominican amber. AMG-D1T and AMG-D2 biochemically most closely resemble Staphylococcus xylosus; they differ physiologically from other staphylococci. Fatty acid analysis and comparisons with extensive databases were unable to show relatedness to any specific taxon. Moreover, AMG-D1T and AMG-D2 contain tuberculostearic acid and meso-diaminopimelic acid, characteristic of the G + C-rich coryneform bacteria, as opposed to L-lysine characteristic of staphylococci. AMG-D1T and AMG-D2 have a G + C ratio of 35 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis with the 16S rRNA gene indicated that AMG-D1T and AMG-D2 were most closely related to Staphylococcus equorum, S. xylosus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and other novobiocin-resistant staphylococci. Stringent DNA-DNA hybridization studies with AMG-D1T revealed similarities of 38% with S. equorum, 23% with S. xylosus and 6% with S. saprophyticus. The results indicate that AMG-D1T and AMG-D2 represent a novel species, which was named Staphylococcus succinus sp. nov. The type strain of the new species is AMG-D1 (ATCC 700337).

Insects preserved in copal, the sub-fossilized resin precursor of amber, have potential value in molecular ecological studies of recently-extinct species and of extant species that have never been collected as living specimens. The objective of the work reported in this paper was therefore to determine if ancient DNA is present in insects preserved in copal. We prepared DNA libraries from two stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini: Trigonisca ameliae) preserved in 'Anthropocene' Colombian copal, dated to 'post-Bomb' and 10,612662 cal yr BP, respectively, and obtained sequence reads using the GS Junior 454 System. Read numbers were low, but were significantly higher for DNA extracts prepared from crushed insects compared with extracts obtained by a non-destructive method. The younger specimen yielded sequence reads up to 535 nucleotides in length, but searches of these sequences against the nucleotide database revealed very few significant matches. None of these hits was to stingless bees though one read of 97 nucleotides aligned with two non-contiguous segments of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene of the East Asia bumblebee Bombus hypocrita. The most significant hit was for 452 nucleotides of a 470-nucleotide read that aligned with part of the genome of the root-nodulating bacterium Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The other significant hits were to proteobacteria and an actinomycete. Searches directed specifically at Apidae nucleotide sequences only gave short and insignificant alignments. All of the reads from the older specimen appeared to be artefacts. We were therefore unable to obtain any convincing evidence for the preservation of ancient DNA in either of the two copal inclusions that we studied, and conclude that DNA is not preserved in this type of material. Our results raise further doubts about claims of DNA extraction from fossil insects in amber, many millions of years older than copal.

Using pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the authors show that amber was imported into Late Bronze Age Syria and used for making the prestige artefacts found in a Royal tomb of c. 1340 BC. The objects included beads and a unique vessel in the form of a lion, likely fashioned in Syria from raw amber imported from the Baltic via the Aegean.

A new fossil species of phlebotomine sandflies is described from Dominican amber based in one specimen. Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) paleotrichia sp. nov. is distinguished from the other extant and extinct species by aspects of paramere and the basal tuft of bristles in the gonocoxite.

The carbon-isotope signatures of Carnian (Late Triassic) amber drops from Rifugio Dibona (Southern Alps, Italy) were studied and compared with that of other Middle-early Late Triassic fossil plant remains, namely wood and leaves. Amber, wood and leaf carbon-isotope data are highly variable within the same beds. δ 13 C amber values vary by up to 5.4‰ and are enriched by~2.5‰ with respect to associated wood. δ 13 C wood and δ 13 C leaf ranges are narrower than that of amber (~2-3‰) and the isotopic offset within each bed is similar over time. The high Triassic amber carbon-isotope variability is similar to that of recent resin. Despite the high variability, δ 13 C wood and δ 13 C leaf illustrate a Middle-early Late Triassic secular positive trend that is similar to that of marine δ 13 C inorg data and must record the carbon-isotope evolution of the ocean-atmosphere system.

