Arthropod Inclusions in Baltic Amber

Description: Inclusions is a term established to designate the fossils found entombed within amber, a unique method of preservation of ancient life. Such fossils are essentially hollowed husks, the result of preservation of the decay-resistant exoskeleton of the inclusion. Unlike most fossils, these were trapped alive, overcome by the sticky flow of sap from trees. Current thinking is that most amber from the Baltic region was produced by pine trees, a belief at least in part fostered by the high succinic acid content of the amber. The amber pine forest existed for over 10 million years in a temperate to subtropical environment that covered a large area in northern Europe during the Eocene and Oligocene. While insects and arachnids make up some 99% of all animal inclusions, others known are myriapods, mollusks, and vertebrates. Plant inclusions are found, with stellate oak hairs a well-known marker for Baltic material. It is the exceptional preservation of details which can be discerned with the microscaope that render these as highly desired fossils from our dim past.