Baltic amber

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Raw unpolished Baltic amber Brylki Bursztynu Baltyckiego (sukcynitu).jpg
Raw unpolished Baltic amber
Paleogeography of Early-Mid Eocene Europe, with Baltic Amber at Gdansk and contemporaneously deposited Rovno amber and Bitterfeld amber Eocene Europe amber map.jpg
Paleogeography of Early-Mid Eocene Europe, with Baltic Amber at Gdansk and contemporaneously deposited Rovno amber and Bitterfeld amber

Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the resin for more than 100,000 tons of amber. [1] Today, more than 90% of the world's amber comes from Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It is a major source of income for the region; the local Kaliningrad Amber Combine extracted 250 tonnes of it in 2014 [2] and 400 tonnes in 2015. [3] Baltic amber is also found in Poland, as well as the Baltic states.

Contents

Bitterfeld amber from the brown coal mines near Bitterfeld in Germany was previously thought to be redeposited Baltic amber, but is now known to be chemically distinct, though like with Ukrainian Rovno amber, it is thought to have been deposited around the same time as Baltic amber. [4]

Because Baltic amber contains from 3 to 8% succinic acid, it is also termed succinite.

Geologic context

Open pit amber mine in Kaliningrad, showing the lithology of the Prussian Formation, the source rock of Baltic amber Baltic-amber-deposit-Yantarny.jpg
Open pit amber mine in Kaliningrad, showing the lithology of the Prussian Formation, the source rock of Baltic amber

In situ Baltic amber is derived from the sediments of the geological formation termed the Prussian Formation, formerly called the "Amber Formation", with the main amber bearing horizon being referred to as "Blue Earth", so named due to its glauconite content. The formation is exposed in the northern part of the Sambia Peninsula in Kaliningrad. Much of the Baltic amber has been secondarily redeposited in Pleistocene glacial till deposits across the North European Plain. [5] It has been proposed that the amber is secondarily redeposited in coastal lagoonal conditions after a marine transgression of the amber forest. The age of the amber is controversial, though it is generally interpreted as having been produced during the Eocene epoch (56-34 million years ago). Different authors have given estimates of 40-47 million years ago and 35-43 million years ago as the age of the amber. Dating the amber precisely is difficult due to its redeposited context. [6]

While the Bitterfeld amber found near Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, was historically considered redeposited Baltic amber, it has been found to be chemically distinct. [7]

Baltic amber tree

It was thought since the 1850s that the resin that became amber was produced by the tree Pinites succinifer , but research in the 1980s concluded that the resin originates from several species. More recently, it has been proposed, on the evidence of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of amber and resin from living trees, that conifers of the family Sciadopityaceae were responsible. [1] The only extant representative of this family is the Japanese umbrella pine, Sciadopitys verticillata .

Structure

General model of the structure of Baltic amber Baltic Amber General Structure.svg
General model of the structure of Baltic amber

The structure of Baltic amber (succinite) is complex. It is not a polymer, because it is not composed of a repeating pattern of mers of the same type. Rather it has a macromolecular structure arranged in a crosslinked network, in which the pores (free spaces) are filled by components of molecular structure (e.g. by mono- and sesquiterpenes). Thus the chemical structure of the amber may be described as a supramolecule. [8] The structure makes the amber denser, harder and more resistant to external factors. It also makes possible good preservation of plant and animal inclusions. [9]

History of use

Baltic amber has been traded since the Neolithic period in Europe, with Baltic amber being found as trade goods from 3634–3363 BC in Spain, [10] with Baltic amber being traded to China by the time of the Han Dynasty. [11] Initially Baltic amber was extracted from redeposited amber in Holocene deposits, like sandbars, with large scale industrial extraction beginning in the 19th century. [12]

Paleobiology

Numerous extinct genera and species of plants and animals have been discovered and scientifically described from inclusions in Baltic amber. [13] Inclusions of insects make up over 98% of the animals preserved in the amber, while all other arthropods, annelids, molluscs, nematodes, protozoans contribute less than 0.5% of the animals. Vertebrates are another 0.5% of the animals included and mostly are represented by mammal fur, feathers, and reptiles. [14]

Flora

NameAuthorsYearFamilyNotesImages

Heinrichs et al

2015

Geocalycaceae

A liverwort

Heinrichs et al

2014

Mniaceae

A bryopsid moss

Fauna

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanidae</span> Family of wasps

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<i>Diochus electrus</i> Species of beetle

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<i>Prostylotermes</i> Extinct genus of termites

