AMBER IN MYANMAR COLLECTION

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukawng_Valley

The Hukawng Valley (Burmese: ဟ းက ောငးခ ျင ဝမး; also spelt Hukaung Valley)

is an isolated valley in Burma, roughly 5,586 square miles (14,468 km2) in area. It

is located in Tanaing Township in the Myitkyina District of Kachin State in the

northernmost part of the country.

Discoveries

In 2006, a fossil of the earliest known species of bee was discovered in amber taken from a mine in the Hukawng Valley.

In 2014, Researchers from Oregon State University have discovered a preserved example of sexual reproduction in flowering plants in a 100-million-year-old amber fossil. The scene is thought to be the oldest evidence of sexual reproduction ever found in a flowering plant. Named Micropetasos burmensis, the plant is made of bunches of very tiny flowers around a millimetre wide. The discovery was made from amber mines in the Hukawng Valley.

http://www.newseveryday.com/articles/59229/20161210/tail-feathered-dinosaur-discovered-amber-myanmar.htm

A tail of a 99-million-year-old dinosaur has been found in amber, weighing 6.5 grams, still together with some parts of its bones, soft tissues and feathers from a mine in Myanmar. The research was funded in part by the National Geographic Society's Expeditions Councils and spearheaded by paleontologist Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences.

The sample which had already been shaped into oval was concluded to have belonged from a young coelurosaur based on the composition of its tail, a member of theropod dinosaurs that ranges from tyrannosaurs to modern birds.

Reports from National Geographic, paleontologist, Lida Xing even stated that with the breakthrough of the well-preserved dinosaur feathers in the amber,

"May we can find a complete dinosaur." This is some good news and discovery to science history since it would clearly give fitter answers and understanding regarding the anatomy and evolution of the dinosaur feathers.

Moreover, according to CNN, Ryan McKellar, also a paleontologist at the Royal Saskatchwan Museum in Canada, was amazed at the recent discovery when he saw the piece of the amber and said that, "It's a once in a lifetime find. The finest details are visible and in three dimensions."

McKellar also added this was the first time that the scientists have found dinosaur-era bird wings as part of a mummified dinosaur skeleton. In addition to all the fossil evidence that have been collected over the past years, finding this piece of history will definitely aid uncertainties related to Mesozoic era.

AMBER POLISHING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9uWxb

KciTA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfGbNw

PvQo

http://www.ambericawest.com/burmite.html

BURMITE - Burmese amber

Burmite was unavailable for many years due to the political situation in Burma (Myanmar) where it is found. It is now being mined again, by a Canadian company which mines it under license. It is still extracted in the Hukawng Valley in northern Kachin State, but whereas it used to be mined by digging deep shafts in the valley floor, it is now extracted from the surrounding hills. Here only about 1 ½ meters of overburden need to be removed before the amber is revealed.

Once thought to be about the same age as Mexican amber, it was recently realized that burmite is much older, at least 100 million years old, which means that it is Cretaceous. Other ambers that are used for jewelry or carvings are much younger, from the Tertiary period.

Although large pieces have occasionally been found, burmite usually occurs in small pieces. Most of it varies in color from sherry to burnt orange, but a small amount is the glorious clear cherry red for which it is famed, and which was so popular with the Chinese for carving. Burmite is very clear, but most of the material displays swirls of color, which, under magnification, prove to be made up of minute dots of color. Much of the material is fractured, and some of the fractures are filled with calcite.

Burmite is also unusual in that it can appear to change color according to the direction of light transmitted through it. A piece containing dark and light areas may look pale from one angle, whilst if lit from another angle, seems to be cherry red. This effect is probably caused by the light reflecting off the particles of color in the darker areas. Apart from its wonderful colors, burmite has a great variety of insect inclusions.

Possibly because of its age, burmite is harder than other ambers, and it takes a very high polish. I believe that it fluoresces in sunlight, but, because of the present weather conditions in London, I have not been able to test this since taking delivery of a packet of the material. Polished surfaces do appear to fluoresce slightly even on rainy days. However, under a UV lamp, broken or polished surfaces display a strong fluorescence in an almost mid-blue color - much darker than, for example, Baltic amber.

Maggie Campbell Pedersen February 2003

http://burmeseamber.com/

The Secrets of Burmite Amber - George Poynar Jr, Ron Buckley and

Alex E. Brown

History of Burmite - Jim Davis, Leeward Capital Corp

Burmite or Burmese amber has been known since the distance past. This amber is from the Hukawng Valley in Kachin State the northenmost state in

the union of Myanmar formally known as Burma . According to ancient Chinese sources amber from the Hukawng Valley was mined as early as the

first century AD and shipped to Yannan Province in China. From there, burmite may have found its way along the Silk Road as far west

as the Roman Empire , where amber was highly prized. It is said that that a

good piece of amber was worth the price of a slave. The oldest written record referring to Burmese amber was in the Annals of the Han Dynasty

(205-265 AD). Thus, burmite has been known for about two thousand years. Much of the exquisitely carved Chinese amber has its origin in the

Hukwang Valley . Amber was also used and is still used in Chinese medicine.

The first mention of burmite in the western world by a European was by a

Portuguese Jesuit Missionary Father Alvarez Semedo in 1655. He noted that red amber from Yunnan Province in China . In 1738, there is another brief

reference to red amber from Yunnan Province by Du Halde.

In the 19th Century, there were a series of reports about the location and mining of Burmese amber By Brester (1835) and Pemberton (1837).

Captain S. F. Hannan was the first westerner to visit the amber mines in the

Hukong (Hukawng) Valley. He described the primitive mining method utilized by the miners to recover amber consisting of digging shallow pits

with sharpened bamboo and wooden shovels. Description of the amber mines was given by Griffith in 1848 from the “Hookhoom―

Valley. Some pits, he observed were up to forth feet deep.

In 1885, the British invaded and conquered Upper Burma deposing and sent into exile the Burmese Royal Family to India . Burma became an annex of

India . With the arrival of the British the main trading route in amber went south to Mandalay rather than to China . The Geological Survey of India

sent Dr. Fritz Noetling to evaluate the resources of northern Burma in 1892. Amber recovered from the Hukwang Valley was examined by Otto Helm

who gave the name burmite to the amber from that area. Noetling also noted the presence of insects in amber thought to be from the area

in 1893.

In the first half of the twentieth century, scientific study and production

continues until 1939. With the advent of the Second World War, both the production and study languished until the 1990’s. This was due not

only to the war but also internal turmoil within Burma following its independence from Britain in 1947.

Cockerell (1917) published the first scientific paper on insect inclusions in

burmite. He considered burmite to be possibly Upper Cretaceous in age. The Indian Geological Survey published yearly production figures from the

Myitkyina District from 1898 until 1940. During this period a total of approximately 82,656 kilograms of amber were produced from

the Hukawng Valley . Scientific papers during this period include work by Stuart (1922), Cocherell (1922), Williamson (1932), and Chibber (1934).

These authors concluded that the age of burmite was Eocene or about the same age as Baltic amber. This interpretation was based on a single

observation of limestone debris dug from one of the amber pits. Chibber (1934) contains the most detailed report of the amber mines in the

Hukawng Valley during this period.

During the Second World War there was much fighting in the Hukwang

Valley between the advancing allies and the Japanese Army culminating in the fierce battle for Myitkyina the capital of Kachin State in 1944. The war

also saw the construction of the Ledo Road through the Hukwang Valley from Ledo in India to Mytiknina to Lashio where it connected up with the

Burma Road to China . This road provided a back door to supply China with desperately needed war material.

Since independence, Burma has been racked by internal insurgencies

including fighting between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the government. It was not until the

1990’s that a peace treaty was signed and limited access to the amber mine was possible. In 1989, the county was renamed Myanmar ,

which was the original Burmese name of the country.

Since the beginning of the Second World War until recently there was been

a sixty year hiatus in production. Dr. David Grimaldi comments in his book on amber published in 1996, “Today, burmite has almost legendary

appeal, in part because the deposits are no longer mined and the supply is generally not available.―

Leeward Capital Corp., a Canadian Mining company began exploration in

1996 in northern Kachin State for gold and platinum. With the collapse of the junior mining market due to the Bre-X Scandal in Indonesia and the

drop in the gold price, this exploration ceased due to the lack of funding. In 1999, Leeward began to evaluate the possibility of reopening the amber

mines in the Hukwang Valley. Limited production was achieved in 2000, and is currently about 500 kg per year.

The initial 100 kg gathered in the first two years was sent to Dr. Grimaldi at the American Museum of Natural History in New York for scientific study. In

2000, Zherikjin and Ross of the Natural History Museum , London published a scientific paper on burmite in which they determined a Cretaceous age for

burmite. Grimaldi et al (2002) published a scientific paper confirming the age of burmite as Cretaceous.

Also in 2002, Cruichshank and U Ko Ko published a description of the amber mines in the Hukwang Valley giving the amber a an Albian or uppermost

Lower Cretaceous age. This dates burmite as at between 100,000,000 and 110,000,000 years old. Burmite is thus the oldest locality from which

commercial deposits of amber can be mined. Leeward remains the sole exporter of this rare and precious amber.

Since scientific study of burmite began, there have been numerous scientific

papers on the unique biota found in burmite. This book illustrates the

diversity of animal and plant life preserved in this ancient amber.

Myanmar (formerly called Burma): burmite, has been used by Chinese craftsmen as early as the Han dynasty (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.) and rarely reaches any market outside of China. Burmite contains 2% succinic acid, less than Baltic amber, but still considered a succinite. See The London Natural History Museum's Geology Bulletin (page down), Volume 56(1), June 2000, for an issue devoted to articles on Burmeses amber, such as A Review of the History, Geology and Age of Burmese Amber (Burmite) by Zherikhin and Ross, among other interesting articles. Also, visit http://home.fuse.net/paleopark/amber3.htm, Burmite, Burmese Cretaceous Amber, by Ron Buckley.

https://www.facebook.com/MYOAUNGBANGKOK/posts/1074433019321856?pnref=story

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38224564 'Beautiful' dinosaur tail found preserved in amber The tail of a feathered dinosaur has been found perfectly preserved in amber from Myanmar-The feathered tail was preserved in amber from north-eastern Myanmar

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-09/99-million-year-old-amber-fossil-holds-dinosaur-bones-feathers/8092526

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AmberGiant piece of Amber found recently in northern Burma-

Giant piece of Amber found recently in northern

Burma

Geology of an amber locality in the Hukawng Valley, Northern Myanmar

R.D. Cruickshanka,*, Ko Kob

aLeeward Tiger Limited, #34, 101 Street, MTNT, Yangon, Burmab8(A) Mya Thiri Lane, A1 Compound, 8 1/2 Mile, Pyay Road, Yangon, Burma

Received 16 November 2001; revised 19 April 2002; accepted 23 April 2002

Abstract

Amber (‘Burmite’) from the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar has been known since at least the 1st century AD. It is currently being produced

from a hill known as Noije Bum, which was first documented as a source of amber in 1836.

Several geologists visited the locality between 1892 and 1930. All of them believed that the host rocks to the amber are Tertiary (most said

Eocene) in age, and this conclusion has been widely quoted in the literature. However, recent work indicates a Cretaceous age. Insect

inclusions in amber are considered to be Turonian–Cenomanian, and a specimen of the ammonite Mortoniceras (of Middle-Upper Albian

age) was discovered during the authors’ visit. Palynomorphs in samples collected by the authors suggest that the amber-bearing horizon is

Upper Albian to Lower Cenomanian. The preponderance of the evidence suggests that both rocks and amber are most probably Upper

Albian. This determination is significant for the study of insect evolution, indicating that the oldest known definitive ants have been identified

in this amber [American Museum Novitates 3361 (2002) 72].

This site occurs within the Hukawng Basin, which is comprised of folded sedimentary (^volcanic) rocks of Cretaceous and Cenozoic age.

The mine exposes a variety of clastic sedimentary rocks, with thin limestone beds, and abundant carbonaceous material. The sediments were

deposited in a nearshore marine environment, such as a bay or estuary.

Amber is found in a fine clastic facies, principally as disk shaped clasts, oriented parallel to bedding. A minority occurs as runnels

(stalactite shaped), with concentric layering caused by recurring flows of resin.

An Upper Albian age is similar to that of Orbitolina limestones known from a number of locations in northern Myanmar. One of these, at

Nam Sakhaw, 90 km SW of Noije Bum, has also been a source of amber.

q 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Keywords: Hukawng valley; Southwest of Maingkwan; Lalawng village

1. Introduction

Amber (Burmite) from the Hukawng Valley of

northern Myanmar appears in most inventories of world

amber deposits, but there are few firsthand descriptions

of the production locality. There has been a recent

resurgence of interest, with papers by Tin (1999),

Zherikhin and Ross (2000), Levinson (2001) and

Grimaldi et al. (2002). However, none of these authors

visited the site in person, and the most recent account of

a field visit is by Chhibber (1934). Zherikhin and Ross

(2000) note an important geological problem, in that

earlier field geologists ascribed an Eocene age to the host

sediments, while insect inclusions in amber appear to be

Cretaceous.

The authors of this work spent two days (April 29 and

30, 2001) inspecting the current mining area. The

objectives were to verify the source of the amber, and

to obtain information on the geology and age of the host

rocks.

The Hukawng Valley is situated in Kachin State,

northern Myanmar (Fig. 1). The principal town is Tanai,

situated on the ‘Ledo Road’ (constructed during World War

II). The valley is a flat alluvial plain measuring about 80 km

north–south by 50 km east–west, surrounded on all sides

by hills. The amber mine occurs on the shoulder of a hill

known as Noije Bum (‘Banyan Mountain’ in the Jingpaw

language), about 20 km southwest of Tanai (Fig. 2). This is

the first hill to rise above the plain in that direction, having a

relief of about 250 m.

1367-9120/03/$ - see front matter q 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

PII: S1 36 7 -9 12 0 (0 2) 00 0 44 -5

Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455

www.elsevier.com/locate/jseaes

* Corresponding author. Address: c/o J.W. Davis, Leeward Capital

Corporation, #4, 1922-9 Ave. SE, Calgary, Alta., Canada T2G 0V2. Tel.:

þ1-95-1-200109; fax: þ1-95-1-252478.

E-mail address: president@leewardcapital.com (R.D. Cruickshank),

sofitelplaza.ygn@mptmail.net.mm (R.D. Cruickshank).

2. History of amber mining in the Hukawng Valley

2.1. History prior to 1995

A detailed history is beyond the scope of this paper, and

the reader is referred to Zherikhin and Ross (2000) for an

excellent account. The following summary is taken partly

from their work. For studies of the fossil inclusions in this

amber, prior to 2000, see Ross and York (2000).

Ancient Chinese sources indicate that the Hukawng

Valley of northern Myanmar has been a source of amber

since at least the 1st century AD (Laufer, 1906, summarised

by Fraquet (1987)). The first European to visit the amber

localities in the Hukawng Valley was Capt. Hannay in 1836,

who returned accompanied by Griffith, in 1837. Griffith

described the location as a range of low hills, southwest of

Meinkhoon (probably Maingkwan, Fig. 2). The site they

describe is most probably the hill now known as Noije Bum.

Dr Noetling of the Geological Survey of India was the

first geologist to visit the area (in 1891–1892, Noetling,

1893). Some of his samples were examined by Otto Helm,

who considered the amber to be a new mineral species,

which he named ‘Burmite’. Noetling considered the host

rocks to be Miocene in age, because of lithological

Fig. 1. Location of the Hukawng valley. The traditional physiographic/geologic divisions of Myanmar, and the Sagaing transcurrent fault with its splays, are

also shown (see text for descriptions).

