Amber is a fossilized plant resin, predominantly from coniferous trees, that has undergone polymerization and oxidation over millions of years to form a stable, amorphous solid. Chemically, it consists mainly of complex mixtures of labdane-type diterpenoid and triterpenoid compounds, including succinic acid in Baltic amber (succinite). It is characterized by low density, electrical insulating properties, and a glass transition behavior rather than a true melting point. Amber’s macromolecular network structure and inclusion-trapping capacity make it valuable in paleobiology, while its well-defined spectroscopic signatures (e.g., FTIR, Raman) are used to distinguish provenance and diagenetic history.
Many animals exhibit fascinating collective behaviors, which allow them to move, search for food, reproduce and avoid threats more effectively than they would alone. One of these behaviors is queuing migration, which essentially ...
Amber from the Kachin region of Myanmar has preserved a wealth of fossils, offering insights into the diversity of the Cretaceous fauna of a 100-million-year-old forest ecosystem. The site continues to yield previously unknown ...
Evolution
Apr 22, 2026
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A German-Bulgarian research team led by SNSB paleontologist Christian Bartel has discovered a new species of harvestman in 35-million-year-old Ukrainian and Baltic amber. The animal is related to harvestmen that are now extinct ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 27, 2026
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Tiny insects trapped in amber could tell us a great deal about their roles in past ecosystems: pollinators, parasites, predators, and prey. But how many of the insects preserved alongside each other reflect interactions during ...
Ecology
Feb 27, 2026
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A study by Dr. Gianpiero Fiorentino and his colleagues, published in the Journal of Paleontology, describes the identification of a new species of ant, Hypoponera electrocacica, belonging to the genus Hypoponera and representing ...
Even some 200 years after his death, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's scientific curiosity continues to yield new insights. This has now been demonstrated by biologists at Friedrich Schiller University Jena while closely examining ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jan 26, 2026
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604
In amber some 99 million years old, LMU researchers have discovered the oldest known mosquito larva. The Cretaceous fossil comes from the Kachin region in Myanmar and was preserved in excellent condition. Described as a new ...
Evolution
Oct 28, 2025
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103
Scientists have discovered prehistoric insects preserved in amber for the first time in South America, providing a fresh glimpse into life on Earth at a time when flowering plants were just beginning to diversify and spread ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 18, 2025
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When we think of pollinating insects, bees, butterflies, or flies usually come to mind—but rarely true bugs. Yet it seems that in the past, they also played an important role in plant pollination. A Hungarian research group ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 4, 2025
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Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers report that fossilized entomopathogenic fungi from mid-Cretaceous amber reveal some of the oldest direct evidence of parasitic relationships between fungi and insects, suggesting that ...
