GENERAL GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Amber can also preserve plant matter (figure 11), bacteria, fungi, worms, snails, insects, spiders, and (more rarely) small vertebrates. Some pieces of amber contain water droplets and bubbles, products of the chemical breakdown of organic matter.

Detailed explanation-2: -Most ambers from the ongoing Cenozoic era, beginning 66 million years ago (MYA), were produced by conifer trees, though some originate from flowering plants of the pea family. Almost all amber from the Mesozoic era, 252-66 MYA, was made by conifers such as cedars, redwoods and ancient ‘southern pines’.

Detailed explanation-3: -All fossils are time capsules. But unlike many other finds, insects encapsulated in amber are often perfectly preserved. “Frequently, their external morphology is as well conserved as if they had been sealed in synthetic resin, ” says LMU zoologist Professor Joachim T. Haug.

Detailed explanation-4: -Collectors and scientists have found not just bugs entombed in tree resin, but even animals as large as lizards, frogs and salamanders can be preserved in impressive detail. Skin, scales, fur and feathers are just some of the incredibly detailed features found in amber. Insects may be caught having sex.

Detailed explanation-5: -The creature either drowns as the sticky goo fills its mouth and spiracles (bug lungs) or starves as it struggles to escape the resin. Most insects or arthropods fossilized in amber are less than seven-eighths of an inch long, since larger creatures can usually pull themselves out of the resin’s deadly grasp.