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455442

similarities with known Miocene formations (during this

excursion he found a loose pebble containing an ammonite,

but perhaps elsewhere in the Hukawng Valley). He

described the amber location as a low hill range, southwest

of Maingkwan (and therefore likely in the vicinity of the

current mine). He was told that the principal mining area

was at the south end of the range near Lalawng village (Fig.

2), but he did not go there.

Stuart (1923) was the first to propose an Eocene age for

the amber-bearing sediments. On the eastern flank of the

Noije Bum hill range, he observed pits dug for flint in a thin

limestone layer. In the spoil piles he found a single piece of

limestone containing ‘numerous specimens of Nummulites

biarritzensis’, which he recognised as being Eocene in age.

His map and description show that amber was not known

from that location, but rather from blue clay ‘on the western

portion of the hills’. He concluded that the amber-bearing

horizon underlies the Nummulites beds, but nonetheless

forms part of an Eocene succession.

The best known description of the Hukawng Valley

amber mines is that of Chhibber (1934), based on an

inspection he made in 1930. He listed twelve production

sites, ten of which were near the northern end of Noije

Bum, with two others about 8 km to the west. Khanjamaw

(Fig. 2), the principal mining site at that time, is now

overgrown with jungle. The Noijemaw site was ‘west of

Noije Bum’ and may be near the current mine. He

reported that amber was produced from wells about one

metre square, and up to 15 m deep, noting that amber from

shallower levels was of inferior quality. These diggings

and nearby stream sections exposed a sequence of

carbonaceous sandstones and shales, with minor limestone

and conglomerate beds. Amber was associated with very

thin coal seams. Chhibber (1934) found Nummulites

fossils in situ in a stream exposure (perhaps on the east

flank of Noije Bum?), so concurred with the Eocene age

proposed by Stuart (1923). However he apparently did not

observe amber at that location.

Fig. 2. Localities in the Hukawng Valley. Comparison with old reports indicates that the Noije Bum hill range has been the source of Hukawng Valley amber

for at least the past 165 years (see text for discussion).

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455 443

Sahni and Sastri (1957) describe Orbitolina they found in

samples collected by Stuart, from ‘Amber mines 268150N,

968250E’ (after Stuart (1923)). Examination of Stuart (1923)

shows that the longitude is an error resulting from the

inaccuracy of his map, and the rocks must have been

collected from somewhere on the Noije Bum range. Sahni

and Sastri (1957) concluded that these orbitolines were a

previously undescribed species, which they named Orbito-

lina hukawngensis, and assigned ‘a Cenomanian, and, in any

case not older than Aptian’ age. They credit Eames as being

the first to describe Orbitolina from the area, but he believed

that they were contained in derived clasts within Eocene

sediments. In contrast, Sahni and Sastri (1957) concluded

that a Cretaceous sequence with orbitolines occurs below

the Tertiary rocks of the Hukawng Valley. Despite this,

subsequent authors continued to accept the Eocene age of

Chhibber (1934), and to overlook the possibility that the

rocks may be Cretaceous.

Zherikhin and Ross (2000) summarise studies of

Myanmar amber from the collection of the British Natural

History Museum. They note the identification of ‘five insect

families or subfamilies that are not known later than

Cretaceous elsewhere’, although they do not rule out the

possibility that the amber could be Tertiary. They suggest

that if the sediments are Eocene, then Cretaceous amber was

recycled and redeposited in them. As evidence, they note the

occurrence of rounded pits on the surface of some amber

pieces, which may have resulted from impacts during

transport.

The Geological Survey of India reported amber pro-

duction for the years 1898 through to 1940. Average annual

production was about 1900 kg, with a maximum of nearly

11,000 kg in 1906. Recorded production stopped about

1941. The thriving trade in amber, and the manufacturing of

jewellery have by now entirely disappeared, and the skills

have been lost. The village of Maingkwan, reported to be a

centre of the amber trade by Chhibber (1934), was

abandoned in 1967 when most of its population moved to

the new town of Tanai.

Another amber locality in northern Myanmar is of

interest. Ngaw (1964) reported that amber was produced

between 1948 and 1961, from a site near the Nam Sakhaw

stream, 90 km southwest of Noije Bum (Fig. 3). This

occurrence was also known in colonial times, as the notation

‘amber mines’ appears on the old 83-O topographic map.

The amber is hosted by Cretaceous carbonaceous lime-

stones, bearing Orbitolina; suggesting a similar age to Noije

Bum (refer to Section 5).

2.2. History since 1995

The authors feel obliged to correct errors in two recently

published works.

Tin (1999) describes the history, mining methods,

geology, and other factors relating to Hukawng Valley

amber. His descriptions are based largely on Chhibber

(1934), and are outdated. For example, he states that ‘from

the latter half of February, the local people who have then

gathered in their harvest, flock to the amber mines in great

numbers’; this line is from Chhibber (1934), and is no

longer correct. In reality, the mining company has been

granted exclusive rights to the area by the Ministry of

Mines, and no one else is working there. Tin (1999)

accepted an Eocene age for these deposits.

In their otherwise excellent review, Zherikhin and Ross

(2000), incorrectly state that access to this area is difficult as

it ‘remains controlled rather by the local clans and

insurrectionsts than by the central government in Rangoon’.

However, a peace agreement between the Myanmar

government and the Kachin Independence Organisation

(K.I.O.) came into effect in 1993. As a result, the national

government now controls the region, in cooperation with the

K.I.O.

Subsequent to the 1993 peace agreement, mining

operations were undertaken in the period 1995–1997.

This enterprise failed because the producers were unable

to locate reliable markets.

In August 1999, the authors met some of the former

miners, and purchased a small quantity of amber, which was

sent to Davis in Canada. He noted the occurrence of

microscopic insects within it, and forwarded the material to

Dr Grimaldi in New York. Another local company

recommenced mining in 2000, after which more amber

was obtained and sent to Dr Grimaldi. In these two batches

of amber, he and his co-workers have found hundreds of

insect inclusions, and propose that they are Turonian–

Cenomanian (Grimaldi et al., 2002).

Levinson (2001) briefly reports on the renewed com-

mercial availability of Myanmar amber.

3. Regional geology

3.1. Synopsis of the geology of Myanmar

Myanmar can be divided into four north–south trending

physiographic regions, which have traditionally been

utilised for geological description as well. However there

is no consensus on standard names for these belts. The

following summary (based on Bender (1983)) employs the

nomenclature shown on Fig. 1:

1. The Rakhine Coastal Plain is underlain by deformed Late

Tertiary molasse sediments overlying Eocene to mid

Miocene flyschoid rocks, with local mafic to intermedi-

ate dykes and plugs.

2. The Western Ranges consist principally of early Tertiary

flysch, deformed into imbricate thrust zones. The eastern

margin of the ranges is underlain by Triassic turbidities,

Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary rocks, meta-

morphic rocks, and ultramafic rocks (dismembered

ophiolites).

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455444

3. The Central Province comprises a series of Cenozoic

sedimentary basins, and intervening uplift areas. Sedi-

mentary fill of Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene–

Quaternary clastic rocks is underlain by Cretaceous,

and probably also older units. Basinal rocks are folded

and faulted. Uplift areas consist of older sediments and

crystalline rocks. The belt is bisected longitudinally by a

discontinuous line of Mesozoic and Cenozoic igneous

rocks (in part, the ‘Inner Volcanic Arc’).

4. The Eastern Province is underlain by sedimentary rocks

representing a broad interval of geological time, from

at least latest Proterozoic, through much of the

Phanerozoic. Metamorphic, volcanic, and intrusive

lithologies also appear, especially along the western

margin (the Mogok Belt).

Mitchell et al. (2000) consider that Myanmar consists of

three geological provinces: (1) ‘a Western Province of mica

schists and overlying predominantly oceanic rocks’ (the

Rakhine Coastal Plain, Western Ranges, and Central

Province); (2) the Mogok metamorphic belt, of marble,

gneiss, and granitoids (the western margin of the Eastern

Province); and (3) the Phanerozoic ‘Shan–Thai’ block to

the east (bulk of the Eastern Province) (Fig. 3). They

Fig. 3. Cretaceous geology of northern Myanmar. Other units and localities mentioned in the text are also shown. Based on Bender (1983), Mitchell (1993) and

ESCAP (1996), and other sources.

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455 445

postulate two separate orogenies during the Mesozoic: (1)

collision of a western, continental, block with an island arc

to the east in early Jurassic; and (2) collision of the resulting

complex with the Shan–Thai continent in mid-Cretaceous.

After the mid-Cretaceous orogeny, eastward subduction

of oceanic crust continued (Mitchell et al., 2000). The

Cenozoic sedimentary sub-basins of the Central Province

were filled and deformed. The current geological setting of

Myanmar reflects right-lateral displacement on the Sagaing

Fault and its splays in northern Myanmar (Figs. 1 and 3).

Total displacement on the fault since early Miocene has been

estimated by various workers to be from more than 300 to

460 km, with a total northward movement on the west side

of perhaps 1100 km since late Cretaceous (Mitchell, 1993).

Myanmar currently consists of the Asia plate to the east

of the Sagaing Fault, and the Burma plate to the west. The

Indian plate is colliding with Asia to the north, and

subducting beneath the Burma plate to the east (Mitchell,

1993). Northward translation of the Burma plate is

continuing, as evidenced by recurrent seismicity on the

Sagaing Fault (Win, 1981).

3.2. Cretaceous geology of northern Myanmar

Sedimentary rocks that host the Hukawng Valley amber

are now considered to be Cretaceous (refer to Section 5).

Therefore the Cretaceous geology of northern Myanmar

will be briefly reviewed in more detail, and shown on Fig. 3.

In general, Cretaceous marine sedimentary rocks become

progressively younger from east to west, although overlaps

occur. A skirt of Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks

occurs along the western margin of the Eastern Province;

including the Tithonian to Aptian Pyinyaung Buda Beds of

Mitchell et al. (2000), and the Pan Laung Formation

(described as Necomian by Chit (2000); and mid Jurassic to

mid Cretaceous by Myint (2000)). Further west, Albian and/

or Cenomanian limestones, bearing several species of

Orbitolina, occur in the Central Province, and the eastern

part of the Western Ranges. Upper Cretaceous (Campanian

to Maastrichtian) units are present along the western

boundary of the Central Province, and widely in the eastern

part of the Western Ranges (e.g. Gramann, 1974).

Limestones carrying an Orbitolina fauna have been

reported from various locations in northern Myanmar. They

occur in a belt from south of Bhamo to north of Myitkyina,

in the vicinity of Banmauk, in the jade mines region, in the

upper Chindwin area, and in parts of the Western Ranges

(Fig. 3). Chit (2000) states that the rocks are Albian to

Cenomanian in age. According to Mitchell et al. (2000), the

limestones were deposited in front of nappes resulting from

an Aptian-mid Cretaceous orogeny.

Clegg (1941) described Orbitolina limestones from the

defiles of the Ayeyawady (north and west of Bhamo, Fig. 3).

He notes the occurrence of calcareous grits, sandstones, and

shales; and of limestones bearing both foraminifera and

large ‘molluscs’ (probably gastropods). The occurrence of a

northern continuation near the Ayeyawady confluence at

Myitson has been confirmed by the present authors. Chit

(2000) concludes that limestones from this belt (Taungbwet

Taung Formation) represent a shallow lagoonal facies, and

are Albian to Cenomanian in age. These units are associated

with chert, basalt, and slate, tightly folded, and appear to

overlie ophiolitic ultramafic rocks. Clegg (1941) considered

that ‘in every locality where Cretaceous sediments are

exposed, peridotites, or serpentines their alteration product,

are invariably found whilst dolerites and various pyroclastic

rocks also occur’.

Discussing similar Orbitolina-bearing limestones near

Banmauk (Fig. 3), Chit (2000) concludes that there was an

abrupt change from lagoonal to shallow marine facies in

Cenomanian time.

Occurrences of Cretaceous limestones also occur in the

jade mines region and near Mt. Loi Mye (45 km south of

Noije Bum, Fig. 3). The northernmost portion of the large

ultramafic ophiolite body of the jade mines area, and a body

of gabbro, occur there (Chhibber, 1934), and volcanic rocks

are also present.

The amber and Orbitolina-bearing limestones at Nam

Sakhaw lie on the western margin of this district, where

Clegg (1941) observed associated calcareous sandstone,

shale, and volcanic rocks. As at the Ayeyawady defiles, the

carbonate units there are conspicuous: he recalled that the

sheer cliff of Hpalamung Bum, 275 m high, ‘when seen

looming through the early morning mist from the low

ground to the south is a most impressive sight’.

Jadeite-bearing ultramafic rocks occur in western Kachin

State. A longer belt of ultramafites is exposed along the

Ayeyawady River to the east (Fig. 3), and they also

characterise the eastern margin of the Western Ranges.

These are usually interpreted as dismembered ophiolites,

although a complete ophiolite succession has not been

described. Mitchell et al. (2000) state that they were

emplaced as nappes during a lower Jurassic orogeny. Maung

(2000) believes that the jade mines bodies are Cretaceous,

while those in the Western Ranges are Triassic. In contrast,

Hla (2000) believes that Western Ranges ophiolites were

emplaced as late as the Cretaceous, while those in the

Central Province may be Cretaceous to Eocene. Therefore a

consensus on the age of these units has not been achieved.

The majority of the granitoid bodies indicated on Fig. 3

are described by Mitchell (1993) as being Late Cretaceous

to early Eocene. More recently, Barley et al. (2000) reported

ages of 120–80 Ma for I type granitoids in the Mogok Belt

and Western Myanmar. They recognise an up to 200 km

wide mid Cretaceous magmatic belt that extended along the

entire continental margin from Tibet to Sumatra.

The Cretaceous sedimentary rocks described above were

deposited prior to right-lateral displacements on the Sagaing

Fault and its splays. If restored to their original position,

they would form a narrower zone than at present, arrayed

along the former continental margin (western edge of the

Eastern Province). Maung (2000) concludes that the mid

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455446

Cretaceous sediments were laid down between a magmatic

arc to the east, and a trench basin to the west. Sahni and

Sastri (1957) note that a discontinuous belt of Orbitolina

limestones extends from Myanmar, across Tibet, to

Kashmir, northernmost Pakistan, and northern Iran.

3.3. Tectonic setting of the Hukawng Basin

Bender (1983) considers the Hukawng Basin to be one of

the constituent sub-basins of the Central Province (his

‘Inner Burman Tertiary Basin’). He postulates that low

grade metamorphic rocks exposed to the south may

represent basement, and states that aeromagnetic surveys

suggest 5000 m of overlying sediments.

Sedimentary (and lesser volcanic) rocks underlie hills

that surround the central alluvial plain of the Hukawng

Valley, with bedding trends and fold axes parallel to the

basin margins. The map of ESCAP (1996) shows the

Hukawng Valley with areas of Eocene rocks around

the west, north, and east sides, and Miocene rocks on its

southwest and southeast margins. However, the amber-

bearing sediments are Cretaceous, and not Eocene as

previously believed (this paper). In addition to the Noije

Bum area, Chhibber (1934) reported an amber locality on

the eastern margin of the valley, suggesting that a

Cretaceous sequence may occur there as well. The authors

believe that more of the ‘Tertiary’ units may in fact be

Cretaceous. These areas are indicated on Fig. 3.

The interpretation of Bender (1983), Fig. 22) indicates a

NNE-plunging anticline at Noije Bum. He states that

Cenomanian limestone occurs in the crest of this fold and

another to the west, but does not say how he arrived at this

conclusion. He interprets the remaining rocks, including

those that host the amber, to be of early Tertiary age. A large

package of folded rocks occurs to the northwest, west, and

south of the amber locality on his map.