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitterfeld amber</span>

Bitterfeld amber is amber found near the town of Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. While visually similar to the better known Baltic amber and often historically considered to be redeposited Baltic amber, chemical analysis shows that it is distinct from Baltic amber. The amber is thought to originate Eocene epoch, around the same time as Baltic amber. Like Baltic amber, the amber is renowned for its fossil inclusions such as those of arachnids and insects. The amber is found deposited in sands and silts of the Cottbus Formation, which is thought to be of late Oligocene age, considerably younger than the amber itself. Some fossil animal species are shared between Baltic and Bitterfeld ambers, supporting the idea that they were deposited at the same time, while both ambers have species apparently unique to them. The amber bearing deposit was excavated as part of a lignite coal mining operation active from 1975 to 1993, which resulted in over 400 tonnes of amber being unearthed. Compared to Baltic amber, the Bittefeld amber has been subject to considerably less research. The amber likely originated from a forested environment, perhaps a swamp forest. The source tree is suggested to have either belonged to Sciadopityaceae or to Pinaceae.

<i>Electrostephanus</i> Extinct genus of wasps

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<i>Yantaromyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Yantaromyrmex is an extinct genus of ants first described in 2013. Members of this genus are in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicidae, known from Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene fossils found in Europe. The genus currently contains five described species, Y. constrictus, Y. geinitzi, Y. intermedius, Y. mayrianum and Y. samlandicus. The first specimens were collected in 1868 and studied by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr, who originally placed the fossils in other ant genera until the fossils were reviewed and subsequently placed into their own genus. These ants are small, measuring from 4 to 6 mm in length and can be characterized by their trapezoidal shaped head-capsules and oval compound eyes that are located slightly to the rear of the capsules midpoint, with no known ocelli present.

<i>Zherichinius</i> Genus of ants

Zherichinius is an extinct genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae known from fossils found in amber from the Middle Eocene of Sakhalin island Far eastern Russia and Bitterfeld, Germany. At the time of description the species Zherichinius horribilis and Zherichinius rapax were two of eight ant species known from Sakhalin fossils.

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<i>Pachycondyla succinea</i> Extinct species of ant

Pachycondyla succinea is an extinct species of ant in the formicid subfamily Ponerinae described from fossils found in Europe. P. petrosa is one of three middle Eocene Pachycondyla species found in Baltic amber.

<i>Nylanderia pygmaea</i> Extinct species of ant

Nylanderia pygmaea is an extinct species of formicid in the ant subfamily Formicinae known from fossils found in the Prussian Formation of the Baltic region.

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2017 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2017, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.

2020 in paleoentomology is a list of new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2020, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleoentomology that were scheduled to occur during the year.

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This paleoentomology list records new fossil insect taxa that were to be described during the year 2021, as well as notes other significant paleoentomology discoveries and events which occurred during that year.

This paleoentomology list records new fossil insect taxa that are to be described during the year 2022, as well as notes other significant paleoentomology discoveries and events which occurred during that year.

This paleoentomology list records new fossil insect taxa that were described during the year 2014, as well as notes other significant paleoentomology discoveries and events which occurred during that year.

The Prussian Formation, previously known as the Amber Formation, is a geologic formation in Prussia, today mostly Kaliningrad Oblast that dates to the Eocene. It holds 90% of the world's amber supply and Baltic amber is found exclusively in the Prussian Formation.

This list of 2013 in paleoentomology records new fossil insect taxa that are to be described during the year, as well as documents significant paleoentomology discoveries and events which occurred during that year.

