| Mezhigorje Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
 | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Overlies | Obukhov Formation |
| Thickness | 2–7 m (6.6–23.0 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Other | Sand, Clay, Amber |
| Location | |
| Location | Ukrainian Crystalline Shield |
| Region | |
The Mezhigorje Formation is a geologic formation in Belarus and Ukraine that dates to the Early Oligocene. [1] Rovno amber is found in this formation and it has been studied since the 1990s. [2]
Small amounts of rough, partially worked, and fully shaped amber discovered in the Mezhigorje Formation suggest that between 13,300 and 10,500 BC, the amber was used by early humans. [2]
Rovno amber was first collected from the Mezhigorje Formation during the 1950s on a small scale and the amber was initially used for burning. [3] The amber was first used for jewellery in the 1970s when another outcrop was discovered. [2]
In 1991, the outcrop discovered during the 1970s began to be mined and later became the Pugach Quarry, and in 1993, the Ukrainian government began to oversee excavations of the Mezhigorje Formation for the first time. [2] Despite this, 90% of amber collected from the Mezhigorje Formation is extracted illegally and the trade is controlled by armed organised crime groups. [2]
The Early Oligocene Rovno amber is hosted in the Mezhigorje Formation, and it overlies the Late Eocene Obukhov Formation. [3] [2] The formation is found along the northwestern margin of the Ukrainian Crystalline Shield [1] exposed in the Rivne region of the Ukraine and across the border near Rechitsa in the Gomel Region of Belarus. [4] The granite basement rock was overlain by sandy to clayey deposits that were host to alluvial amber. [2]
The two formations total between 2–7 m (6.6–23.0 ft) in thickness, both containing interbeds or mixtures of brown coals and carbonized vegetation. Both formations are sandy to clayey in texture, with the Mezhigorje Formation containing mostly medium to fine grained sands of a greenish gray tone, and with occasional iron impregnation and layering. [5]
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 and 400 tonnes in 2015.
Sisyridae, commonly known as spongeflies or spongillaflies, are a family of winged insects in the order Neuroptera. There are approximately 60 living species described, and several extinct species identified from the fossil record.
Manobiomorpha is an extinct genus of flea beetles described from the late Eocene Rovno amber of Ukraine. It was named by Konstantin Nadein and Evgeny Perkovsky in 2010, and the type species is Manobiomorpha eocenica.
Psyllototus is an extinct genus of flea beetles described from the late Eocene Rovno amber of Ukraine, and from the Baltic amber of Russia and Denmark. It was named by Konstantin Nadein and Evgeny Perkovsky in 2010, and the type species is Psyllototus progenitor. In 2016, a newly described extant flea beetle genus from Bolivia, Chanealtica, was found to be most similar to Psyllototus, based on the characters available for observation.
Paleophaedon is an extinct genus of chrysomeline leaf beetle described from the late Eocene Rovno amber of Ukraine. It was named by Konstantin Nadein and Evgeny Perkovsky in 2010, and the type species is Paleophaedon minutus.
Epiborkhausenites is an extinct genus of moth in the concealer moth family Oecophoridae and containing a single species Epiborkhausenites obscurotrimaculatus. The species is known only from Middle Eocene, Bartonian stage, Baltic amber deposits near the town of Palanga in Lithuania.
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.
Bradoponera is an extinct genus of ant in the Formicidae subfamily Proceratiinae, and is one of four genera of the subfamily. The genus contains four described species Bradoponera electrina, Bradoponera meieri, Bradoponera similis, and Bradoponera wunderlichi. The species are known from several Middle Eocene amber fossils which were found in Europe.
Aphaenogaster dlusskyana is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae known from a single Middle Eocene fossil found in amber on Sakhalin. At the time of description A. dlusskyana was one of eight ant species known from Sakhalin fossil.
Embolemidae is a family of small solitary parasitoid wasps with around 70 species in 2 genera distributed around the world. The few species whose biology is known are parasites on planthopper nymphs of the families Achilidae and Cixiidae. There is debate regarding the status of the genus named Ampulicomorpha by Ashmead in 1893, generally considered now to be a junior synonym of Embolemus (e.g.,), though some authorities dispute this (e.g.,)
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.
Rivne amber, occasionally called Ukrainian amber, is amber found in the Rivne Oblast and surrounding regions of Ukraine and Belarus. The amber is dated between Late Eocene and Early Oligocene, and suggested to be contemporaneous to Baltic amber. Major exploration and mining of the amber did not start until the 1990s.
Alicodoxa is an extinct genus of planthopper in the fulgoroid family Dictyopharidae. The genus contains a single described species, Alicodoxa rasnitsyni and is known from several Late Eocene fossils which were found in Europe.
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.
Winnertziinae is a subfamily of gall midges and wood midges in the family Cecidomyiidae.
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Chaenothecopsis polissica is a species of fossilized pin lichen in the family Mycocaliciaceae that was discovered in 2021 by Vasyl Heluta and Maryna Sukhomlyn. The holotype was recovered from Rovno amber, which formed in the Ukraine during the late Eocene.
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The Obukhov Formation is a geologic formation in Belarus and Ukraine that dates to the Late Eocene; the Obukhov Formation is equivalent to the Prussian Formation of Russia.
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