Along the northern margin of the Hukawng Basin, and in

the Western Ranges beyond, fold axes and bedding trends

have turned to an east–west orientation. Studies of

landforms by Mitchell et al. (1978) and Bender (1983),

and the present authors, suggest that the northern boundary

of the basin may be a north vergent thrust fault exposed

along Gedu Hka (river). South of the river there is a

remarkable cuesta-shaped ridge, about 60 km long, with the

scarp face on the north side. The eastern end of this thrust

appears to be connected to a splay of the Sagaing Fault (Fig.

3). Stuart (1923) reported a Cretaceous–Eocene unconfor-

mity where his traverse passed Gedu Hka; he mentions no

fault but his observation of serpentinite bodies below the

contact suggests that one must be present.

Deformation of the Hukawng Basin most probably resulted

from the continuing collision of India with Asia, and its

subduction beneath the Burma plate (initiated in latest Eocene

time). The Himalayan boundary is marked by southwest

vergent thrusts to the northeast of the valley (Fig. 3).

4. Noije bum amber mine

4.1. Mining operation

The site resembles a small open pit mine, with all

excavation by manual methods. A work force of about 60

men was present during the time of the visit. They had

stripped overburden from an area measuring about

120 £ 30 m2 (Figs. 4–6), and were producing amber from

the unweathered rocks thus exposed. The site straddles a

ridge, with the slope on the north side averaging about 138.

Deep shafts, as described by Chhibber (1934), are not

required, probably because on this steeper slope, the

weathered layer is thinner. The current mining method

produces good, easily accessible exposures, and the authors

have probably had a more extensive view of unweathered

bedrock than any of the earlier workers.

4.2. Lithology and sedimentology

A variety of clastic sedimentary rocks, with thin

limestone beds, and abundant coaly and carbonaceous

material, was recognised at the site. Chhibber (1934)

describes the rocks as being blue in colour, but in the

authors’ opinion they are more nearly medium green,

greyish green, or rarely blue–green. Weathered rocks are

mainly tan brown with some shales being reddish. They

have been subdivided into four or five units, as shown on

Fig. 4, and briefly described below:

The fine clastic facies consists of fine or very fine-grained

sandstone (grains usually 0.1 mm or less), with beds of finer

clastics (silt, shale), interbeds of grey micritic limestone a

few centimetres thick, and coal laminations usually about

1–2 mm thick. The coal horizons, although thin, are

laterally persistent, and carbonaceous material is abundant

in this unit. This facies is always thin bedded or laminated,

and even parallel lamination is the predominant internal

sedimentary structure. The unit is usually about 1 m thick.

The amber is associated with this facies.

Limestone beds, about 6–8 cm thick, occur within the

fine clastic facies. This rock is medium grey in colour,

micritic, and typically of massive appearance. It often

contains fine fragments or strands of coalified plant

material. Rounded coarse sand or granule-sized clasts are

sometimes present at the base.

The medium clastic facies consists largely of sandstone,

with grain sizes usually 0.4 mm or less (fine to medium

sand). It often assumes a ‘salt and pepper’ appearance under

the hand lens. As mapped on Fig. 4, it is a somewhat

heterogeneous unit, containing beds of siltstone, shale, and

conglomerate that are too thin to be shown separately. Shale

chips are sometimes observed within the sandstone.

Coalified plant fragments occur on bedding surfaces. The

unit most commonly displays massive bedding or even

parallel lamination, but tabular cross beds were observed

locally. Beds are usually 10 – 80 cm thick. Locally,

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455 447

calcareous concretions are present, consisting of limestone,

chert, and other rocks, armoured by precipitated calcite. Fig.

7 shows an unusually thin-bedded (4–8 cm) sandstone

sequence.

Thin sections of medium sandstone indicate that lithic

clasts predominate, with lesser quantities of feldspar and

quartz. Lithic clasts include chert, andesite, basalt, quartzite,

micritic limestone, and serpentinite, with actinolite schist

noted in one specimen. Plagioclase occurs in 0.25–0.4 mm

grains, and quartz clasts are about 0.2 mm in dimension.

The texture is immature, being poorly sorted, with only

incipient rounding of clasts. The cement is coarsely

crystalline calcite, and the rock effervesces vigorously in

dilute hydrochloric acid. This is a calcareous lithic

sandstone.

A conglomerate horizon was noted in several exposures.

Clast size generally decreases from south to north, ranging

from cobbles near the footpath, to granules near the northern

end of the outcrop. The bed is typically 1–2 m in thickness.

A thin conglomerate bed was also observed in the north-

ernmost pit, and lenses appear in the medium clastic facies

south of the footpath. The conglomerate carries clasts of a

distinctive pale buff, pale grey, or pale green saccharoidal

limestone, carrying traces of pyrite, quite unlike the grey

micrite found in the fine clastic facies. It also carries pebbles

of chert, mudstone, serpentinite, and volcanic rocks, but no

quartz, no plutonic, and few if any metamorphic clasts. In

some examples it is a matrix-rich grit, and in others it is clast

supported. Sorting tends to be poor, but the clasts are

rounded. The authors observed numerous small broken

bivalve shells and a gastropod in this bed.

Rocks of the ‘channel facies’ occur in the southwest

corner of the area, demonstrating distinctive sedimentary

structures. Beds, about 75–125 cm thick, noticeably fine

upwards. Coarser portions of the beds are either massive

bedded or display tabular cross beds, and finer ones are

laminated. Trough cross bedding was also noted. Lenticular

beds occur as medium sand lenses within much finer

material. Channel scours are common, with layering in

underlying beds decisively truncated. These sediments are

also carbonaceous, and coaly plant fragments on bedding

surfaces are ubiquitous.

4.3. Amber

Amber is found within a narrow horizon in the fine

clastic facies. However, of two such beds shown on Fig. 4,

only one produced amber.

Fig. 4. Geology map of the Noije Bum amber mine, as it appeared on April 29–30, 2001. See text for descriptions.

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455448

Most amber occurs as discoid clasts, with a wide range in

sizes. These are thickest in the centre, tapering to rounded

edges. The diameter to thickness ratio of the disks is usually

in the range 2.4:1–3.0:1, with rarer flat examples up to 5:1.

Sizes range from small chips a few millimetres in

dimension, to others several centimetres in diameter. They

are not perfectly symmetrical, and irregularities are usually

present. Pitted surfaces, as described by Zherikhin and Ross

(2000) are not ubiquitous. The disks are oriented parallel to

bedding (Fig. 8).

A minor proportion of the amber occurs as runnels,

resembling small stalactites, with round cross-sections,

perhaps 1 cm in diameter, but sometimes larger. These often

show concentric layering, probably resulting from repeated

flows of resin. The shape of these ambers appears not to

have been modified by transportation, except that they were

broken into shorter lengths. Fossil insects are more common

in runnels than in disk-shaped amber clasts. Ross (1998)

explains the origin of this phenomenon: “The resin is

exuded as blobs or stalactites, which drip and flow down the

trunk of the tree. Often, as it exudes, insects become trapped

and engulfed in the sticky material. The resin eventually

falls to the ground and… fossilises into amber.”

The amber is typically reddish brown in colour, with

various shades of yellow, orange, and red also occurring.

These colours range from pale to dark, and it can vary

from perfectly transparent, through translucent, to

opaque. Inclusions of organic matter (vegetation), are

common, but not always present. Insect fossils, which are

mostly microscopic, occur at about 46 per kilogram of

the current product (Grimaldi et al., 2000).

Thin white calcite veinlets, usually 1 mm or less, but up

to 4 or 5 mm in width, are commonly observed in the amber.

Their density varies considerably, with some examples

being nearly free of them, and others packed with veinlets.

They are a major factor in determining gem quality, and

many pieces are ruined by their presence.

Among the amber produced by the miners is one example

which has a bivalve shell embedded in its surface. The valve

measures 18 mm long, and 13 mm wide. It is oriented with

the convex side embedded to its full height of 6 mm in a

piece of amber that is 50 mm in maximum dimension. The

concave side of the shell faces away from the amber and

carries sandstone matrix. It appears to have been embedded

in the amber while the latter was in a plastic condition.

Fig. 5. A view of the open pit. Miners in the foreground are excavating the

amber seam (dark coloured rock). See Fig. 4 for location.

Fig. 6. Test shaft. The dark coloured rocks at bottom are the amber horizon.

Location shown on Fig. 4.

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455 449

4.4. Structural geology

Rocks at this site are oriented right way up, as evidenced

by channel scours, graded beds, and cross beds.

North of the ridge crest, bedding attitudes are quite

uniform, with NNE strikes, and dips of 50–708 to the E or

SE (Fig. 4). South of the crest, the strikes turn to the SSE or

SE, and dips flatten to the 35–608 range. This suggests that

the site is on the northwest limb of a northeast-plunging

syncline. Chhibber (1934) reported that rocks in this region

exhibit ‘tightly compressed anticlinal and synclinal folds’.

The relationship of this fold to the large anticline at Noije

Bum, interpreted by Bender (1983), was not determined.

A minor fault was noted in the central part of the site

(Fig. 4). It has a conspicuous gouge zone, but apparently

no great displacement. Its attitude is 1688/608 NE.

Bedding has been contorted where it intersects the fine

clastic unit. The other fine clastic bed (near point ‘A’,

Fig. 4) also exhibits contorted bedding and slickensides.

Thin calcite veins occur not only in amber, but also

within the sedimentary host rocks. Joints and fractures

hosting the veins would have opened after consolidation of

the rocks, in response to deformational or lithostatic

stresses. Perhaps the brittle nature of the amber was

responsible for a greater density of fractures.

4.5. Paleontology

Several macrofossils were located by the workmen in the

course of mining, and others were recovered during this

Fig. 7. A view of the thin bedded nature, and dip of the rocks. Located on Fig. 4.

Fig. 8. Amber in matrix, within the fine-grained, laminated facies. The largest amber disk, indicated by the pencil, measures 27 £ 10 mm. Two smaller pieces

appear to the right. Note the oval cross-sections of the discoid amber clasts, and their orientation parallel to the lamination. Collected from the pit shown

in Fig. 6.

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455450

visit. These include one ammonite, five gastropods, and

numerous fragments of bivalve shells.

While the authors were inspecting the site, miners

working nearby discovered an ammonite fossil. They

immediately brought it to the authors, and were able to

indicate the exact location in which it was found. It was

collected from a massive sandstone bed, about 2 m

stratigraphically above the amber layer (Fig. 4). This is

close to the minor fault, but both the amber and the fossil are

in the footwall. It appears not to have been recycled from

older sediments because it is not abraded or rounded, and it

was found in sandstone rather than conglomerate. It is

identified as Mortoniceras (Dr Win Swe, pers. commmun.

2001). Wright et al. (1996) state that this ammonite genus is

restricted to Middle Albian–Upper Albian.

Prior to the field visit, the workmen found four

gastropods. These have extremely high conical shapes,

and are quite large, being 50–70 mm or more in height (the

largest was broken) and up to 38 mm in diameter at the base.

They have not been positively identified, but are possibly

Nerineid gastropods, which have been reported from rocks

of similar age elsewhere in Myanmar (e.g. Bender, 1983, p.

88). The authors discovered another gastropod shell

(possibly a different species) in the conglomerate bed

(Fig. 4).

Broken shell fragments of small bivalves occur in the

conglomerate. These are white, calcareous, with a pearly

lustre, and some are striated. The largest measures 18 mm in

maximum dimension, but most are 10 mm or less. They

have not been further identified.

Several samples were submitted to Dr Davies for

palynological study (Davies, 2001a,b). These included

three sample sets: (1) two pieces of amber; (2) four samples

of sediment found associated with (adhering to) pieces of

amber; and (3) five chip samples of the host sediments.

Sample sets (1) and (2) were selected from material

purchased from the miners. They yielded only ‘impover-

ished assemblages’, and were not definitive. One sample of

associated sediment (set 2) was found to contain several

Late Campanian palynomorphs, but Davies (2001b) con-

siders that this material probably results from

contamination.

The third palynology sample set consisted of chip

samples of host rock, collected by the authors from the

amber horizon (located on Fig. 4). The objective was to

determine the age of the sediments in which the amber

occurs. This set yielded variable results with ‘low to good

palynomorph recovery’. Davies (2001b) identified micro-

fossils derived from dinoflagellates, algae, angiosperms,

gymnosperms, pteridophytes, and bryophytes. The most

common palynomorphs were Araucariacites australis (65

examples), Sequoiapollenites sp.(48), Taxodiaceaepolle-

nites hiatus (12), and Clavatipollenites rotundus (11). On

the basis of assemblages including Spinidinium sp.,

Liliacidites kaitangataensis, Liliacidites dividuus, Crybe-

losporites striatus, Crybelosporites punctatus, Corollina

spp., Collarisporites sp., C. rotundus, Cupuliferoidaepol-

lenties parvulus, Parvisaccites rugosus, Eucommiidites

minor, Pustulipollis sp., Palmaepollenites sp., Scupisporis

sp., and Phimopollenites augathellaensis, Davies (2001b)

considered a late Albian to early Cenomanian age to be most

likely. He further states that “These assemblages are similar

to those described from the Albian of the district south of the

Songhua River, China, described by Yu (1983)”. At that

location, ‘The overlying sediments of the Cenomanian and

Turonian are marked by an increase of more advanced

angiosperm pollen, which are not present in the Burmite

samples’. Davies (2001b) concludes that the assemblages

found in the five samples of set (3) ‘indicate that the age of

the amber is most likely late Albian to early Cenomanian’.

As noted above, fossil inclusions of insects also occur in

amber from Noije Bum. Although both Cretaceous and

Eocene foraminifera have been reported from the vicinity,

only ‘foraminiferal liners’ identified by Davies (2001b)

have been recognised during this study.

5. Discussion

5.1. Correspondence to sites visited by Chhibber (1934)

The lithologies described by Chhibber (1934) correspond

very well to rocks observed in this study, and his

Khanjamaw locality is only 1.5 km distant. He also

mentioned amber at a location called Noijemaw, located

‘west of Noije Bum’ which could be the same site as the

current mine. It is probable that the same stratigraphic unit

occurs at all these locations.

5.2. Age of the amber and its host rocks

The conclusion of Chhibber (1934), that the amber

bearing rocks of the Hukawng Valley are of Eocene age, has

been widely quoted. Examples from the geological

literature include Ngaw (1964), Bender (1983), ESCAP

(1996) and Tin (1999). Zherikhin and Ross (2000) accept an

Eocene age for the sediments, while considering the amber

to be Cretaceous. The Eocene age is also reported in general

treatises on amber, such as Rice (1980) and Fraquet (1987).

However, recent data indicate that both rocks and amber are

Cretaceous, probably Upper Albian.

There is no doubt that the amber is Cretaceous. Zherikhin

and Ross (2000) report that insects in amber collected from

the Hukawng Valley are most probably from that period.

Grimaldi et al. (2002), after much detailed study, consider

that they are Turonian–Cenomanian. In subsequent corre-

spondence, Grimaldi states that the age could possibly be as

old as Upper Albian (pers. commun., 2002).

The age of the host sediments requires further consider-

ation. If the amber is Cretaceous, there must have been an

emergent landmass of that age, which would have shed

sediments into adjacent seas. However the amber could also

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455 451

have been recycled into younger sediments. Stuart (1923)

and Chhibber (1934) reported rocks carrying the Eocene

foraminifer Nummulites, although not in direct association

with amber. Sahni and Sastri (1957) showed that limestones

bearing Orbitolina, of probable Cenomanian age, occur in

the area, but their relationship to the amber horizon is

unclear. The question of whether the amber horizon belongs

to an Eocene or to a Cretaceous succession was answered by

the discovery of an ammonite specimen during the authors’

visit. The ammonite Mortoniceras indicates Middle

Albian–Upper Albian (Wright et al., 1996). This age is

supported by Davies (2001b) who concluded that palyno-

morph assemblages, in samples collected by the authors, are

Upper Albian to Lower Cenomanian.