References

  1. 1 2 Wolfe, A. P.; Tappert, R.; Muehlenbachs, K.; Boudreau, M.; McKellar, R. C.; Basinger, J. F.; Garrett, A. (2009). "A new proposal concerning the botanical origin of Baltic amber". Proceedings of the Royal Society B . 276 (1672): 3403–3412. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0806. PMC   2817186 . PMID   19570786.
  2. ↑ "Russia: Amber covers beach after storm". BBC. 9 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Amber mining". Amber Museum Kaliningrad.
  4. ↑ Jason A. Dunlop; Marusik, Yuri; Vlaskin, Anatoly P. (December 2019). "Comparing Arachnids in Rovno Amber with the Baltic and Bitterfeld Deposits". Paleontological Journal. 53 (10): 1074–1083. doi:10.1134/S0031030119100034. ISSN   0031-0301.
  5. ↑ Penney, David; Acra, Fadi (2010). "Baltic Amber". Biodiversity of fossils in amber from the major world deposits. Siri Scientific Press. pp. 81–84. ISBN   978-0-9558636-4-6. OCLC   904772774.
  6. ↑ Moser, Marina; Burks, Roger A.; Ulmer, Jonah M.; Heraty, John M.; Kamp, Thomas van de; Krogmann, Lars (2021-05-25). "Taxonomic description and phylogenetic placement of two new species of Spalangiopelta (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae: Ceinae) from Eocene Baltic amber". PeerJ. 9: e10939. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10939 . ISSN   2167-8359. PMC   8162234 . PMID   34113480.
  7. ↑ Wolfe, Alexander P.; McKellar, Ryan C.; Tappert, Ralf; Sodhi, Rana N.S.; Muehlenbachs, Karlis (February 2016). "Bitterfeld amber is not Baltic amber: Three geochemical tests and further constraints on the botanical affinities of succinite". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 225: 21–32. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.11.002.
  8. ↑ Matuszewska A. Bursztyn (sukcynit), inne żywice kopalne, subfosylne I współczesne. Katowice, 2010.
  9. ↑ Matushevskaya 2013 , p. 8
  10. ↑ Murillo-Barroso, M.; Cólliga, A. Martín; Martinón-Torres, M. (2023-08-31). "The earliest Baltic amber in Western Europe". Scientific Reports. 13 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-023-41293-0. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   10471576 . PMID   37653106.
  11. ↑ Chen, Dian; Zeng, Qingshuo; Yuan, Ye; Cui, Benxin; Luo, Wugan (November 2019). "Baltic amber or Burmese amber: FTIR studies on amber artifacts of Eastern Han Dynasty unearthed from Nanyang". Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy. 222: 117270. doi:10.1016/j.saa.2019.117270.
  12. ↑ Anna Małka & Regina Kramarska The mining of Baltic amber deposits in Poland ‐ an overview International Amber Researcher Symposium Amberif 2013
  13. ↑ Weitschat, W.; Wichard, W. (2002). Atlas of Plants and Animals in Baltic Amber. Pfeil. ISBN   978-3931516949.
  14. ↑ Weitschat, W.; Wichard, W. (2010). "Chapter 6: Baltic amber". In Penney, D. (ed.). Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits. Siri Scientific Press. pp. 80–115. ISBN   978-0-9558636-4-6.
  15. ↑ Heinrichs, J; Schmidt, AR; Schäfer-Verwimp, A; Gröhn, C; Renner, MAM (2015). "The leafy liverwort Notoscyphus balticus sp. nov. (Jungermanniales) in Eocene Baltic amber". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 217: 39–44. Bibcode:2015RPaPa.217...39H. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.02.006.
  16. ↑ Heinrichs, J; Hedenäs, L; Schäfer-Verwimp, A; Feldberg, K; Schmidt, AR (2014). "An in situ preserved moss community in Eocene Baltic amber". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 210: 113–118. Bibcode:2014RPaPa.210..113H. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2014.08.005.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Wheeler, W. M. (1914). "The Ants of the Baltic Amber". Schriften der Physikalisch-Ökonomischen Gesellschaft zu Königsberg. 55 (4): 56–59.
  18. ↑ Yunakov, N.N.; Kirejtshuk, A.G. (2011). "New genus and species of broad-nosed weevils from Baltic amber and notes on fossils of the subfamily Entiminae (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)". ZooKeys (160): 73–96. Bibcode:2011ZooK..160...73Y. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.160.2108 . PMC   3253632 . PMID   22303121.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Gibson, G. A. P. (2009). "Description of three New Genera and four New Species of Neanastatinae (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae) from Baltic Amber, with Discussion of their Relationships to Extant Taxa". ZooKeys (20): 175–214. Bibcode:2009ZooK...20..175G. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.20.161 . Archived from the original on 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  20. ↑ Balashov I.A. & Perkovsky E.E. 2020. An Eocene land snail Balticopta gusakovi gen.n., sp.n. (Stylommatophora: Gastrocoptidae) from Baltic amber // Invertebrate Zoology. Vol.17. No.1: 18–24.
  21. 1 2 Eskov, K. Y.; Zonstein, S. L. (2000). "The First Ctenizoid Mygalomorph Spiders from Eocene Baltic Amber (Araneida: Mygalomorphae: Ctenizidae)". Paleontological Journal . 34 (3): S268 –S274. Part 1; part 2, PDF.
