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Hajar | profile | all galleries >> Amber Galleries >> Burmese Cretaceous Amber tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Burmese Cretaceous Amber

Amber is in some ways the best preserving medium of fossil plants and animals known. The fossils are preserved in three dimensions, with great surface detail, and allow snapshots of interactions between animals - such as an ectoparasitic mite sucking the haemolymph of its victim, a swarm of nematodes parasitizing a beetle, acts of mating, and an ant queen carrying her domesticated honeydew provider. No other style of exceptional fossil preservation can compare.

The oldest ambers with included animal fossils date back to the Cretaceous (though now in 2012 there's a single Triassic case), with the best known occurrences being those from Lebanon, France, Burma and New Jersey (USA). This small collection contains examples from Burma. They are of earliest Cenomanian (a little less than 100 Ma) age and come from Main Khun, Tanai Township, Kachin State, Burma. Burmese amber was formed by a conifer, perhaps Metasequoia, in a tropical palaeoenvironment (Grimaldi et al 2002).
Metasequoia leafy shoot with opposing leaflets (see Grimaldi et al. 2002), 24 mm long. Leafy shoot, 4 mm long, with beetle, in Burmese amber Leaf, 2 mm, in Burmese amber 3 mm angiosperm flower in Burmese amber Burmese amber flowers, 6 stamens are visible and a style which splits into three. Flower, 8 mm, with a single petal preserved. 6 stamens and a style which splits into three visible.
12 mm angiosperm leaf with bristletail. An exquisite fertile fern from Myanmar. Cretacifilix fertile fern pinnae showing sori (clusters of sporangia). Complete lizard (stem squamate) in Burmese amber, 3 cm along curve. Exquisitely preserved 10 mm feather with preserved terminations in 15 mm amber specimen. Feather detail
Euthema hesoana Terrestrial gastropod in Cretaceous Burmese amber Terrestrial snail, 6 mm, complete with operculum Cretoperipatus burmiticus detail showing paired claws at ends of lobopods Burma amber centipede.jpg Large Scolopendromorph centipede, ca 5 cm along the curve in 63 mm amber. I see a single pair of ocelli.
Large Scolopendromorph centipede, 5-6 cm around the curve in 63 mm amber. Polyxenid millipede (the numerous legs rule out dermestid beetle larva!) in Burmese amber, 4 mm. Polyxenid, remarkably caught in the act of moulting, in Burmese amber. One of a swarm. Flat millipede C-2.jpg Kronocharon, whip spider, drawn over photograph Kronocharon sp. dorsal view
Whipspider (Burmacharon Dunlopi) showing clear view of pedipalps and chelicerae, 19 mm amber A fine Cretaceous whip scorpion schizoid with distinctive flagellum Scorpion, Myanmar, 10 mm. Undescribed pseudoscorpion (Chernetidae?), 4 mm Opiliones
Ricinuleid, 6 mm, Burma Fangs, eyes and cephalothorax (with white stripes) of araneaeid spider, filling 16 mm burmite amber. Fangs, eyes and cephalothorax (with white stripes) of araneaeid spider, filling 16 mm burmite amber. Detail of the front four eyes of the araneaeid spider. Minute pyrite crystals are present in the centre of each eye. Fangs, eyes and cephalothorax (with white stripes) of araneaeid spider, filling 16 mm burmite amber. A complete 6 mm spider in Burmite amber from Myanmar.
Large mite, Bryobia Praetiosa (Acari:Tetranychidae), 12 mm amber specimen. Burma acari Oribatid mite (Acari), 1 mm, in Burmese amber Mite (Acari) in Burmese amber, <1mm Mite (Acari) with tiny attached tortoise mite in Burmese amber Mite (Acari) in Burmese amber, <1mm
Springtails (Collembola), the largest is 2 mm long, in Burmese amber Springtail (Collembola), 2 mm, in Burmese amber A remarkable complete Cretaceous mantis, about 27 mm long. This is a female individual. Snakily Lacebug ventral view Damselfly, 23 mm in 34 mm piece of amber.
Damselfly, 23 mm in 34 mm piece of amber. weevil (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea) in burmite amber. Beetle (Coleoptera, Mordellidae?) in Burmese amber, about 1 mm Beetle (Coleoptera) in Burmese amber, 1.5 mm Rove beetle (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) in Burmese amber, 1.5 mm 9 mm beetle.
Beetle Huablattina hui nymph Huablattula hui, Blattulidae Owlfly larva, 3 mm. Burma mantispid, about 9 mm across. Burma mantispid, about 9 mm across.
Burma mantispid, about 9 mm across. Neuroptera (Berothidae), 7 mm, and small cecidomyiid midge in Burmese amber Cricket in Burmese amber. Scale insect (Coccoidea), 1 mm, in Burmese amber EnicoCaddis1000.jpg Barklouse (Psocoptera), 3 mm in Burmese amber
Aleyrodoidea (white fly), 2 mm in Burmese amber Spectacular warrior termite, Arceotermes sp., ventral view, 7 mm long Termite, Arceotermes sp., dorsal view Three of a social group of seven termites. Ant in Cretaceous amber, 8 mm, Myanmar. Ant in Cretaceous amber, 8 mm, Myanmar.
Ant in Cretaceous amber, 8 mm, Myanmar. Ant with very elongate jaws. The individual resin flow event that trapped this ant is clearly seen. Haidomyrmex ant with remarkable jaw Haidomyrmex ant with remarkable jaw Wasp (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae), 1 mm in Burmese amber (my very first piece of Burmese amber). 2mm wasp (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae) in Burmese amber
Hymenoptera, 1 mm, in Burmese amber Hymenoptera (pompilidae?) in Burmese amber, about 3 mm long Hymenoptera, 2 mm, in Burmese amber Fairyfly, a tiny parasitoid chalcid wasp Dipteran Nematocera, male fungus gnat or gall midge, 3 mm in Burmese amber
detail Biting midge (Ceratopogonidae), 3 mm in Burmese amber. Similar to Culicoides grandibocus which may have fed on dinosaurs. Nematocera, 3 mm, in Burmese amber Female non-biting midge (Nematocera, Chironomidae), 1.5 mm, in Burmese amber Nematocera releasing eggs Burmacyrtus rusmithi Grimaldi & Hauser 2011, acrocerid fly, 2 mm, in Burmese amber
Fly with large mouthparts (Brachycera, Rhagionidae), 3 mm, in Burmese amber. Snipe fly (Brachycera, Rhagionidae) in Burmese amber, part of a swarm of several indviduals Snipe fly (Brachycera, Rhagionidae) in Burmese amber, part of a swarm of several indviduals snakefly larva Bivalve CT4.jpg Micro CT image of Paleolignopholas kachinensis
Micro CT image of Paleolignopholas kachinensis crypts

comment | share
Akbar 30-Aug-2018 18:48
MORE CRETACEOUS AMBER MAGIC HERE WWW.AAKZ.COM ENJOY :)
Christopher Meehan 02-Jan-2018 13:22
I hope it's not considered inappropriate to share my own collection of burmite inclusions?
www.livingamber.com
I've got a pterosaur and several feathered dinosaurs,
(It's non-commercial...) These here are incredible btw. Thanks (Chris M)
hajar07-May-2011 18:20
Grazie Paolo! Strange to see creatures that died one hundred million years ago looking as if they were alive this morning!
Paolo Peggi (aka Bracciodiferro)07-May-2011 08:14
Cool series! V
Paolo
hajar06-May-2011 19:28
Thanks! These are taken through a microscope so many are stacks of images focused at slightly different depths.
Guest 06-May-2011 19:05
Great Shots and different! DD
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