Coconino Lapidary Club

In this Blog I’ll describe how biomaterials including animal and plant fossils are included and preserved in amber formed from tree resin, which by its stickiness can entrap objects which contact its surface as shown in Figure . With further addition of the resin the object is sealed within the resin and out of the surrounding biotic environment. With the passing of geological time amber forms from the resin and encloses the organism as described in the legend of Figure 1-[Ref1,2].

Figure 1. Taphonomy (Process of the formation) of amber with preserved organisms[Ref16].

In the environment external to the tree in which the amber forms, oxidation and temperature extremes and biotic factors such as bacteria and scavengers accelerate decomposition of an organism; instead the environment within the tree resin capturing the organism provides protection against the biotic environment, allowing the preservation processes to proceed to fossilization. Following entrapment of the organism within the resin, the continuing loss of volatile oils called olio-resins from the resin, which continues through evaporation, coupled with polymerization reactions of terpenoids to form a large network of molecules and other organic compounds result in the formation of amber with time. Under conditions that are not extreme, the amber is impervious to the outside environment and shields the fossilized material during its preservation. Studies of factors affecting preservation have shown that the type of tree resin, hence its chemistry and possible chemical attack on the material, the degree of dehydration, and activity of gut microorganisms are some major factors affecting the preservation of soft tissues of organisms[Ref16,17].

Gallery of Some Fossils Preserved in Amber

Some of the most extraordinary discovered fossils range from insects to plants and animals preserved in amber. —“[Ref3]. To illustrate, a Gallery of some unusual, and representative preserved fossils which I found very interesting are shown beautifully in the following figures.

Figure 2. Lyme Disease spirochete-like bacteria (*Borrelia burgdorferi*)are present in a tick preserved in15-20 million-year-old Dominican amber[Ref4]. The bacteria are present as the approximately 1-mm sized brown-black spheres located between the juncture of the legs and the body of the tick.

Figure 3. The flea *Atopopsyllus cionus*, a genus entirely new to science, is preserved in 20 million-year-old Dominican amber[Ref5]. The brown-colored rod-like and spherical bacteria seen within the flea are similar to the bubonic plague bacteria (*Yersinia pestis*). This fossil specimen may show an early connection between insects and pathogenic microorganisms.

Figure 4. A millipede preserved in 99 million-year-old Burmese amber differed in appearance from those of the order existing today, Callipodia, and was called *Burmanopetallum inexpectatum*[Ref6].

Figure 5. A baby salamander of the extinct species *Palaeoplethodon hispaniolae* preserved in 20 million year-old Dominican amber[Ref7]. The fossil revealed that salamanders once lived on an island in the Caribbean Sea where they are now absent. The lack of a forelimb reveals attack by predator before entrapment in the parent resin with following containment in amber.

Figure 6. Tufted tube-likeand protofeathers of a dinosaur preserved in 78-79 million-year-old Canadia amber{Ref8,9,10]

Figure 7. A 47.5 millimeter-long baby snake preserved in 99 million-year-old Cretaceous amber found in Myanmar[Ref11]. Its taxonomy is connected to snakes from Argentina, India, and India.

Figure 8. Mammalian hair preserved in amber which 100 million years ago
In the Cretaceous in Era and found at Charentes, France[Ref12,13]. With the scale bar in Panel “a” being 100 μm length the diameter of the hair is seen vary between 32 and 48 μm and the hair to be ~ 2.4 mm in length. In panel “b” the fossil hair is seen to comprise be hollow surrounded with a layer of brown carbonaceous material replacing the cuticle and with irregular shaped grey carbonaceous debris. In Panels “d” and “e” the wavy scale pattern and markings on the cuticle are shown clearly.

Figure 9. Leaves of the carnivorous plant *Roridula gorgonias* preserved in Eocene Baltic Amber between35 and 47 million years-go and found near Kaliningrad, R.ussia[Ref14]. The venom containing glands project laterally from the surface region of the leaf away from the axis of the plant. Scale bars: A and B; 1mm, C 100μm.

Figure 10. Flower of the plant species *Strychnos electri* preserved between
45 and 15 million years ago in Dominican amber[Ref15]. Being of the Genus *Strychnos*; the plant may have been poisonous.

Biomaterials Found Preserved in Amber

Preserved biomaterials range from biochemicals to fossilized cells, tissues, and entire organisms. Representative examples of these preserved biomaterials are presented below in TABLES I, II, III, and IV.

None of the structural biomolecules of animal and plant life forms are preserved intact in amber. Instead chemical reactions acting on the chitin within the cuticle of arthropods and within the cell walls of fungi and plants, and on the proteins within feathers, cuticle, and soft tissues of animals, respectively form polysaccharides and amino acids as summarized and referenced in TABLE –. Of pigmented biomolecules red hemeporphyrins and melanin are preserved as seen in the table while carotenoids are not.