In the Western Ranges and Rakhine Coastal Plain of

Myanmar, Tertiary flyschoid sediments carry exotic blocks

of Cretaceous limestone (olistoliths). Of marine Cretaceous

fossils reported from these two provinces, Gramann (1974)

remarks that ‘many if not all have been derived from exotic

blocks’ (however he located bona fide Cretaceous succes-

sions in the eastern part of the Western Ranges). Bender

(1983) also describes this phenomenon. To the authors’

knowledge, exotic Cretaceous fossils or olistoliths have not

been reported from the Tertiary basins of the Central

Province, including the Hukawng Basin. In any case, this is

not likely to be true of Noije Bum, as all of the above results

(ammonite, palynology, and insect fossils) indicate a

generally mid-Cretaceous age. The ammonite did not

appear to be abraded, and palynology provides particularly

compelling evidence. The most reliable set of palynology

samples (set 3) was collected by the authors specifically for

this purpose, and provided a consistent set of results.

The proposed age of the amber itself, based on insect

inclusions, is slightly younger than that of the host rocks, as

determined by the ammonite and palynology. This is clearly

impossible, as while the amber could be older (through

recycling), it cannot be younger. The preponderance of the

evidence suggests that both rocks and amber are most

probably Upper Albian.

This period, the uppermost Lower Cretaceous, and the

lowermost Upper Cretaceous, has great significance for the

evolution of both plants and insects. It saw the radiation of

angiosperms, and the origins and development of insect

pollination. Insects that engage in pollination first appeared

at this time. Grimaldi (pers. commun., 2002) writes that

“The rare ants found in this amber would be the oldest

definitive fossils known of this extremely important group.

Prior to this, the oldest known were Turonian, also in

amber”. The Turonian amber occurrences are in New

Jersey, USA, described by Grimaldi et al. (2000).

It appears that neither M. Stuart nor H.L. Chhibber was

familiar with Orbitolina. Stuart failed to identify it in

specimens he collected from the amber mines (Sahni and

Sastri, 1957). Chhibber (1934) did not report it from

limestones of the jade mines region, which he mistakenly

considered to be Paleozoic; Clegg (1941) noted that

Orbitolina is commonly present in those exposures. Stuart

(1923) and Chhibber (1934) were both positive in their

identifications of Nummulites, so it may be assumed that

they were correct on that count. However had either

encountered Orbitolina beds, he would not have recognised

the fossil, nor appreciated its Cretaceous age.

It is likely that a Cretaceous–Eocene unconformity

occurs in the vicinity. Assuming that the identifications of

Nummulites by Stuart (1923) and Chhibber (1934) are

correct, it might be found on the eastern flank of the Noije

Bum hill range. Recognition of Cretaceous rocks has been

hampered by poor bedrock exposure, a paucity of

ammonites in the sequence, the unfamiliarity of early

workers with Orbitolina, and a belief that any Cretaceous

fossils must be derived and recycled. In retrospect, it is clear

that more significance should have been attached to the

ammonite found by Noetling in 1891–1892.

5.3. Depositional environment

The ammonite and some of the microfossils indicate a

marine setting. The depositional area must have been

nearshore, because of the abundance of amber, coalified

plant fragments, and common coal laminations in the fine

clastic facies. Davies (2001b) states that the dinoflagellates

he identified (Alterbidinium minor, Cleistosphaeridium sp.,

Spinidinium sp., Cribroperidinium sp. operculum, Sentusi-

dinium spp., Palaeohystrichophora isodiametrica cf., Silici-

sphaera ferox, Tehamidinium sp.) are typical of inner neritic

to littoral environments. A marine environment is also

indicated by his recognition of organic-walled foraminiferal

liners and zynemataceous algae. Coal seams thicker than a

few millimetres, and large portions of trees, etc. were not

observed in the field, suggesting that the fossil vegetation

was transported a certain distance from its place of origin.

A regional study of the sedimentology and stratigraphy

has not been made, and it is difficult to draw conclusions

from only one exposure. Deltaic environments should

include non-marine sediments, and rooted plant fossils,

which were not recognised at Noije Bum, and the

conglomerate bed is not typical of deltas (Miall, 1979). A

barrier island environment appears to be excluded as these

generally consist of clean sands (Reinson, 1979). Several

characteristics of a lagoonal environment, as elucidated by

Reinson (1979) were observed. These include the presence

of interbedded sandstone, siltstone, shale, and thin coal

facies; and sand bodies that can be interpreted as washover

sheet deposits, and channel fill deposits. However, the

occurrence of conglomerate does not fit his lagoonal model.

A nearshore marine setting (bay, lagoon, or estuary),

proximal to a river outlet, may be the best explanation. Such

an environment is described by Clifton (1983), from a study

of the estuary at Willapa Bay, Washington. The estuarine

deposits there include ‘a complicated array of sand, mud,

and gravel‘, including lag deposits consisting of shells,

wood fragments, pebbles, and mud clasts. He lists several

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455452

criteria that may be employed to distinguish among subtidal,

intratidal, and supratidal deposits. When applied to Noije

Bum, these suggest a subtidal deposit as (1) there are

widespread lag deposits; (2) there are laterally extensive

beds of shale interbedded with fine-grained sand; (3) fossil

root systems were not observed; and (4) mud cracks were

not observed.

Based on a paleogeographic map, Zherikhin and Ross

(2000) postulated that the Noije Bum vicinity was 350 km

from the nearest land during the Cenomanian (slightly later

than the Upper Albian age proposed for the amber horizon).

Their conclusion is contradicted by the identification of a

nearshore environment in this study. Whether the adjacent

landmass was the Asian mainland or an island has not been

determined.

Terrigenous pollen derives from a forest of A. australis

(related to the Norfolk pine), Sequoiapollenites (similar to

Sequoia ), and several angiosperm species, all indicating a

‘humid warm temperate climate’ (Davies, 2001b). Swamps

vegetated with Taxodiaceaepollenites probably occurred

along the shore (Davies, 2001a).

5.4. Significance of the observed clast lithologies

The calcareous nature of the clastic sediments recalls the

descriptions of Clegg (1941) of similar rocks along

Ayeyawady River, and in the jade mines area. At Noije

Bum, limestone cobbles in the conglomerate, and micrite

clasts in the sandstones, indicate that carbonate bedrock was

present in the source area. The identification of pollen of

Taxodiaceaepollenites, which inhabits coastal swamps,

commonly on calcareous bedrock (Davies, 2001a), suggests

that limestone may have occurred along the shoreline.

The association of clasts of limestone, chert, andesite,

basalt, serpentinite, and actinolite schist, is similar to

lithologies found in the Cretaceous Bhamo–Myitkyina

belt (Fig. 3). The rather coarse plagioclase clasts may

originate from mafic intrusive rocks, which are also known

from the above association. Most of these lithologies are

also found in the vicinity of Mt Loi Mye, some 45 km south

of Noije Bum (Fig. 3). This is an immature assemblage,

typical of what may be found in orogenic belts, and may

reflect a mid Cretaceous orogeny proposed by Mitchell et al.

(2000).

The presence of serpentinite clasts indicates that

emplacement of ultramafites must have preceded the

deposition of these sediments (i.e. they are not younger

than Albian). The jade mines ophiolite belt extends to the

southern margin of the Hukawng Basin.

Granitoid clasts are absent, so the suite of Cretaceous

felsic plutons either was not present in the source area, or

had not yet been emplaced/exposed. There is also no sign of

the micaceous schist lithologies from the presumed base-

ment to the Hukawng Basin (Bender, 1983). The quartzite

clasts could possibly be derived from that source, however.

Quartz is a minor component of the sandstones, and was not

recognised among the larger conglomerate clasts, empha-

sising the immaturity of these sediments.

Thin micrite beds found within the fine clastic facies may

result from erosion of coastal carbonates, during periods

when clastic input from further inland was low. They carry

plant fragments of obvious detrital origin.

5.5. Origin and deposition of amber

The authors note that both the Araucariaceae (especially

genus Agathis ) and the Taxodiaceae have been identified as

sources of Cretaceous amber elsewhere (e.g. Grimaldi et al.,

2000; Poinar and Milki, 2001). Palynomorphs of genera

from both families were identified in samples collected from

the amber horizon at Noije Bum (Davies, 2001b).

Chhibber (1934) quotes specific gravities of 1.034–

1.095 for Hukawng Valley amber, which is slightly denser

than sea water. Therefore it may be expected together with

fine clastic sediments, and/or associated with other low

density material, such as waterlogged wood or plant

fragments. The Noije Bum amber may have been deposited

with wood and plant material, in fine clastic sediments along

the floors and banks of tidal channels (as for wood

fragments observed by Clifton (1983)), or in washovers

adjacent to channels.

The amber may have been deposited originally as copal,

an intermediate stage in the transformation of resin. Ross

(1998) states that the change from copal to amber may occur

after deposition in marine sediments. At Noije Bum the

amber and its host sediments are of approximately the same

age, so it was deposited while relatively young. A bivalve

shell found embedded in amber suggests that the latter was

soft when deposited.

The mechanism that produced the discoid shape of most

amber clasts is unclear. The runnels appear not to have been

modified by transport and deposition, so the disks may

similarly reflect their original morphology. Perhaps the

runnels collected on tree trunks, and the disks as pools on

the ground surface. Alternatively, the disk shapes could

have resulted from abrasion during transport. The occur-

rence of conglomerate in the sequence indicates that the

amber may have passed through a high energy environment,

in contrast to the low energy facies in which New Jersey

amber occurs (Grimaldi et al., 2000), for example.

5.6. Further work required

Clearly, much remains to learn about the geology of the

amber mines region. The earlier reports of Nummulites in

some limestones should be confirmed, the Orbitolina beds

relocated, and the Cretaceous–Eocene unconformity deli-

neated. The stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleontology, and

structural geology of the region all need to be further

elucidated.

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455 453

6. Conclusions

Noije Bum in the Hukawng Valley has been the principal

source of amber in Myanmar for at least the past 166 years,

and probably for very much longer.

The conclusion of Chhibber (1934) that the amber is

hosted by Eocene sediments has been widely quoted in the

literature. However, recent work indicates a Cretaceous age.

Insect inclusions in amber are interpreted to be Turonian–

Cenomanian, and a specimen of the ammonite Mortoniceras

(of Middle or Upper Albian age) was discovered during the

authors’ visit. Palynomorphs in samples collected by the

authors suggest that the amber-bearing horizon is Upper

Albian to Lower Cenomanian. The preponderance of the

evidence suggests that both rocks and amber are most

probably Upper Albian. This determination is significant for

the study of insect evolution, and if correct, indicates that

the oldest known definitive ants have been identified in this

amber (Grimaldi et al., 2002).

This Upper Albian age is similar to that of Orbitolina

limestones which are known from a number of locations in

northern Myanmar. One of these, at Nam Sakhaw, has also

been a source of amber. Therefore presently unknown

amber deposits could occur in other mid-Cretaceous

sediments as well.

The recognition of Cretaceous rocks at Noije Bum

indicates that rocks of this age may be more widely

distributed in the Hukawng Valley than previously believed.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Leeward Capital Corp. and its

president, J.W. Davis, for financial support. Dr A.H.G.

Mitchell provided references and helpful advice. Dr Win

Swe identified the ammonite fossil. Thanks are due also to

Dr E.H. Davies for approval to include the results of his

palynology studies. Permission to visit the amber site was

obtained with the help of the Chairman of the government of

Kachin State, the Ministry of Mines of Myanmar, Sea Sun

Star Limited, and others. Comments by Dr D. Grimaldi and

Dr A.J. Ross greatly improved the manuscript.

References

Barley, M.E., Pickard, A.L., Khin, Z., 2000. Shrimp zircon geochronology

of granitoids: implications for a Cretaceous magmatic event in

Myanmar and tectonic evolution of Southeast Asia (abstract),

ICGP434, Second International Symposium in Myanmar, December

10–11.

Bender, F., 1983. Geology of Burma, Gebruder Borntraeger, 293 pp.

Chhibber, H.L., 1934. The Mineral Resources of Burma, MacMillan, New

York, 320 pp.

Chit, Saing, 2000. Cretaceous events in Myanmar with special reference to

foraminiferal evidence (abstract), ICGP434, Second International

Symposium in Myanmar, December 10–11.

Clegg, E.L.G., 1941. The Cretaceous and associated rocks of Burma.

Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India 74 (1), 1–102.

Clifton, H.E., 1983. Discrimination between subtidal and intertidal facies in

Pleistocene deposits, Willapa Bay, Washington. Journal of Sedimentary

Petrology 53, 353–369.

Davies, E.H., 2001. Palynological analysis of two Burmese amber samples.

Unpublished report by Branta Biostratigraphy Ltd. for Leeward Capital

Corp.

Davies, E.H., 2001. Palynological analysis and age assignments of two

Burmese amber sample sets. Unpublished report by Branta Biostrati-

graphy Ltd. for Leeward Capital Corp.

ESCAP, 1996. Geology and Mineral Resources of Myanmar, Atlas of

Mineral Resources of the ESCAP Region, vol. 12. United Nations, New

York, 193 pp.

Fraquet, H., 1987. Amber, Butterworth and Co. Ltd, London, 176 pp.

Gramann, F., 1974. Some palaeontological data on the Triassic and

Cretaceous of the western part of Burma (Arakan Islands, Arakan

Yoma, western outcrops of Central Basin). Newsletter on Stratigraphy 3

(4), 277–290.

Grimaldi, D., Shedrinsky, A., Wampler, T.P., 2000. A remarkable deposit

of fossiliferous amber from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of New

Jersey. In: Grimaldi, D.A., (Ed.), Studies on Fossils in Amber, With

Particular Reference to the Cretaceous of New Jersey, Backhuys

Publishers, Leiden, pp. 1–76.

Grimaldi, D., Engel, M.S., Nascimbene, P., 2002. Fossiliferous Cretac-

eous amber from Myanmar (Burma): its rediscovery, biotic diversity,

and paleontological significance. American Museum Novitates 3361,

72 pp.

Hla, H., 2000. The ophiolite belts of Myanmar. Submitted to ICGP434,

Second International Symposium in Myanmar, December 10–11, 2000.

Laufer, B., 1906. Historical jottings on amber in Asia. Memoirs of the

American Anthropological Association 1 (3), 215–244.not seen;

summarised by Fraquet, 1987, and quoted by Zherikhin and Ross 2000.

Levinson, A.A., 2001. Amber (Burmite) from Myanmar: production

resumes. Gems & Gemology, Summer 2001, 142–143.

Maung, T., 2000. Some reflections on the Mesozoic geological events in

Myanmar (abstract), ICGP434, Second International Symposium in

Myanmar, December 10–11.

Miall, A.D., 1979. Deltas. In: Walker, R.G., (Ed.), Facies Models,

Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1, Geological Association of

Canada, pp. 43–56.

Mitchell, A.H.G., 1993. Cretaceous–Cenozoic tectonic events in the

western Myanmar (Burma)–Assam region. Journal of the Geological

Society 150, 1089–1102.

Mitchell, A.H.G., Hlaing, T., Nyunt, H., 2000. Early Jurassic and mid-

Cretaceous Collisions, Alpine-style Orogeny and Assembly of

Myanmar (abstract), ICGP434, Second International Symposium in

Myanmar, December 10–11.

Mitchell A.H.G., Zaw, P., Tin, H., 1978. The Burma orogen. Unpublished

report. United Nations Development Programme, Yangon.

