Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects. Amber is used in jewelry and has been used as a healing agent in folk medicine.
Pauropods are small, pale, millipede-like arthropods. Around 830 species in twelve families are found worldwide, living in soil and leaf mold. They look rather like centipedes, or millipedes, and may be a sister group of the latter. However, this is controversial, as a close relationship with Symphyla has also been posited.
Symphylans, also known as garden centipedes or pseudocentipedes, are soil-dwelling arthropods of the class Symphyla in the subphylum Myriapoda. Symphylans resemble centipedes, but are very small, non-venomous, and only distantly related to both centipedes and millipedes. They can move rapidly through the pores between soil particles, and are typically found from the surface down to a depth of about 50 centimetres (20 in). They consume decaying vegetation, but can do considerable harm in an agricultural setting by consuming seeds, roots, and root hairs in cultivated soil.
Pauropodidae is a family of pauropods. It contains over 20 genera and 650 species, as well as the only known fossil pauropod, Eopauropus. Like most adult pauropods in the order Tetramerocerata, most adults in this family have 9 pairs of legs, but adults in one genus, Cauvetauropus, have only 8 pairs of legs, and female adults in another genus, Decapauropus, have either 9 or 10 pairs of legs. The first pauropod discovered with more than 9 pairs of legs was the species D. cuenoti, first described with 10 pairs in 1931.
The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 100,000 tons of amber. 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, 400 tonnes in 2015.
Ontonychophora is an extinct order of onychophorans consisting of organisms with simple lobopods that lack terminal feet. It includes all fossil onychophorans except †Cretoperipatus, which is in the Euonychophora along with all remaining members of the phylum.
Tertiapatus is an extinct genus of onychophorans known from Dominican amber deposits. The only known species described is Tertiapatus dominicanus.
Succinipatopsis is an extinct onychophoran genus known from Eocene-aged Baltic amber. The only known species described is Succinipatopsis balticus.
Euonychophora is an order of Onychophora representing all living onychophorans; the Peripatidae and Peripatopsidae. Their feet possess a pair of claws and a pad, and are covered with pustules. All remaining onychophorans are fossil species in the order Ontonychophora.
Tertiapatoidea is an extinct superfamily of onychophorans consisting of two monospecific families, Tertiapatidae, and Succinipatopsidae, neither of which preserve feet or claws at the ends of their legs.
Micropalaeosoma balticus is an extinct, fossil turbellarian flatworm known from Baltic amber of Kaliningrad, Russia, that lived approximately 40 million years ago. It measured approximately 1.5 mm in length and is the oldest and most complete flatworm fossil yet discovered.
Asymphylomyrmex is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Dolichoderinae. The genus contains a single described species, Asymphylomyrmex balticus and is known from a group of Middle Eocene fossils which were found in Europe.
Notoscyphus balticus is an extinct species of liverwort in the family Geocalycaceae. The species is solely known from the Middle Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The genus contains a total of thirteen extant species distributed across the northern hemisphere.
Elephantomyia (Elephantomyia) baltica is an extinct species of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. The species is solely known from the Middle Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The species is one of six described from Baltic amber.
Elephantomyia (Elephantomyia) brevipalpa is an extinct species of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. The species is solely known from the Middle Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The species is one of six described from Baltic amber.
Millotauropus is a genus of pauropods, comprising the monotypic family Millotauropodidae in the monotypic order Hexamerocerata. Eight species are known. Species of Hexamerocerata are characterized by a 12-segmented body, a 6-segmented antenna, and have at most 11 pairs of walking legs as adults. Additionally, Hexamerocerata possess tracheae on the bases of first pair of legs, features lacking in all other pauropods. The body is colored white, and individuals are usually larger than in Tetramerocerata. Hexamerocerata are found in the tropics of Brazil, continental Africa, Madagascar, and Seychelles, as well as Japan.
Tetramerocerata is an order of pauropods containing 12 different families and about 480 different species. Tetrameroceratans have a 12 segmented body, 4 segmented antennae, 6 tergites, and 8 to10 legs pairs of legs as adults. Most pauropods in this order have 9 leg pairs as adults, but four genera have only 8 pairs, and adult females in the genus Decapauropus have either nine or ten pairs of legs. Pauropods in this order are generally 0.5 mm to 2 mm long, and are usually white or brown. Tetramerocerata has a subcosmopolitan distribution, occurring nearly worldwide.
Brachypauropodidae is a family of pauropods. Like most adult pauropods in the order Tetramerocerata, most adults in this family have 9 pairs of legs, but adults in a few species in two genera, Aletopauropus and Zygopauropus, have only 8 pairs of legs.
Scolopendrellidae is a family of symphylans in the class Symphyla. There are about 7 genera and at least 30 described species in Scolopendrellidae. In this family, the first pair of legs is reduced in size and is never more than half as long as the next pair. In some species, the first pair is only rudimentary or vestigial. In the genus Symphylella, for example, the first leg pair is reduced to small protuberances. A species of the extant genus Symphylella is known from the mid Cretaceous (Cenomanian) aged Burmese amber of Myanmar.
Scutigerellidae is a family of symphylans. There are at least three genera and 30 described species in Scutigerellidae. The oldest described species of the family are members of the extant genera Hanseniella and Scutigerella from Eocene aged Baltic amber, undescribed specimens of the family are known from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber of Myanmar.
