For sale is a piece of Baltic amber containing an ancient biting midge (Ceratopogonidae) with notable cutting mouth parts. These insects thrive off blood taken from other invertebrates or insects, reptiles and even mammals. Who knows what prehistoric creatures this fly could have fed upon? 

Baltic amber is formed from the fossilized of tree resin from conifer trees of the Sciadopitaceae family of trees which lived in the Baltic Region of Europe 35-55 million years ago during the Eocene period. Most trees of this family are now extinct, though the Japanese Umbrella Pine (or Sciadopitys verticillata), a distant relative of the Baltic Amber tree, still grows in parts of Japan today.

Many insects and other inclusions were trapped in the resin as it oozed from the trees, and over a period of millions of years, the resin and its inclusions where polymerized, with the organic compounds replaced with non-organic ones, preserving the inclusions. Baltic amber is also known as succinite due to the high concentration of succinic acid within its chemical make up. It is the most common type of fossiliferous amber. A common feature by which Baltic amber can be distinguished from other amber types is the frequent presence of oak-leaf flower hairs, and many of the inclusions can be observed surrounded in a white film formed from the decaying internal fluids of the insect which managed to seep out before the resin fossilised.

These fossils are much better preserved than mineralised ones found in sedimentary rocks and look more or less as they did in life, making them extremely useful to scientists and particularly exciting to fossil collectors.

I also sell handy magnifiers with a UV light as well as a normal LED built into them for helping to check the authenticity of your amber. These are very handy to have if you do not already own one, please see my other listings.

Particulars:

Age:

35-50 Million Years old

Size:

See photos

Weight:

1.39g

Country of Origin:

Lithuania

Item is based in the UK. International buyers are welcome, but please bear in mind that I am not responsible for any customs charges/restriction on the import of this item.

Postage can be combined for multiple items, please contact me if you are having any issues doing this within eBay.