Recovery of geologically ancient DNA would be of immense value to biology.

However, according to the paper by Hebsgaard, et al[Ref18], the authenticity of the reports of the presence of DNA being found preserved in amber, References 12,16,17,19,23,24 in the paper, is questionable. As stated in the paper by Hebsgaard et al in Box 2 of their paper, “It is concerning that all claims published to date on DNA surviving over geological time spans have not followed the most fundamental of these authentication criteria.”

Biochemicals which have been found in amber are summarized in TABLE I. Examples of preserved bio-materials ranging from bio-chemicals are described with illustrated references in TABLE I, and from tissues to organisms are described in the text and summarized with illustrated references in TABLE II, and in TABLE & III.

TABLE I . SOME EXAMPLES OF BIOMOLECULES FOUND PRESERVED IN AMBER

BIOMOLECULE	BIOLOGICAL SOURCE	GEOLOGICAL AGE (Million-years-ago)	REFERENCE
N-acetylglucosamine	Fungus Chitin	Cretaceous, 138-66	19, 20
β-1,3 and β- 1,4-linked polysaccharides	Fungus Chitin	Cretaceous, 138-66 Mya	19
Amino Acids	Feather Keratin Insect Protein	Cretaceous extending into Eocene, 99-44 Tertiary – Creataceous 130-40 Mya	21 22
Melanin	Feather	Eocene, 66-23 Mya	23

Cells and both soft and hard tissues are found preserved in amber as shown in TABLE II.

TABLE II. EXAMPLES OF ANIMAL AND PLANT CELLS AND TISSUES PRESERVED IN AMBER

TISSUE	HOST	GEOLOGICAL AGE	REFERENCE	FIGURE NUMBER
Flight Muscle, fibers and mitochondria	Fly	Miocene 23-5 Mya	24	Figure 2C
Neural, axons & glial cells	Beetle	Oligocene 34-23 Mya	25	Plate1, Figures 5 & 6
Eye, Lens, pigment cells, crystalline cone	Fly	Eocene, 45 Mya	26	Figure 1
Cuticle scales	Cockroach, Beetle, Grass-hopper	Cretaceous, ~130 Mya	27	Figure 8
*Cuticle & soft tissues in sections	Fly		28,29
Blood, Red Blood Cells	Monkey, Tick	Oligocene, 30-15 Mya	30	Three figures
Feathers	Dinosaur	Cretaceous, ~ 105 Mya	31	Three figures
Bone	Lizard	Miocene, ~20 Mya	32	Figures 1, S1 & S2
Cypress Plant	—-	Eocene, ~45 Mya	33	Figures 1 & 2
Fern	—-	Cretaceous. ~98 Mya	34	Figures 1 & 2
Liverwort	—-	Cretacwous ~100Mya	35	Figures 1-10

*Images obtained by micro CT scanning.

Some animals from the Cretaceous Era into the Miocene Era found preserved in amber are presented in TABLE III.

TABLE III. SOME ANIMALS FOUND PRESERVED IN AMBER

PHYLUM/Animal	GEOLOGICAL AGE (MILLION YEARS AGO)	REFERENCE	FIGURE NUMBER IN REFERENCE/ NUMBERS OF FIGURES
MOLLUSCS
Snail	Cretaceous ~99	36	Figures 1-7
Ammonite	Cretaceous ~99	37	Five figures
ARTHROPODS
Fly	Cretaceous 135-65	38	One figure
Beetle	Cretaceous ~100	39	One figure
Bee	Cretaceous ~100	40	Ten figures
Millipede	Cretaceous ~99	41	Two figures
Scorpion	Miocene 23-15	42	Three figures
VERTEBRATES
Salamander	Oligocene 30-20	43	One figure
Lizard	Cretaceous ~99	44	One figure
Snake	Cretaceous ~99	45	One figure
Dinosaur	Cretaceous ~99	46,47	k-one figure., l-one figure
Bird	Cretaceous ~99	48	One figure
MAMMAL
Shrew-like	Cretaceous	49	None

Some plants living from the Cretaceous Era into the Eocene Era found preserved in amber are presented in TAVLE IV.

TABLE IV . SOME PLANTS FOUND PRESERVED IN AMBER

PHYLUM/Plant or Plant Organ	GEOLOGICAL AGE {MILLION YEARS AGO (Mya)}	REFERENCE	FIGURE NUMBER OR THEIR NUMBER PRESENT

Mosses	Tertiary 66-2.6	50	1-15
Liverworts	Eocene, ~48-34	51	1-3
GYMNOSPERMS
Pine	Eocene, ~48-34	52	One
Conifer	Cretaceous ~100-94	53,54
ANGIOSPERMS
Flower similar to Christmas Bush	Cretaceous ~100	55	Three
Asterid flower	Oligocene into Miocene, ~ 25	56,57	One