Description
- Baltic Amber with inclusion
- Age: Miocene 25 Million Years old
- Location: Northern Europe (Baltic Sea)
- Size: 5-12mm Amber
- Includes 40mm Magnifier Box
Amber inclusions form when small organisms become trapped in fresh tree resin. The resin hardens through polymerisation, initially forming copal. With long-term burial and pressure, copal gradually converts into amber. This process preserves organisms in three dimensions.
This specimen is Baltic amber containing a fossilised spider. Baltic amber originates from resin-producing forests that once surrounded the Baltic Sea. Major source regions include parts of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and western Russia. The resin is believed to have come mainly from extinct pine-like trees, commonly referred to as Pinus succinifera.
Baltic amber represents about 90% of known global amber deposits. It contains relatively high levels of succinic acid and is often classified as “succinite.” Deposits formed in forested environments and were later buried by sediments. River and marine transport redistributed the amber into coastal and seabed deposits.
Spider inclusions are less common than insect inclusions and are useful for studying ancient arachnid morphology and forest ecosystems. Specimens such as this provide direct fossil evidence of small terrestrial life from the Eocene period.