  22. 1 2 Guglielmino, A.; Olmi, M. (2011). "Revision of fossil species of Deinodryinus, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae)". ZooKeys (130): 495–504. Bibcode:2011ZooK..130..495G. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.130.1326 . PMC   3260777 . PMID   22259295.
  23. ↑ Chatzimanolis, S.; Engel, M. S. (2011). "A new species of Diochus from Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Diochini)" (PDF). ZooKeys (138): 65–73. Bibcode:2011ZooK..138...65C. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.138.1896 . PMC   3208521 . PMID   22144854.
  24. 1 2 Engel, M. S. (1995). "A New Fossil Snake-Fly Species from Baltic Amber (Raphidioptera: Inocelliidae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 102 (3–4): 187–193. doi: 10.1155/1995/23626 . hdl: 1808/16479 .
  25. ↑ Azar, D.; Nel, A. (2008). "First Baltic amber megapodagrionid damselfly (Odonata: Zygoptera)". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. New Series. 44 (4): 451–457. doi: 10.1080/00379271.2008.10697580 . – via  Taylor & Francis (subscription required)
  26. ↑ Engel, M.S.; Ortega-Blanco, J. (2008). "The fossil crown wasp Electrostephanus petiolatus Brues in Baltic Amber (Hymenoptera, Stephanidae): designation of a neotype, revised classification, and a key to amber Stephanidae". ZooKeys (4): 55–64. Bibcode:2008ZooK....4...55E. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.4.49 . hdl: 2445/36428 .
  27. ↑ Makarkin, VN; Wedmann, S; Weiterschan, T (2014). "First record of the family Ithonidae (Neuroptera) from Baltic amber". Zootaxa. 3796 (2): 385–393. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3796.2.10. PMID   24870683.
  28. ↑ Fischer, Thilo C.; Michalski, Artur; Hausmann, Axel (2019). "Geometrid caterpillar in Eocene Baltic amber (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)". Scientific Reports . 9 (1): Article number 17201. Bibcode:2019NatSR...917201F. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-53734-w. PMC   6868187 . PMID   31748672.
  29. ↑ Skalski, A. W. (1973). "Studies on the Lepidoptera from Fossil Resins. Part II. Epiborkhausenites obscurotrimaculatus gen. et sp. nov. (Oecophoridae) and a Tineid-Moth Discovered in the Baltic Amber" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 18 (1): 153–160.
  30. ↑ Szwedo, J. (2007). "Glisachaemus jonasdamzeni gen. et sp. nov. of Cixiidae from the Eocene Baltic amber (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha)" (PDF). Alavesia. 1: 109–116. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  31. 1 2 3 Kehlmaier, C; Dierick, M; Skevington, JH (2014). "Micro-CT studies of amber inclusions reveal internal genitalic features of big-headed flies, enabling a systematic placement of Metanephrocerus Aczel, 1948 (Insecta: Diptera: Pipunculidae)". Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny. 72 (1): 23–36. doi: 10.3897/asp.72.e31784 .
  32. ↑ Cockerell, T. D. A. (1906). "Fossil Hymenoptera from Florissant, Colorado". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 50 (2).
  33. ↑ Poinar, G. (2005). "Fossil Trigonalidae and Vespidae (Hymenoptera) in Baltic Amber". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 107 (1): 55–63.
  34. ↑ Stworzewicz, E.; Pokryszko, B. M. (2006). "Eocene Terrestrial Snails (Gastropoda) from Baltic Amber" (PDF). Annales Zoologici . 56 (1): 215–224.
  35. ↑ Henderickx, H.; Tafforeau, P.; Soriano, C (2012). "Phase-contrast synchrotron microtomography reveals the morphology of a partially visible new Pseudogarypus in Baltic amber (Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudogarypidae)". Palaeontologia Electronica. 15 (2, 17A, 11p): 1–11.
  36. ↑ Alekseev, VI; Lord, NP (2014). "A new species of Xylolaemus (Coleoptera: Zopheridae: Colydiinae) from Baltic amber". Baltic Journal of Coleopterology. 14 (1): 97–102. ISSN   1407-8619.
  37. ↑ Poinar, G. Jr. (2000). "Fossil Onychophorans from Dominican and Baltic Amber: Tertiapatus dominicanus n.g., n.sp. (Tertiapatidae n.fam.) and Succinipatopsis balticus n.g., n.sp. (Succinipatopsidae n.fam.) with a Proposed Classification of the Subphylum Onychophora". Invertebrate Biology. 119 (1): 104–9. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7410.2000.tb00178.x .
  38. 1 2 3 Dlussky, GM; Dubovikoff, DA (2013). "Yantaromyrmex gen. n. – a new ant genus (Hymenoptera Formicidae) from Late Eocene ambers of Europe" (PDF). Caucasian Entomological Bulletin. 9 (2): 305–314. doi: 10.23885/1814-3326-2013-9-2-305-314 .

Bibliography

Matushevskaya, Aniela (2013). "Natural and artificial resins – chosen aspects of structure and properties" [Натуральные и искусственные смолы – некоторые аспекты структуры и свойств]. In Kostjashova, Z. V. (ed.). Янтарь и его имитацииМатериалы международной научно-практической конференции 27 июня 2013 года [Amber and its imitations] (in Russian). Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad Amber Museum, Ministry of Culture (Kaliningrad region, Russia). p. 113. ISBN   978-5-903920-26-6. Archived from the original on 2020-02-16. Retrieved 2016-06-18.

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