Myint, T., 2000. Stratigraphy, petrography, and environments of the

Jurassic–Cretaceous Pan Laung Formation in Kinda-Kyaukse area,

central Myanmar (abstract), ICGP434, Second International Sym-

posium in Myanmar, December 10–11.

Ngaw, C.P., 1964. A brief progress report on geological reconnaissance of

83O/9 to 16 of Naga Hills from the month of January to April 1964.

Report of the Regional Mapping Section, Mineral and Geological

Studies Department, Myanmar Ministry of Mines.

Noetling, F., 1893. On the occurrence of Burmite, a new fossil resin from

Upper Burma. Records of the Geological Survey of India 26 (1), 31–40.

Poinar, G.O., Milki, R., 2001. Lebanese Amber, Oregon State University

Press, Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A., 96 pp.

Reinson, G.E., 1979. Barrier island systems. In: Walker, R.G., (Ed.), Facies

Models, Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1, Geological Association

of Canada, pp. 57–74.

Rice, P.C., 1980. Amber the Golden Gem of the Ages, Van Nostrand

Reinhold Company, New York, 289 pp.

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455454

Ross, A.J., 1998. Amber, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, UK, 73 pp.

Ross, A.J., York, P.V., 2000. A list of type and figured specimens of insects

and other inclusions in Burmese amber. Bulletin of the Natural History

Museum, London (Geology) 56 (1), 11–20.

Sahni, M.R., Sastri, V.V., 1957. A monograph of the orbitolines found in

the Indian continent (Chitral, Gilgit, Kashmir), Tibet and Burma, with

observations on the age of the associated volcanic series. Palaeonto-

logia Indica 33 (3), 50.

Stuart, M., 1923. Geological traverses from Assam to Myitkyina through

the Hukong Valley; Myitkyina to northern Putao; Myitkyina to the

Chinese frontier. Records of the Geological Survey of India 54 (4),

398–411.Plate 29.

Tin, H., 1999. Burmite–Burmese amber. Australian Gemmologist, Second

Quarter 1999, 250–253.

Win, S., 1981. A major strike-slip fault in Burma. Contributions to Burmese

Geology 1 (1), 63–72.

Wright, C.W., Calloman, J.H., Howarth, M.K., 1996. Cretaceous

Ammonoidea, Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part L Mollusca

4 Revised, vol. 36. The Geological Society of America and the

University of Kansas.

Yu, J., Guo, Z., Mao, S., 1983. Cretaceous palynological assemblages from

the district south of the Songhua River, Professional Papers of

Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, No. 10; Chinese Academy of

Geological Sciences, Geological Publishing House, Beijing, pp. 1–

86; pl. 1–30. Not seen; referenced by Davies, 2001b.

Zherikhin, V.V., Ross, A.J., 2000. A review of the history, geology and age

of Burmese amber (Burmite). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum,

London (Geology) 56 (1), 3–10.

R.D. Cruickshank, K. Ko / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21 (2003) 441–455 455

J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 8(1): 139 – 143. 2014

A GASTEROID FUNGUS, PALAEOGASTER MICROMORPHA GEN. & SP. NOV.

(BOLETALES) IN CRETACEOUS MYANMAR AMBER

George O. Poinar, Jr. Dônis da Silva Alfredo Department of Integrative Biology Graduate Program in Systematics and Evolution Oregon State University Department of Botany and Zoology Center of Biosciences Corvallis, Oregon 97331, U.S.A. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte poinarg@science.oregonstate.edu BRAZIL

Iuri Goulart BaseiaDepartment of Botany and Zoology

Center for BiosciencesUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

BRAZIL

abstract

A new genus and species of gasteroid fungus, Palaeogaster micromorpha gen. & sp. nov. is described from Early-Mid Cretaceous amber

from the Republic of Myanmar. The species is represented by some 25 complete or partial fruiting bodies in various developmental stages.

Diagnostic characters for the new taxon are its small size, the globose to pyriform shape of the fruiting bodies, mycelial hyphae with clamp

connections and small globose to subglobose spores. It is assigned to the Order Boletales (Sclerodermatineae) and possesses many features

of the family Sclerodermataceae, which includes the earthballs and hard skinned puffballs. Palaeogaster micromorpha represents the first

fossil member of the Sclerodermatineae and the oldest known gasteroid fungus.

resumen

Se describen un género y especie nuevos de hongo gasteroide, Palaeogaster micromorpha gen. & sp. nov. del ámbar del cretácico tempra-

no-medio de la República de Myanmar. La especie está representada por unos 25 cuerpos fructíferos completos o parciales en varios estados

de desarrollo. Los caracteres diagnósticos del nuevo taxon son su pequeña talla, cuerpos fructíferos de forma globosa a piriforme, hifas del

micelio fibuladas y esporas globosos a subglobosas pequeñas. Se asigna al Orden Boletales (Sclerodermatineae) y tiene muchas característi-

cas de la familia Sclerodermataceae, que incluye los bejines. Palaeogaster micromorpha representa el primer miembro fósil de las Scleroder-

matineae y el hogo gasteroide fósil más antiguo conocido.

introduction

Aside from containing a variety of animal and plant fossils, amber from Myanmar includes some interesting fungal remains, such as the Hymenomycete, Palaeoclavaria burmitis Poinar & Brown (2003) and one of the earliest known mushrooms, Palaeoagaracites antiquus Poinar and Buckley (2007). The present study describes a gasteroid fungus preserved in Myanmar (Burmese) amber. Fossil gasteroids, which include puffballs, earth-balls, earthstars and stinkhorn fungi, are exceedingly rare with previous records limited to Lycoperdites tertia-rius Poinar (2001), from Tertiary Mexican amber, a Late Cenozoic earthstar (Geasteraceae) from Pueblo, Mexico (Magallon-Pueble & Cervallos-Ferriz 1993) and a subfossil from Holocene deposits in Alaska (Chaney & Mason 1936).

materials and methods

The amber piece contains some 25 complete or partial fruiting bodies in various developmental stages. Some of the opened fruiting bodies near the edge of the piece were sectioned with a diamond saw and mounted in immersion oil to observe hyphae, and spores. The amber originated from a mine excavated in 2001, in the Hukawng Valley, southwest of Maingkhwan in Kachin State (26°20'N, 96°36'E) in Myanmar. This location, known as the Noije Bum 2001 Summit Site, was assigned to the Early-Mid Cretaceous, Upper Albian, on the basis of paleontological evidence (Cruickshank & Ko 2003) placing the age at 97 to 110 mya. Nuclear mag-

140 Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 8(1)

Fig. 1. Group of Palaeogaster micromorpha in Myanmar amber. Holotype is the specimen with the large opening in the center of the photo. Scale bar = 3 mm.

netic resonance (NMR) spectra and the presence of araucaroid wood fibers in amber samples from the Noije Bum 2001 Summit Site indicate an araucarian (possibly Agathis) tree source for the amber (Poinar et al. 2007). Descriptive terminology and taxonomy is based on Guzmán (1970), Guzmán and Ovrebo (2000), Gurgel, et al. (2008), Alfredo et al. (2012) and Nouhra et al. (2012).

description

Boletales (Sclerodermatineae)

Palaeogaster Poinar, Alfredo, & Baseia, gen. nov. (Figs. 1–8), MycoBank no.: MB 801127. type species: Palaeogaster

micromorpha Poinar, Alfredo, & Baseia.

Fruiting bodies small, subglobose to pyriform, spore case filling fruiting body; sterile base absent; peridium brown, hard, thick, splitting

irregularly at terminus or subterminally to form large, roundish aperture; gleba firm, then becoming powdery yellow-orange at maturity;

spores small, clear at maturity, globose to subglobose, smooth to slightly irregular surface; capillitium, hymenium and peridioles absent.

Palaeogaster micromorpha Poinar, Alfredo, & Baseia, sp. nov. (Figs. 1–8), MycoBank no.: MB 801127. type:

MYANMAR (BURMA): Amber mine in the Hukawng Valley, SW of Maingkhwan in Kachin State (26°20'N, 96°36'E), 1999, unknown

amber miner s.n. (holotype: the open, centered specimen in Fig. 1; catalogue number B-F-1 deposited in the Poinar amber collection

maintained at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, U.S.A.).

Fruiting bodies from 5–7 mm in length, 3–4 mm in width; peridium persistent, peridium wall 6–12 µm wide; surface with areas of fine concentric, often intersecting lines; peridium splitting irregularly at terminus or sub-terminus to form large, roundish apertures ranging from 2–3 mm in diameter; apertures rimmed with frag-ments of original peridium; mature gleba powdery, yellow-orange; spores clear, globose to subglobose, lacking

Poinar, Jr. et al., Palaeogaster micromorpha, a new genus and species of gasteroid fungus 141

Fig. 2. Lateral view of pyriform fruiting body of Palaeogaster micromor-pha in Myanmar amber. Scale bar = 2 mm.

Fig. 3. Cross-section of the peridium of a fruiting body of Palaeogaster micro-morpha in Myanmar amber. Scale bar = 35 µm.

Fig. 4. Intersecting lines on the peridial surface of a fruiting body of Palaeogaster micromorpha in Myanmar amber. Scale bar = 27 µm.

Fig. 5. Group of spores in the gleba of a fruiting body of Palaeogaster micromor-pha in Myanmar amber. Scale bar = 27 µm.

142 Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 8(1)

Fig. 6. Detail of a spore in the gleba of a fruiting body of Palaeogaster micromorpha in Myanmar amber. Scale bar = 8 µm.

Fig. 7. Mycelial hyphae in a fruiting body of Palaeogaster micromorpha in Myanmar amber. Scale bar = 100 µm.

Fig. 8. Mycelial hyphae with clamp connections (arrows) in a fruiting body of Palaeogaster micro-morpha in Myanmar amber. Scale bar = 80 µm

Poinar, Jr. et al., Palaeogaster micromorpha, a new genus and species of gasteroid fungus 143

a hilum or pedicel, ranging from 4 –11 µm in greatest dimension; mycelial hyphae from fruit bodies 7 –10 µm in width, unpigmented, occasionally branched, thin-walled, with clamp connections. Habitat.—Caespitose, probably growing on decaying wood. Etymology.—The generic epithet is from the Greek “palaios” = ancient and the Greek “gaster” = stomach. The specific epithet is from the Greek “micros” = small and the Greek “morphe” = form.

discussion

Palaeogaster is distinguished by its small size, shape of the fruiting bodies, large, roundish terminal to subter-minal aperture, yellow- orange gleba, non-sculptured spores and absence of a capillitium, hymenium and peridioles. The subglobose to pyriform fruiting bodies, single layered peridium, large irregular aperture, ab-sence of a sterile base, mycelial hyphae with clamp connections and lack of a capillitium align it with the Sclerodermatineae. Palaeogaster shares with the extant genus Diplocystis (Sclerodermatineae) the habit of forming aggregates of small fruiting bodies, each forming a leathery, cup-shaped peridium (Louzan et al. 2007). However, the fruiting bodies of Diplocystis have a powdery umber gleba and the grayish-brown spores are covered with warty or spiny ornamentation. Small fruiting bodies with a mature yellow-orange gleba and globose to subglobose spores as occur in Palaeogaster are not found in extant representatives of the Scleroder-matineae (Arora 1986; Zeller 1949). Palaeogaster micromorpha represents the first fossil member of the Sclero-dermatineae and the oldest known gasteroid fungus.

acknowledgments

The senior author thanks Roberta Poinar and Art Boucot for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Two anonymous reviewers carefully examined and offered constructive feedback for improvement.

references

ArOrA, D. 1986. Mushrooms demystified: A comprehensive guide to the fleshy fungi. 2nd, Edition, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California, U.S.A.

AlFredO, D.S., A.G. leite, R. BrAGA-netO, V.G. COrtez, & I.G. BASeiA. 2012. Scleroderma minutisporum, a new earthball from the Amazon rainforest. Mycosphere 3:294–299.

CHAney, R.W. & H.L. mASOn. 1936. A Pleistocene flora from Fairbanks, Alaska. Amer. Mus. Novit. 887:1–17.CruiCKSHAnK, R.D. & K. KO. 2003. Geology of an amber locality in the Hukawng Valley, northern Myanmar. J. Asian Earth

Sci. 21:441–455.GurGel, F.E., B.D., B. SilvA, & I.G. BASeiA. 2008. New records of Scleroderma from northeastern Brazil. Mycotaxon 105:399–

405.Guzmán, G. & C.L. OvreBO. 2000. New observations on sclerodermataceous fungi. Mycologia 92:171–179.Guzmán, G. 1970. Monografía del género Scleroderma Pers. emend. Fr. (Fungi, Basidiomycetes). Darwiniana 16:233–407.lOuzAn, R., A.W. WilSOn, M. Binder, & D.S. HiBBett. 2007. Phylogenetic placement of Di plocystis wrightii in the Scleroderma-

tineae (Boletales) based on nuclear ribosomal large subunit DNA sequences. Mycoscience 48:66–69.mAGAllOn-PueBle, S. & R.S. CervAllOS-Ferriz. 1993. A fossil earthstar (Geasteraceae; Gasteromycetes) from the Late Cenozoic

of Pueblo, Mexico. Amer. J. Bot. 80:1162–1167.nOuHrA, E.R., M.L. H. CAFFOt, N. PAStOr, & E.M. CreSPO. 2012. The species of Scleroderma from Argentina, including a new

species from a Nothofagus forest. Mycologia 104:488–495.POinAr, G.O., Jr. 2001. Fossil Puffballs (Gasteromycetes: Lycoperdales) in Mexican amber. Historical Biol. 15:219–222. POinAr, G.O., Jr. & A.E. BrOWn. 2003. A non-gilled hymenomycete in Cretaceous amber. Mycological Res. 107:763–768.POinAr G.O., Jr. & R. BuCKley. 2007. Evidence of mycoparasitism and hypermycoparasitism in Early Cretaceous amber.

Mycological Res. 111:503–506.POinAr, G.O., Jr., J.B. lAmBert, & Y. Wu. 2007. Araucarian source of fossiliferous Burmese amber: spectroscopic and ana-

tomical evidence. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1:449–455.zeller, S.M. 1949. Keys to the Orders, Families and Genera of the Gasteromycetes. Mycologica 41:36–58.

Amber

Amber pendants made of modifiedamber. The oval pendant is 52 by32 mm (2.0 by 1.3 in).

Part of a series onPaleontology

Paleontology PortalCategory

v · t · e

An ant inside Baltic amber

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Amber (disambiguation).

Amber is fossilized tree resin, which has been appreciated for its color andnatural beauty since Neolithic times.[2] Much valued from antiquity to thepresent as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects.[3]

Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folkmedicine, and as jewelry.