It is important to determine the geological sources of Palaeolithic ambers in the south of Europe in order to understand the mobility and interchanges of prehistoric societies. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis carried out on Upper Palaeolithic ambers from La Garma A cave (Cantabria, Northern Spain) allowed us to identify their source area. Their diagnostic features were found to be similar to the amber obtained in the Lower Cretaceous outcrops close to this archaeological site, and to differ clearly from Baltic amber, which has been generally suggested as the amber found in European prehistoric sites. These results show that the origin of the Gravettian amber found in La Garma A is local and, consequently, a hypothetical contact route is not required to be able to account for the presence of this material in the Iberian Palaeolithic context studied here. For the first time it has been demonstrated that the provenance of an archaeological amber in the Iberian Peninsula is local, with both geographical and spectroscopical evidences. Our study also concludes that the archaeological amber of La Garma A possibly belongs to an araucariacean resin that originated from the coniferous forests which grew in the northeast portion of the Iberian Plate c.110-million years ago.

One of the most important issues in molecular dating studies concerns the incorporation of reliable fossil taxa into the phylogenies reconstructed from DNA sequence variation in extant taxa. Lichens are symbiotic associations between fungi and algae and/or cyanobacteria. Several lichen fossils have been used as minimum age constraints in recent studies
concerning the diversification of the Ascomycota. Recent evolutionary studies of Lecanoromycetes, an almost exclusively lichen-forming class in the Ascomycota, have utilized the
Eocene amber inclusion Alectoria succini as a minimum age constraint. However, a re-investigation of the type material revealed that this inclusion in fact represents poorly preserved
plant remains, most probably of a root. Consequently, this fossil cannot be used as evidence of the presence of the genus Alectoria (Parmeliaceae, Lecanorales) or any other lichens in the Paleogene. However, newly discovered inclusions from Paleogene Baltic and Bitterfeld amber verify that alectorioid morphologies in lichens were in existence by the Paleogene.
The new fossils represent either a lineage within the alectorioid group or belong to the genus Oropogon.

A new Turonian amber occurrence, representing the oldest in situ amber locality in Australia and the southern-most locality in Gondwana, has recently been discovered in the Otway Basin of Victoria. The amber was collected from petroleum cores and many pieces contain a range of inclusions that can provide information on the depositional history of the resin. To date, one species of fern spore (Cyathidites minor) and one species of lycophyte spore (Kraeuselisporites sp?) have been conclusively identified in the amber, along with filamentous microorganisms and degraded plant matter. Several samples are also rife with pseudoinclusions as reported recently in other ambers. The abundance of preserved particulate debris and wind dispersed spores suggest that the Otway amber formed subaerially. Furthermore, based on the range of bioinclusions and forms of pseudoinclusions preserved within a single piece of amber, the locus of hardening for individual samples is variably interpreted as occurring in the tree tops, on the tree trunk or on the ground surface. Notably, specific inclusion assemblages are associated with certain colours of amber. By extension, and in accordance with recent studies, amber colour may be indicative of depositional environment. Variation in the environment of solidification may, therefore, be sufficient to account for the broad range of morphological characteristics preserved in a single amber deposit.

A fossil opilioacarid mite (Parasitiformes: Opilioacarida) in Burmese amber is described as ?Opilioacarus groehni sp. nov. This ca. 99 Ma record (Upper Cretaceous: Cenomanian) represents only the third fossil example of this putatively basal mite lineage, the others originating from Eocene Baltic amber (ca. 44–49 Ma). Our new record is not only the oldest record of Opilioacarida, but it is also one of the oldest examples of the entire Parasitiformes clade. The presence of Opilioacarida—potentially Opiloacarus—in the Cretaceous of SE Asia suggests that some modern genus groups were formerly more widely distributed across the northern hemisphere, raising questions about previously suggested Gondwanan origins for these mites.

Plumage colours bestowed by carotenoid pigments can be important for visual communication and likely have a long evolutionary history within Aves. Discovering plumage carotenoids in fossil feathers could provide insight into the ecology of ancient birds and non-avian dinosaurs. With reference to a modern
feather, we sought chemical evidence of carotenoids in six feathers preserved in amber (Miocene to mid-Cretaceous) and in a feather preserved as a compression fossil (Eocene). Evidence of melanin
pigmentation and microstructure preservation was evaluated with scanning electron and light microscopies. We observed fine microstructural details including evidence for melanin pigmentation in the amber and compression fossils, but Raman spectral bands did not confirm the presence of carotenoids in them. Carotenoids may have been originally absent from these feathers or the pigments may have degraded during burial; the preservation of microstructure may suggest the former. Significantly, we show that carotenoid
plumage pigments can be detected without sample destruction through an amber matrix using confocal Raman spectroscopy.

