AI Overview
Burmese amber, from the mid-Cretaceous period, preserves incredible detail of ancient life, including
dinosaurs (feathers, tiny skull), diverse insects (wasps, beetles, flies, caddisflies, ants, etc., showing early evolution and behaviors like parasitism), various plants (ferns, conifers, ancient flowers like Valviloculus), and even small vertebrates (lizards, frogs), revealing a tropical rainforest ecosystem and the dawn of flowering plant coevolution with pollinators.
Plants Identified
Flowers (Angiosperms): Ancient blossoms like Valviloculus pleristaminis, pollen-releasing flowers showing insect coevolution.
Conifers & Gymnosperms: Resin from these trees formed the amber; leaves, pollen, and wood fragments are found.
Ferns & Other Flora: Leaves and plant parts from the Cretaceous forest.
Insects Identified (Examples)
Wasps: Cuckoo wasps (showy, parasitic), ants, bees, wasps.
Flies (Diptera): Phorid flies, psychodid flies, soldier flies, crane flies, midges.
Beetles (Coleoptera): Iridescent beetles.
Caddisflies (Trichoptera): Many species of casemaking and net-spinning caddisflies.
Moths (Lepidoptera): Various moths.
Bugs: Assassin bugs (Reduviidae).
Termites (Isoptera).
Thrips (Thysanoptera): Small insects often found with other inclusions.
Dragonflies/Damselflies (Odonata).
Spiders (Araneae).
Other Key Findings
Dinosaurs: A tiny dinosaur skull (Oculudentavis), feathered dinosaur tail, bird wings.
Vertebrates: Lizards, frogs, snakes.
Marine Life: Ammonites, shrimp, suggesting a coastal forest.
B
ehavior: Spider attacking a wasp, flies laying eggs.
Sampling the insects of the amber forest | PNAS
May 22, 2018 — This amber was produced by an extinct conifer. Other amber contains insects associated with resiniferous trees. For ex...
PNAS
Fossils in Burmese amber offer an exquisite view of dinosaur times ...
M
ay 22, 2019 — They are a clue to a dramatic and quick changeover in life's history that Charles Darwin called "an abominable mystery...
Science | AAAS
Burmese amber - Wikipedia
110 Ma, significantly older than the dates obtained from other deposits. Fauna found in the amber include: Archaeognatha, Diplopod...
Wikipedia