There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemicalconstituents. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree resin, amber sometimescontains animal and plant material as inclusions.[4] Amber occurring in coalseams is also called resinite, and the term ambrite is applied to that foundspecifically within New Zealand coal seams.[5]

Contents [hide] 1 History and names2 Legends3 Composition and formation

3.1 Formation3.2 Botanical origin3.3 Inclusions

4 Extraction and processing4.1 Distribution and mining4.2 Treatment

5 Appearance6 Classification

6.1 Class I6.1.1 Ia6.1.2 Ib6.1.3 Ic

6.2 Class II6.3 Class III6.4 Class IV6.5 Class V

7 Geological record7.1 Paleontological significance

8 Use8.1 Jewelry8.2 Historic medicinal uses8.3 Scent of amber and amber perfumery

9 Imitation9.1 Imitation made in natural resins9.2 Imitations made of plastics

10 See also11 References12 Bibliography13 External links

History and names [ edit ]

The English word amber derives from Arabic ʿanbar [6] ربنع (cognate with MiddlePersian ambar[7]) via Middle Latin ambar and Middle French ambre. The wordwas adopted in Middle English in the 14th century as referring to what is nowknown as ambergris (ambre gris or "grey amber"), a solid waxy substance

Fossils [show]

Natural history [show]

Organs and processes [show]

Evolution of various taxa [show]

Evolution [show]

History of paleontology [show]

Branches of paleontology [show]

Article Talk Read Edit More Search Wikipedia

Main pageContentsFeatured contentCurrent eventsRandom articleDonate to WikipediaWikipedia store

InteractionHelpAbout WikipediaCommunity portalRecent changesContact page

ToolsWhat links hereRelated changesUpload fileSpecial pagesPermanent linkPage informationWikidata itemCite this page

Print/exportCreate a bookDownload as PDFPrintable version

In other projectsWikimedia CommonsWikiquote

LanguagesAfrikaans

ةیبرعلاAragonésAsturianuAzərbaycancaБеларускаяБеларуская(тарашкевіца)БългарскиBosanskiБуряадCatalàČeštinaCymraegDanskDeutschEestiΕλληνικάEspañolEsperantoEuskara

یسرافFrançaisFryskGalego한국어

Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

A mosquito and a fly in this Balticamber necklace are between 40 and60 million years old

A mosquito in amber

The Amber Room wasreconstructed using new amber fromKaliningrad

National Archaeological Museum ofSiritide to Matera

An amber violin bow frog, made byKeith Peck in 1996/97.[1]

derived from the sperm whale. In the Romance languages, the sense of theword had come to be extended to Baltic amber (fossil resin) from as early asthe late 13th century. At first called white or yellow amber (ambre jaune), thismeaning was adopted in English by the early 15th century. As the use ofambergris waned, this became the main sense of the word.[6]

The two substances ("yellow amber" and "grey amber") conceivably becameassociated or confused because they both were found washed up on beaches.Ambergris is less dense than water and floats, whereas amber is too dense tofloat, though less dense than stone.[8]

The classical names for amber, Latin electrum and Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον(ēlektron), are connected to a term ἠλέκτωρ (ēlektōr) meaning "beamingSun".[9][10] According to myth, when Phaëton son of Helios (the Sun) was killed,his mourning sisters became poplar trees, and their tears became elektron,amber.[11]

Amber is discussed by Theophrastus in the 4th century BC, and again byPytheas (c. 330 BC) whose work "On the Ocean" is lost, but was referenced byPliny the Elder, according to whose The Natural History (in what is also theearliest known mention of the name Germania):[12]

Pytheas says that the Gutones, a people of Germany, inhabit theshores of an estuary of the Ocean called Mentonomon, theirterritory extending a distance of six thousand stadia; that, at oneday's sail from this territory, is the Isle of Abalus, upon the shoresof which, amber is thrown up by the waves in spring, it being anexcretion of the sea in a concrete form; as, also, that theinhabitants use this amber by way of fuel, and sell it to theirneighbors, the Teutones.

Earlier[13] Pliny says that a large island of three days' sail from the Scythiancoast called Balcia by Xenophon of Lampsacus, author of a fanciful travel bookin Greek, is called Basilia by Pytheas. It is generally understood to be the sameas Abalus. Based on the amber, the island could have been Heligoland,Zealand, the shores of Bay of Gdansk, the Sambia Peninsula or the CuronianLagoon, which were historically the richest sources of amber in northernEurope. It is assumed that there were well-established trade routes for amberconnecting the Baltic with the Mediterranean (known as the "Amber Road").Pliny states explicitly that the Germans export amber to Pannonia, from where itwas traded further abroad by the Veneti. The ancient Italic peoples of southernItaly were working amber, the most important examples are on display at theNational Archaeological Museum of Siritide to Matera. Amber used in antiquityas at Mycenae and in the prehistory of the Mediterranean comes from depositsof Sicily.

Pliny also cites the opinion of Nicias, according to whom amber "is a liquidproduced by the rays of the sun; and that these rays, at the moment of thesun's setting, striking with the greatest force upon the surface of the soil, leaveupon it an unctuous sweat, which is carried off by the tides of the Ocean, andthrown up upon the shores of Germany." Besides the fanciful explanationsaccording to which amber is "produced by the Sun", Pliny cites opinions thatare well aware of its origin in tree resin, citing the native Latin name ofsuccinum (sūcinum, from sucus "juice").[14] "Amber is produced from a marrowdischarged by trees belonging to the pine genus, like gum from the cherry, andresin from the ordinary pine. It is a liquid at first, which issues forth inconsiderable quantities, and is gradually hardened [...] Our forefathers, too,were of opinion that it is the juice of a tree, and for this reason gave it the nameof 'succinum' and one great proof that it is the produce of a tree of the pinegenus, is the fact that it emits a pine-like smell when rubbed, and that it burns,when ignited, with the odour and appearance of torch-pine wood."

He also states that amber is also found in Egypt and in India, and he even refers to the electrostatic properties of

Edit links

Հայերենिह दीHrvatskiIdoBahasa IndonesiaÍslenskaItaliano

תירבעKaszëbscziҚазақшаKurdîLatinaLatviešuLietuviųLimburgsLumbaartMagyarМакедонски

ىرصمမ န မာဘာသာNāhuatlNederlands日本語

NordfriiskNorsk bokmålNorsk nynorskOccitanOʻzbekcha/ўзбекчаਪਜਾਬੀ

یباجنپPlattdüütschPolskiPortuguêsRomânăРусскийSimple EnglishSlovenčinaSlovenščinaСрпски / srpskiSrpskohrvatski /српскохрватскиSuomiSvenskaTagalogதமிТатарча/tatarçaไทยТоҷикӣTürkçeУкраїнськаTiếng ViệtWinaray

שידיי粵語

Žemaitėška中文

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Unpolished amber stones

Wood resin, the source of amber

Extracting Baltic amber fromHolocene deposits, Gdansk, Poland

Unique colors of Baltic amber.Polished stones.

Fishing for amber on the coast ofBaltic Sea. Winter storms throw outamber nuggets. Close to Gdansk,Poland.

amber, by saying that "in Syria the women make the whorls of their spindles ofthis substance, and give it the name of harpax [from ἁρπάζω, "to drag"] fromthe circumstance that it attracts leaves towards it, chaff, and the light fringe oftissues."

Pliny says that the German name of amber was glæsum, "for which reason theRomans, when Germanicus Cæsar commanded the fleet in those parts, gave toone of these islands the name of Glæsaria, which by the barbarians was knownas Austeravia". This is confirmed by the recorded Old High German glas andOld English glær for "amber" (c.f. glass). In Middle Low German, amber wasknown as berne-, barn-, börnstēn. The Low German term became dominantalso in High German by the 18th century, thus modern German Bernsteinbesides Dutch Dutch barnsteen.

The Baltic Lithuanian term for amber is gintaras and Latvian dzintars. They,and the Slavic jantar or Hungarian gyanta ('resin'), are thought to originate fromPhoenician jainitar ("sea-resin").[citation needed]

Early in the nineteenth century, the first reports of amber from North Americacame from discoveries in New Jersey along Crosswicks Creek near Trenton, atCamden, and near Woodbury.[3]

Legends [ edit ]

The origins of Baltic amber are associated with the Lithuanian legend aboutJuratė, the queen of the sea, who fell in love with Kastytis, a fisherman.According to one of the versions, her jealous father punished his daughter bydestroying her amber palace and changing her into sea foam. The pieces ofthe Juratė’s palace can still be found on the Baltic shore. See also Jūratė andKastytis.

Composition and formation [ edit ]

Amber is heterogeneous in composition, but consists of several resinousbodies more or less soluble in alcohol, ether and chloroform, associated with aninsoluble bituminous substance. Amber is a macromolecule by free radicalpolymerization of several precursors in the labdane family, e.g. communic acid,cummunol, and biformene.[15][16] These labdanes are diterpenes (C20H32) andtrienes, equipping the organic skeleton with three alkene groups forpolymerization. As amber matures over the years, more polymerization takesplace as well as isomerization reactions, crosslinking and cyclization.

Heated above 200 °C (392 °F), amber suffers decomposition, yielding an oil ofamber, and leaving a black residue which is known as "amber colophony", or"amber pitch"; when dissolved in oil of turpentine or in linseed oil this forms"amber varnish" or "amber lac".[15]

Formation [ edit ]

Molecular polymerization, resulting from high pressures and temperaturesproduced by overlying sediment, transforms the resin first into copal. Sustainedheat and pressure drives off terpenes and results in the formation of amber.[17]

For this to happen, the resin must be resistant to decay. Many trees produceresin, but in the majority of cases this deposit is broken down by physical andbiological processes. Exposure to sunlight, rain, microorganisms (such asbacteria and fungi), and extreme temperatures tends to disintegrate resin. Forresin to survive long enough to become amber, it must be resistant to suchforces or be produced under conditions that exclude them.[18]

Botanical origin [ edit ]

Fossil resins from Europe fall into two categories, the famous Baltic ambers andanother that resembles the Agathis group. Fossil resins from the Americas andAfrica are closely related to the modern genus Hymenaea,[19] while Baltic

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Baltic amber with inclusions

Amber mine "Primorskoje" inJantarny, Kaliningrad Oblast,Russia

Blue amber from DominicanRepublic

ambers are thought to be fossil resins from Sciadopityaceae family plants that used to live in north Europe.[20]

Inclusions [ edit ]

The abnormal development of resin in living trees (succinosis) can result in theformation of amber.[21] Impurities are quite often present, especially when theresin dropped onto the ground, so the material may be useless except forvarnish-making. Such impure amber is called firniss.

Such inclusion of other substances can cause amber to have an unexpectedcolor. Pyrites may give a bluish color. Bony amber owes its cloudy opacity tonumerous tiny bubbles inside the resin.[22] However, so-called black amber isreally only a kind of jet.

In darkly clouded and even opaque amber, inclusions can be imaged usinghigh-energy, high-contrast, high-resolution X-rays.[23]

Extraction and processing [ edit ]

Distribution and mining [ edit ]

Amber is globally distributed, mainly in rocks of Cretaceous age or younger.Historically, the Samland coast west of Königsberg in Prussia was the world'sleading source of amber. First mentions of amber deposits here date back tothe 12th century.[24] About 90% of the world's extractable amber is still locatedin that area, which became the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia in 1946.[25]

Pieces of amber torn from the seafloor are cast up by the waves, and collectedby hand, dredging, or diving. Elsewhere, amber is mined, both in open works and underground galleries. Then nodulesof blue earth have to be removed and an opaque crust must be cleaned off, which can be done in revolving barrelscontaining sand and water. Erosion removes this crust from sea-worn amber.[22]

Caribbean amber, especially Dominican blue amber, is mined through bellpitting, which is dangerous due to the risk of tunnel collapse.[26]

Treatment [ edit ]

The Vienna amber factories, which use pale amber to manufacture pipes andother smoking tools, turn it on a lathe and polish it with whitening and water orwith rotten stone and oil. The final luster is given by friction with flannel.[22]

When gradually heated in an oil-bath, amber becomes soft and flexible. Twopieces of amber may be united by smearing the surfaces with linseed oil,heating them, and then pressing them together while hot. Cloudy amber may beclarified in an oil-bath, as the oil fills the numerous pores to which the turbidityis due. Small fragments, formerly thrown away or used only for varnish, are now used on a large scale in the formationof "ambroid" or "pressed amber".[22]

The pieces are carefully heated with exclusion of air and then compressed into a uniform mass by intense hydraulicpressure, the softened amber being forced through holes in a metal plate. The product is extensively used for theproduction of cheap jewelry and articles for smoking. This pressed amber yields brilliant interference colors in polarizedlight. Amber has often been imitated by other resins like copal and kauri gum, as well as by celluloid and even glass.Baltic amber is sometimes colored artificially, but also called "true amber".[22]

Appearance [ edit ]

Amber occurs in a range of different colors. As well as the usual yellow-orange-brown that is associated with the color"amber", amber itself can range from a whitish color through a pale lemon yellow, to brown and almost black. Otheruncommon colors include red amber (sometimes known as "cherry amber"), green amber, and even blue amber, whichis rare and highly sought after.

Yellow amber is a hard, translucent, yellow, orange, or brown fossil resin from evergreen trees. Known to the Iraniansby the Pahlavi compound word kah-ruba (from kah “straw” plus rubay “attract, snatch,” referring to its electricalproperties), which entered Arabic as kahraba' or kahraba (which later became the Arabic word for electricity, ءابرھكkahrabā'), it too was called amber in Europe (Old French and Middle English ambre). Found along the southern shoreof the Baltic Sea, yellow amber reached the Middle East and western Europe via trade. Its coastal acquisition may havebeen one reason yellow amber came to be designated by the same term as ambergris. Moreover, like ambergris, the

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

resin could be burned as an incense. The resin's most popular use was, however, for ornamentation—easily cut andpolished, it could be transformed into beautiful jewelry. Much of the most highly prized amber is transparent, in contrastto the very common cloudy amber and opaque amber. Opaque amber contains numerous minute bubbles. This kind ofamber is known as "bony amber".[27]

Although all Dominican amber is fluorescent, the rarest Dominican amber is blue amber. It turns blue in natural sunlightand any other partially or wholly ultraviolet light source. In long-wave UV light it has a very strong reflection, almostwhite. Only about 100 kg (220 lb) is found per year, which makes it valuable and expensive.[28]

Sometimes amber retains the form of drops and stalactites, just as it exuded from the ducts and receptacles of theinjured trees.[22] It is thought that, in addition to exuding onto the surface of the tree, amber resin also originally flowedinto hollow cavities or cracks within trees, thereby leading to the development of large lumps of amber of irregular form.

Classification [ edit ]

Amber can be classified into several forms. Most fundamentally, there are two types of plant resin with the potential forfossilization. Terpenoids, produced by conifers and angiosperms, consist of ring structures formed of isoprene (C5H8)units.[2] Phenolic resins are today only produced by angiosperms, and tend to serve functional uses. The extinctmedullosans produced a third type of resin, which is often found as amber within their veins.[2] The composition ofresins is highly variable; each species produces a unique blend of chemicals which can be identified by the use ofpyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.[2] The overall chemical and structural composition is used to divideambers into five classes.[29][30] There is also a separate classification of amber gemstones, according to the way ofproduction.