Preservation in amber yields animals that appear so exquisitely preserved . . . so exquisitely preserved that they appear as if they could walk right out of their amber prison if only someone would let them out. This perception is completely understandable when studying amber, and has led, for example, to the premise in the movie “Jurassic Park”—where perfectly preserved insects in amber still have perfectly preserved innards that contain perfectly preserved dinosaur blood. Such a scenario is, sadly, too perfect to be true.
Unfortunately, without early replacement by stable minerals, all things are fated to decay—albeit at different rates. Amber is no exception. However, without slicing into the beautiful amber-preserved fossil, it is impossible to know exactly what is going on inside.
Micro-CT scanning provides an excellent way to see inside the fossil without destroying it. Without the amber stabilizing the internal tissue, it is subject to the forces of microbial decay, dehydration, and resin infiltration. Using fossil amphipods (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from the Chiapas Amber of Mexico, we show how a superficially perfect specimen can have a surprising lack of correspondence between the preserved insides and the original internal anatomy. Micro-CT scanning offers a new way to think about the microenvironment inside of an amber-preserved fossil.

Chapter X in: Biodiversity of fossils in amber from the major world deposits: The beauty and mysteries of amber have fascinated humankind since its first discovery. Specimens with fossil inclusions inside were particularly revered and still are today, although for very different reasons. Fossils in amber represent a unique insight into subtropical and tropical forest ecosystems of the past. Today, such habitats contain a major proportion of the planet’s biodiversity, although they are disappearing at an alarmingly rapid rate, primarily as a result of human activities such as deforestation. The hot, humid environments of these habitats in conjunction with the vast armies of decomposers and other recyclers limit the potential for fossilization in the traditional sense. Hence, fossils in amber represent an invaluable paleontological data resource for reconstructing tropical forest palaeoecosystems and also for predicting the consequences of our ongoing biotic crisis. They can also shed light on the broader, past distributions of organisms with restricted distributions today. In addition, because many of the earliest arthropod fossils from many extant (and extinct) families are preserved in amber, they provide important minimum dates for major radiation (and extinction) events, in addition to helping to resolve relationships amongst modern taxa. Fossiliferous resin (including copal) deposits with arthropod inclusions span from Recent times back to the Lowermost Cretaceous, providing a continuous record for the past 135 million years, with new deposits being discovered on a regular basis. Advances in the application of imaging technology, including both photomicroscopy and computed tomography are revolutionizing the way in which we can examine amber inclusions. In this multi-authored volume each chapter was written by leading world experts on the relevant deposit, following a semi-standardized format including an introduction, information on the geological setting, amber collection, palaeohabitat, the amber tree, age, physical and chemical properties, diversity of inclusions and finally a checklist of the fossils described. The deposits covered include Dominican, Mexican, Bitterfeld, Australian, Baltic, Ukrainian, French (Tertiary and Cretaceous), Canadian, New Jersey, Burmese, Spanish and Lebanese ambers as well as a short note on the importance of inclusions in copal. There is also an extensive introductory chapter that covers tissue and DNA preservation, how to distinguish amber from copal and fakes, methods for preparation and study, including photomicroscopy and advanced imaging techniques, ending with a discussion on the conservation and curation of amber collections. The book is fully referenced and richly illustrated throughout in full colour. It is hoped that this book will appeal to a broad range of people including amber enthusiasts, palaeontologists, entomologists, researchers and students. edited by David Penney, 07/2010; , ISBN: 9780955863646
07/2010: pages 167-191; , ISBN: 978-0-9558636-4-6

X-ray computed tomography is used to identify a unique example of fossilized phoresy in 16 million-year-old Miocene Dominican amber involving a springtail being transported by a mayfly. It represents the first evidence (fossil or extant) of phoresy in adult Ephemeroptera and only the second record in Collembola (the first is also preserved in amber). This is the first record of Collembola using winged insects for dispersal. This fossil predicts the occurrence of similar behaviour in living springtails and helps explain the global distribution of Collembola today.