Class I [ edit ]

This class is by far the most abundant. It comprises labdatriene carboxylic acids such as communic or ozic acids.[29] It isfurther split into three sub-classes. Classes Ia and Ib utilize regular labdanoid diterpenes (e.g. communic acid,communol, biformenes), while Ic uses enantio labdanoids (ozic acid, ozol, enantio biformenes).[31]

Ia [ edit ]

Includes Succinite (= 'normal' Baltic amber) and Glessite.[30] Have a communic acid base. They also include muchsuccinic acid.[29]

Baltic amber yields on dry distillation succinic acid, the proportion varying from about 3% to 8%, and being greatest inthe pale opaque or bony varieties. The aromatic and irritating fumes emitted by burning amber are mainly due to thisacid. Baltic amber is distinguished by its yield of succinic acid, hence the name succinite. Succinite has a hardnessbetween 2 and 3, which is rather greater than that of many other fossil resins. Its specific gravity varies from 1.05 to1.10.[15] It can be distinguished from other ambers via IR spectroscopy due to a specific carbonyl absorption peak. IRspectroscopy can detect the relative age of an amber sample.[verification needed] Succinic acid may not be an originalcomponent of amber, but rather a degradation product of abietic acid.[32]

Ib [ edit ]

Like class Ia ambers, these are based on communic acid; however, they lack succinic acid.[29]

Ic [ edit ]

This class is mainly based on enantio-labdatrienonic acids, such as ozic and zanzibaric acids.[29] Its most familiarrepresentative is Dominican amber.[2]

Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being mostly transparent and often containing a highernumber of fossil inclusions. This has enabled the detailed reconstruction of the ecosystem of a long-vanished tropicalforest.[33] Resin from the extinct species Hymenaea protera is the source of Dominican amber and probably of mostamber found in the tropics. It is not "succinite" but "retinite".[34]

Class II [ edit ]

These ambers are formed from resins with a sesquiterpenoid base, such as cadinene.[29]

Class III [ edit ]

These ambers are polystyrenes.[29]

Class IV [ edit ]

Class IV is something of a wastebasket; its ambers are not polymerized, but mainly consist of cedrene-based

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Typical amber specimen with anumber of indistinct inclusions

sesquiterpenoids.[29]

Class V [ edit ]

Class V resins are considered to be produced by a pine or pine relative. They comprise a mixture of diterpinoid resinsand n-alkyl compounds. Their type mineral is highgate copalite.[30]

Geological record [ edit ]

The oldest amber recovered dates to the Upper Carboniferous period(320 million years ago).[2][35] Its chemical composition makes it difficult to match theamber to its producers – it is most similar to the resins produced by floweringplants; however, there are no flowering plant fossils until the Cretaceous, and theywere not common until the Upper Cretaceous. Amber becomes abundant longafter the Carboniferous, in the Early Cretaceous, 150 million years ago,[2] when itis found in association with insects. The oldest amber with arthropod inclusionscomes from the Levant, from Lebanon and Jordan. This amber, roughly 125–135million years old, is considered of high scientific value, providing evidence of someof the oldest sampled ecosystems.[36]

In Lebanon more than 450 outcrops of Lower Cretaceous amber were discoveredby Dany Azar[37] a Lebanese paleontologist and entomologist. Among theseoutcrops 20 have yielded biological inclusions comprising the oldestrepresentatives of several recent families of terrestrial arthropods. Even older,Jurassic amber has been found recently in Lebanon as well. Many remarkableinsects and spiders were recently discovered in the amber of Jordan including the oldest zorapterans, clerid beetles,umenocoleid roaches, and achiliid planthoppers.[36]

Baltic amber or succinite (historically documented as Prussian amber[15]) is found as irregular nodules in marineglauconitic sand, known as blue earth, occurring in the Lower Oligocene strata of Sambia in Prussia (in historicalsources also referred to as Glaesaria).[15] After 1945 this territory around Königsberg was turned into KaliningradOblast, Russia, where amber is now systematically mined.[38]

It appears, however, to have been partly derived from older Eocene deposits and it occurs also as a derivative phasein later formations, such as glacial drift. Relics of an abundant flora occur as inclusions trapped within the amber whilethe resin was yet fresh, suggesting relations with the flora of Eastern Asia and the southern part of North America.Heinrich Göppert named the common amber-yielding pine of the Baltic forests Pinites succiniter, but as the wood doesnot seem to differ from that of the existing genus it has been also called Pinus succinifera. It is improbable, however,that the production of amber was limited to a single species; and indeed a large number of conifers belonging todifferent genera are represented in the amber-flora.[22]

Paleontological significance [ edit ]

Amber is a unique preservational mode, preserving otherwise unfossilizable parts of organisms; as such it is helpful inthe reconstruction of ecosystems as well as organisms;[39] the chemical composition of the resin, however, is of limitedutility in reconstructing the phylogenetic affinity of the resin producer.[2]

Amber sometimes contains animals or plant matter that became caught in the resin as it was secreted. Insects, spidersand even their webs, annelids, frogs,[40] crustaceans, bacteria and amoebae,[41] marine microfossils,[42] wood, flowersand fruit, hair, feathers[4] and other small organisms have been recovered in ambers dating to 130 million years ago.[2]

In August 2012, two mites preserved in amber were determined to be the oldest animals ever to have been found in thesubstance; the mites are 230 million years old and were discovered in north-eastern Italy.[43]

Use [ edit ]

Amber has been used since prehistory (Solutrean) in the manufacture of jewelry and ornaments, and also in folkmedicine. Amber has been used as an ingredient in perfumes.

Jewelry [ edit ]

Amber has been used since the stone age, from 13,000 years ago.[2] Amber ornaments have been found inMycenaean tombs and elsewhere across Europe.[44] To this day it is used in the manufacture of smoking andglassblowing mouthpieces.[45][46] Amber's place in culture and tradition lends it a tourism value; Palanga AmberMuseum is dedicated to the fossilized resin.

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Solutrean of Altamira – MHNT

Amber jewelry from DominicanRepublic

Lithuanian amber jewelry

Historic medicinal uses [ edit ]

Amber has long been used in folk medicine for its purported healingproperties.[47] Amber and extracts were used from the time of Hippocrates inancient Greece for a wide variety of treatments through the Middle Ages and upuntil the early twentieth century.[citation needed]

Scent of amber and amber perfumery [ edit ]

In ancient China it was customary to burn amber during large festivities. Ifamber is heated under the right conditions, oil of amber is produced, and inpast times this was combined carefully with nitric acid to create "artificial musk"– a resin with a peculiar musky odor.[48] Although when burned, amber doesgive off a characteristic "pinewood" fragrance, modern products, such asperfume, do not normally use actual amber due to the fact that fossilized amberproduces very little scent. In perfumery, scents referred to as “amber” are oftencreated and patented[49][50] to emulate the opulent golden warmth of thefossil.[51]

The modern name for amber is thought to come from the Arabic word, ambar,meaning ambergris.[52][53] Ambergris is the waxy aromatic substance created inthe intestines of sperm whales and was used in making perfumes both inancient times as well as modern.

The scent of amber was originally derived from emulating the scent ofambergris and/or labdanum but due to the endangered species status of thesperm whale the scent of amber is now largely derived from labdanum.[54] Theterm “amber” is loosely used to describe a scent that is warm, musky, rich andhoney-like, and also somewhat oriental and earthy. It can be syntheticallycreated or derived from natural resins. When derived from natural resins it ismost often created out of labdanum. Benzoin is usually part of the recipe.Vanilla and cloves are sometimes used to enhance the aroma.

"Amber" perfumes may be created using combinations of labdanum, benzoinresin, copal (itself a type of tree resin used in incense manufacture), vanilla,Dammara resin and/or synthetic materials.[48]

Imitation [ edit ]

Imitation made in natural resins [ edit ]

Young resins, these are used as imitations:[55]

Kauri resin from trees Agathis australis, New Zealand.The copals (subfossil resins). The African and American (Colombia) copals from Leguminosae trees family (genusHymenaea). Amber of the Dominican or Mexican type (Class I of fossil resins). Copals from Manilia (Indonesia) andfrom New Zealand from trees of the genus Agathis (Araucariaceae family)Other fossil resins: burmite in Burma, rumenite in Romania, simetite in Sicilia.Other natural resins — cellulose or chitin, etc.

Imitations made of plastics [ edit ]

Plastics, these are used as imitations:[56]

Stained glass (inorganic material) and other ceramic materialsCelluloidCellulose nitrate (obtain first time in 1833[57]) — a product of treatment of cellulose with nitration mixture.[58]

Acetylcellulose (not in the use at present)Galalith or «artificial horn» (condensation product of casein and formaldehyde), other trade names: Alladinite,Erinoid, Lactoid.[57]

Casein — a conjugated protein forming from the casein precursor – caseinogen.[59]

Resolane (phenolic resins or phenoplasts, not in the use at present)Bakelite resine (resol, phenolic resins), product from Africa are known under the misleading name: «Africanamber».

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Carbamide resins — melamine, formaldehyde and urea-formaldehyde resins.[58]

Epoxy novolac (phenolic resins), non officially name: «antique amber», not in the use at presentPolyesters (Polish amber imitation) with styrene. Ex.: unsaturated polyester resins (polymals) are produced byChemical Industrial Works «Organika» in Sarzyna, Poland; estomal are produced by Laminopol firm. Polybern orsticked amber is artificial resins the curled chips are obtained, whereas in the case of amber – small scraps.«African amber» (polyester, synacryl is then probably other name of the same resine) are produced by Reichholdfirm; Styresol trade mark or alkid resin (used in Russia, Reichhold, Inc. patent, 1948.[60]

PolyethyleneEepoxide resinsPolystyrene and polystyrene-like polymers (vinyl polymers).[61]

The resins of acrylic type (vinyl polymers[61]), especially polymethyl methacrylate PMMA (trade mark Plexiglass,metaplex).

See also [ edit ]

Amber RoadAmber RoomAmmoliteCopalList of types of amberPearlPrecious coral

References [ edit ]

1. ^ Jessamyn Reeves-Brown (November 1997). "Mastering New Materials: Commissioning an Amber Bow" . Strings (65).Archived from the original on 14 May 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2007.

2. a b c d e f g h i j Grimaldi, D. (2009). "Pushing Back Amber Production". Science. 326 (5949): 51–2.Bibcode:2009Sci...326...51G . doi:10.1126/science.1179328 . PMID 19797645 .

3. a b "Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) Encyclopedia of New Jersey, Rutgers University Press,ISBN 0813533252.

4. a b St. Fleur, Nicholas (8 December 2016). "That Thing With Feathers Trapped in Amber? It Was a Dinosaur Tail" . NewYork Times. Retrieved 8 December 2016.

5. ^ Poinar GO, Poinar R. (1995) The quest for life in amber. Basic Books, ISBN 0-201-48928-7, p. 1336. a b Harper, Douglas. "amber" . Online Etymology Dictionary. and "amber" . Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford

University Press. September 2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)7. ^ A Concise Pahlavi Dictionary, D N MacKenzie, Oxford University Press, 1971, ISBN 0 19 713559 58. ^ see: Abu Zaid al Hassan from Siraf & Sulaiman the Merchant (851), Silsilat-al-Tawarikh (travels in

Asia). [clarification needed]

9. ^ Homeric (Iliad 6.513, 19.398). The feminine ἠλεκτρίς being later used as a name of the Moon. King, Rev. C.W. (1867).The Natural History of Gems or Decorative Stones . Cambridge (UK). p. 315.

10. ^ The derivation of the modern term "electric" from the Greek word for amber dates to the 1600 (Latin electricus "amber-like", in De Magnete by William Gilbert). Heilbron, J.L. (1979). Electricity in the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Study of EarlyModern Physics . University of California Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-520-03478-5.. The word "electron" (for thefundamental particle) was coined in 1891 by the Irish physicist George Stoney whilst analyzing elementary charges for thefirst time. Aber, Susie Ward. "Welcome to the World of Amber" . Emporia State University. Archived from the originalon 28 April 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007.. "Origin of word Electron" . Patent-invent.com. Retrieved 30 July 2010.

11. ^ Michael R. Collings, Gemlore: An Introduction to Precious and Semi-Precious Stones, 2009, p. 2012. ^ Natural History 37.11 .13. ^ Natural History IV.27.13 or IV.13.95 in the Loeb edition.14. ^ succinic acid as well as succinite, a term given to a particular type of amber by James Dwight Dana15. a b c d e Rudler 1911, p. 792.16. ^ Manuel Villanueva-García, Antonio Martínez-Richa, and Juvencio Robles Assignment of vibrational spectra of labdatriene

derivatives and ambers: A combined experimental and density functional theoretical study Arkivoc (EJ-1567C) pp. 449–458

17. ^ Rice, Patty C. (2006). Amber: Golden Gem of the Ages. 4th Ed. AuthorHouse. ISBN 1-4259-3849-3.18. ^ Poinar, George O. (1992) Life in amber. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, p. 12, ISBN 080472001019. ^ Lambert, JB; Poinar Jr, GO (2002). "Amber: the organic gemstone". Accounts of Chemical Research. 35 (8): 628–36.

doi:10.1021/ar0001970 . PMID 12186567 .20. ^ Wolfe, A. P.; Tappert, R.; Muehlenbachs, K.; Boudreau, M.; McKellar, R. C.; Basinger, J. F.; Garrett, A. (30 June 2009).

"A new proposal concerning the botanical origin of Baltic amber" . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: BiologicalSciences. 276 (1672): 3403–3412. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0806 . PMC 2817186 . PMID 19570786 .

21. ^ Sherborn, Charles Davies. "Natural Science: A Monthly Review of Scientific Progress, Volume 1" .

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

21. ^ Sherborn, Charles Davies. "Natural Science: A Monthly Review of Scientific Progress, Volume 1" .22. a b c d e f g Rudler 1911, p. 793.23. ^ Amos, Jonathan (1 April 2008). "BBC News, " Secret 'dino bugs' revealed", 1 April 2008" . BBC News. Archived from

the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.24. ^ "The History of Russian Amber, Part 1: The Beginning" , Ambery.net25. ^ Amber Trade and the Environment in the Kaliningrad Oblast . Gurukul.ucc.american.edu. Retrieved on 19 September

2012.26. ^ Wichard, Wilfred and Weitschat, Wolfgang (2004) Im Bernsteinwald. – Gerstenberg Verlag, Hildesheim, ISBN 3-8067-

2551-927. ^ "Amber". (1999). In G. W. Bowersock, Peter Brown, Oleg Grabar (eds.) Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical

World, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0674511735.28. ^ Manuel A. Iturralde-Vennet (2001). "Geology of the Amber-Bearing Deposits of the Greater Antilles" (PDF). Caribbean

Journal of Science. 37 (3): 141–167. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2011.29. a b c d e f g h Anderson, K; Winans, R; Botto, R (1992). "The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere—II.

Identification, classification and nomenclature of resinites". Organic Geochemistry. 18 (6): 829–841. doi:10.1016/0146-6380(92)90051-X .

30. a b c Anderson, K; Botto, R (1993). "The nature and fate of natural resins in the geosphere—III. Re-evaluation of thestructure and composition of Highgate Copalite and Glessite". Organic Geochemistry. 20 (7): 1027. doi:10.1016/0146-6380(93)90111-N .

31. ^ Anderson, Ken B. (1996). "New Evidence Concerning the Structure, Composition, and Maturation of Class I(Polylabdanoid) Resinites". Amber, Resinite, and Fossil Resins. ACS Symposium Series. 617. pp. 105–129.doi:10.1021/bk-1995-0617.ch006 . ISBN 0-8412-3336-5.

32. ^ Shashoua, Yvonne (2007). "Degradation and inhibitive conservation of Baltic amber in museum collections" (PDF).Department of Conservation, The National Museum of Denmark. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2011.

33. ^ George Poinar, Jr. and Roberta Poinar, 1999. The Amber Forest: A Reconstruction of a Vanished World, (PrincetonUniversity Press) ISBN 0-691-02888-5

34. ^ Grimaldi, D. A. (1996) Amber – Window to the Past. – American Museum of Natural History, New York, ISBN0810919664

35. ^ Bray, P. S.; Anderson, K. B. (2009). "Identification of Carboniferous (320 Million Years Old) Class Ic Amber". Science.326 (5949): 132–134. Bibcode:2009Sci...326..132B . doi:10.1126/science.1177539 . PMID 19797659 .

36. a b Poinar, P.O., Jr., and R.K. Milki (2001) Lebanese Amber: The Oldest Insect Ecosystem in Fossilized Resin. OregonState University Press, Corvallis. ISBN 0-87071-533-X.

37. ^ Azar, Dany (2012). "Lebanese amber: a "Guinness Book of Records" ". Annales Universitatis PaedagogicaeCracoviensis. 111: 44–60.

38. ^ Langenheim, Jean (2003). Plant Resins: Chemistry, Evolution, Ecology, and Ethnobotany. Timber Press Inc. ISBN 0-88192-574-8.

39. ^ BBC – Radio 4 – Amber . Db.bbc.co.uk (16 February 2005). Retrieved on 23 April 2011.40. ^ "Scientist: Frog could be 25 million years old" . MSNBC. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2010.41. ^ Waggoner, Benjamin M. (13 July 1996). "Bacteria and protists from Middle Cretaceous amber of Ellsworth County,

Kansas" . PaleoBios. 17 (1): 20–26.42. ^ Girard, V.; Schmidt, A.; Saint Martin, S.; Struwe, S.; Perrichot, V.; Saint Martin, J.; Grosheny, D.; Breton, G.;

Néraudeau, D. (2008). "Evidence for marine microfossils from amber" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesof the United States of America. 105 (45): 17426–17429. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10517426G .doi:10.1073/pnas.0804980105 . PMC 2582268 . PMID 18981417 .

43. ^ Kaufman, Rachel (28 August 2012). "Goldbugs" . National Geographic.44. ^ Curt W. Beck, Anthony Harding and Helen Hughes-Brock, "Amber in the Mycenaean World" The Annual of the British

School at Athens, vol. 69 (November 1974), pp. 145-172. DOI:10.1017/S006824540000550545. ^ "Interview with expert pipe maker, Baldo Baldi. Accessed 10-12-09" . Pipesandtobaccos.com. 11 February 2000.

Archived from the original on 16 February 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2010.46. ^ "Maker of amber mouthpiece for glass blowing pipes. Accessed 10-12-09" . Steinertindustries.com. 7 May 2007.

Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2010.47. ^ Lisa Markman (2009). "Teething: Facts and Fiction" (PDF). Pediatr. Rev. 30 (8): e59–e64. doi:10.1542/pir.30-8-e59 .

PMID 19648257 .48. a b Amber as an aphrodisiac . Aphrodisiacs-info.com. Retrieved on 19 September 2012.49. ^ Thermer, Ernst T. "Saturated indane derivatives and processes for producing same" U.S. Patent 3,703,479 , U.S.

Patent 3,681,464 , issue date 197250. ^ Perfume compositions and perfume articles containing one isomer of an octahydrotetramethyl acetonaphthone, John B.

Hall, Rumson; James Milton Sanders, Eatontown U.S. Patent 3,929,677 , Publication Date: 30 December 197551. ^ Sorcery of Scent: Amber: A perfume myth . Sorceryofscent.blogspot.com (30 July 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2011.52. ^ Aber, Susie Ward. "Welcome to the World of Amber" . Emporia State University. Archived from the original on 28

April 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007.53. ^ "Origin of word Electron" . Patent-invent.com. Retrieved 30 July 2010.54. ^ Gomes, Paula B, Mata, Vera G, Rodrigues, A E (2005). "Characterization of the Portuguese-Grown Cistus ladanifer

Essential Oil" (PDF). Journal of Essential Oil Research. 17 (2): 160. doi:10.1080/10412905.2005.9698864 .

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

55. ^ Matushevskaya 2013, pp. 11–1356. ^ Matushevskaya 2013, pp. 13–1957. a b Wagner-Wysiecka 2013, p. 3058. a b Bogdasarov & Bogdasarov 2013, p. 3859. ^ Bogdasarov & Bogdasarov 2013, p. 3760. ^ Wagner-Wysiecka 2013, p. 3161. a b Wagner-Wysiecka 2013, p. 32

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

[hide]v · t · e

[hide]v · t · e

[show]

[show]

[show]

Wikimedia Commons hasmedia related to:

Amber (category)

Attribution

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rudler, Frederick William (1911). "Amber (resin)".In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 792–794.

Bibliography [ edit ]

Bogdasarov, Albert; Bogdasarov, Maksim (2013). "Forgery and simulations from amber" [Подделки и имитацияянтаря]. In Kostjashova, Z. V. Янтарь и его имитации Материалы международной научно-практическойконференции 27 июня 2013 года [Amber and its imitations] (in Russian). Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad AmberMuseum, Ministry of Culture (Kaliningrad region, Russia). p. 113. ISBN 978-5-903920-26-6.Matushevskaya, Aniela (2013). "Natural and artificial resins – chosen aspects of structure and properties". InKostjashova, Z. V. Янтарь и его имитации Материалы международной научно-практической конференции27 июня 2013 года [Amber and its imitations] (in Russian). Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad Amber Museum, Ministry ofCulture (Kaliningrad region, Russia). p. 113. ISBN 978-5-903920-26-6.Wagner-Wysiecka, Eva (2013). "Amber imitations through the eyes of a chemist" [Имитация янтаря глазамихимика]. In Kostjashova, Z. V. Янтарь и его имитации Материалы международной научно-практическойконференции 27 июня 2013 года [Amber and its imitations] (in Russian). Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad AmberMuseum, Ministry of Culture (Kaliningrad region, Russia). p. 113. ISBN 978-5-903920-26-6.

External links [ edit ]

Farlang many full text historical references on Amber Theophrastus,George Frederick Kunz, and special on Baltic amber.IPS Publications on amber inclusions International PaleoentomologicalSociety: Scientific Articles on amber and its inclusionsWebmineral on Amber Physical properties and mineralogical informationMindat Amber Image and locality information on amberNY Times 40 million year old extinct bee in Dominican amber

Jewellery

Forms Anklet · Barrette · Belt buckle · Belly chain · Bindi · Bracelet · Brooch · Chatelaine · Collar pin · Crown · Cufflink · Earring ·Ferronnière · Lapel pin · Necklace · Pectoral · Pendant · Ring · Tiara · Tie clip · Tie pin · Toe ring · Watch (pocket · strap)

Making

People Bench jeweler · Clockmaker · Goldsmith · Silversmith · Jewelry designer · Lapidary · Watchmaker

ProcessesCarving · Casting (centrifugal · lost-wax · vacuum) · Enameling · Engraving · Filigree (Cannetille) ·Kazaziye · Metal clay · Plating · Polishing · Repoussé and chasing · Soldering · Stonesetting ·Wire sculpture · Wire wrapped jewelry

Tools Draw plate · File · Hammer · Mandrel · Pliers

Materials

Precious metals Gold · Palladium · Platinum · Rhodium · Silver

Precious metal alloys Britannia silver · Colored gold · Crown gold · Electrum · Shakudō · Shibuichi · Sterling silver ·Tumbaga

Base metals Brass · Bronze · Copper · Mokume-gane · Pewter · Stainless steel · Titanium · Tungsten

Mineral gemstones

Aventurine · Agate · Amethyst · Beryl · Carnelian · Chrysoberyl · Diamond · Diopside · Emerald· Garnet · Jade · Jasper · Lapis lazuli · Larimar · Malachite · Marcasite · Moonstone · Obsidian· Onyx · Opal · Peridot · Prasiolite · Quartz · Ruby · Sapphire · Serendibite · Sodalite · Spinel ·Sunstone · Tanzanite · Tiger's eye · Topaz · Tourmaline · Turquoise · Zircon

Organic gemstones Abalone · Amber · Ammolite · Copal · Coral · Ivory · Jet · Pearl · Nacre

Other natural objects Bog-wood · Hair · Shell jewelry · Toadstone

Terms Carat (mass) · Carat (purity) · Finding · Millesimal fineness

Related topics: Body piercing · Fashion · Gemology · Phaleristics · Metalworking · Wearable art

Prehistoric technology

Prehistory (timeline · outline · Stone Age · subdivisions · New Stone Age · synoptic table) · Technology (history)

Tools

Architecture

Arts and culture

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Developers Cookie statement Mobile view

This page was last modified on 9 December 2016, at 01:58.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Useand Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

[show]v · t · e GemstonesGemmological Classifiactions by E. Ya. Kievlenko, 1980, updated

Authority control GND: 4005818-9

Categories: Fossil resins Amorphous solids Traditional medicine Amber

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

BURMESE AMBER

Burmese AmberYou’re probably familiar with the color amber. It ranges from translucent yellow to orange, and a favorite hue when itcomes to several items of jewelry. But did you know that amber has more depth and definition? In fact, there are severaltypes of amber out there, and one of them is Burmese amber.

Amber and Burmese AmberAmber is basically the fossilized sap of extinct trees that can be found in thetemperate and subtropical forests some 60 million years ago. The hardened resindeposits of amber have been found all over the world, so don’t be surprised whenyou come across Baltic amber, which ranges from pale yellowish white to black, rubyred and sometimes purple Sicilian amber, and the even darker Romanian amber.

Burmese amber, on the other hand, is mostly deep red. It also happens to the rarestand most valuable amber known to man. Its high fluorescent quality adds to itsappeal, making it one of the most sought after ambers in the world.

History of Burmese AmberBurmese amber, also referred to as Burmite, is from the Hukawng Valley in the

northern state of Kachin in Burma. Historical accounts say that Burmese amber made its way from the valley to the RomanEmpire via the Silk Road in China as early as the first century AD.

Initially, the Europeans thought that burmite originated from China’s Yannan province, but that was clearly disprovedonce the British found conclusive proof during the latter part of 1800s that Burmese amber did originate from northernBurma.

These accounts make Burmite at least 100 million years old, so it has already been around during the time of thedinosaurs.

Characteristics of Burmese AmberBurmese amber is known for its deep red or clear cherry red color. However, you willfind that they also come in shades of sherry and even burnt orange. Depending onthe angle of the light, they can also exhibit color variations. This is the highlyfluorescent quality mentioned earlier in the article.

Mostly, Burmese amber is very clear. However, upon closer inspection, and whenplaced under magnification, you can often see swirls of color, albeit minute. These

Posted on Posted on July 28, 2013July 28, 2013 by by AdminAdmin

b00

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

placed under magnification, you can often see swirls of color, albeit minute. Thesesubtle dots and swirls of color add more depth to the material, especially when usedfor jewelry. It also complements the hand carvings and designs that the Chinese loveto do on Burmese amber.

Compared to other ambers, burmite is also harder, which can be attributed to itsolder age.

Burmese Amber TodayThe high polish and fluorescence of Burmese amber bring to it a decorative value that makes it a favorite among jewelrydesigners. In fact, it’s so beautiful that many have mistaken it for a gemstone when, in fact, it’s basically hard andtranslucent fossilized tree sap or resin. That’s why it has earned the classification of being an ‘organic gemstone’. Theunique color of Burmese amber makes it the perfect ‘gemstone’ for a pendant of a necklace. TheAside from jewelry, you will also find Burmese amber to be most commonly used as an encasement for other preciousstones, insects, bugs, or other fossils. No small wonder there, really; their translucent and fluorescent quality is certainlyperfect when it comes to showcasing fossils.

But did you know that amber also has healing properties? Amber, in general, is known to suck out any negative energyfrom the body, allowing any sickness or ailment to seep away. Its ability to clear the mind and body of stress is just the tipof the iceberg, since amber is also known to cure diseases such as rheumatism, headache, goiter, and disorders pertainingto the eyes, teeth, throat, and lungs. Rare Burmese amber is also noted for its uncanny ability to regulate digestiveprocesses as well as bring a balance to your endocrine system.

All these reasons explain the high demand for Burmese amber. It’s also part of the reason why many fakes – mostly madeof plastic – are proliferating in the market. It pays to be wary and careful when you are buying anything with Burmeseamber or burmite in it.

Click here to view our amazing Burmese amber Collection

[button link=”http://www.realrareantiques.com/product-category/burmese-amber/” size=”large” color=”#1EAE23″text=”grey”]Burmese Amber Collection[/button]

This entry was posted in This entry was posted in Burmite Amber. Bookmark the . Bookmark the permalink..

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Antique Categories

Antique Chinese Porcelain

Antique Locks

Antique Opera Items

Antique Opium Bowls

Antique Opium Pipes

Antique Silver

Antique Snuff bottle

Antique Tortoise Shell

Burmese Amber

Burmese Antiques

Jade Items

Khmer Art

Special Items

Thai Antiques

Articles

Antique Chinese Porcelain

Antique Opium pipes

Antique Snuff bottles

Antique Tortoise Shell

Burmite Amber

Han Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

Qin Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

Song Dynasty

Special Items

Tang Dynasty

Yuan Dynasty

Zhou Warring States

Collection

Antique Chinese Porcelain

Antique Locks

Antique Opera Items

← Antique Tortoise Shell

Antique Chinese Jade →

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Antique Opera Items

Antique Opium Bowls

Antique Opium Pipes

Antique Silver

Antique Snuff bottle

Antique Tortoise Shell

Burmese Amber

Burmese Antiques

Jade Items

Khmer Art

Special Items

Thai Antiques

Rare Antiques

Soup Bowl Jar Hand Painted by Artist Zhou Xiao Shun Late Qing Dynasty

Antique Chinese Porcelain Vase Song Dynasty Celadon Glaze

Antique Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Late Yuan - Ming Vase

Antique Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Ming Vase With Cover

Featured Items

Antique Chinese Porcelain Vase Song Dynasty Celadon Glaze

Antique Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Late Yuan - Ming Vase

Antique Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Ming Vase With Cover

Antique Chinese Porcelain Blue and White Vase Late Yuan - Early Ming Imperial

Antique Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Ming Dynasty War Pitcher

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Random Items

Early Ming Dynasty Porcelain Vase

Thai Antique 500 Years Sukhothai Plate Siam Stoneware Celadon Glaze

Extremely Rare Burmite Amber Gemstone 45.2 Grams UN1

Extremely Rare Amber Gemstone Specimen Burmite 28.9 Grams UN18

15th Century Sukhothai Marriage Tankard

Interesting Links

Antique Secrets Antique Hunting Secrets

Search

Search …

Cart

© 2015 Real Rare Antiques

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Secr e t s GEORGE POINAR, JR., RON BUCKLEY AND ALEX E. BROWN

B U R M I T E A M B E R

THE

OF

20 | BURMITE AMBER | M A P S DIGEST

bu rmi t e ambe r

th e s e c r e t s of

M A P S DIGEST | BURMITE AMBER | 21

espite centuries of sporadic mining un-der primitive conditions, disputed dating

and limited supplies reaching the outside world, Bur-mese amber is finally being recognized as a significant window to the Cretaceous world.

For today’s tourist, Myanmar (Burma) is a land of pagodas, temples, Buddha images and floating gardens. Yet the country contains a wealth of natural treasures, including some of the world’s most highly-rated em-eralds, rubies, diamonds and sapphires. Another of Burma’s gems, one that combines beauty with science, is amber. Part of the mystique surrounding Burmese amber is that its location was unknown for so long and, even today, it is found in only a few areas of Upper Bur-ma. Burmese amber is formed no differently from other types of amber, but due to unknown causes, much of it has a deep red color, which makes it highly desired as a gem. Could this rare color be due to the type of tree that produced the resin, the form of sediment con-taining the fossilized material or from high pressures or elevated temperatures to which the amber might have been subjected?

Since mining began thousands of years ago in the Kachin State, Burmese amber has been valued as a medium for jewelry and carvings. At that time, Burma was no more than a conglomerate of kingdoms popu-lated by numerous ethnic groups from many regions of Asia. Documents of the Later Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) mention amber from a land called “Al lao,”

which is the ancient Chinese word for the Shan king-dom of present day Burma (Laufer, 1907). Because China is Burma’s neighbor, it is natural that amber trade was initiated at an early period between the two countries. Early Chinese writings indicate that amber trade routes existed between Burma and southwestern China around 100 AD. China acquired and exported such large quantities of Burmese amber that the prod-uct was referred to as “Chinese amber” in the West. Much of this amber had been worked into elaborate carvings by Chinese craftsmen. Around 260 AD, the Chinese launched an expedition to find the lucrative Burmese amber mines. An account of this visit, which provides the first written description of the mines, exists in the ancient Chinese dictionary “Kuang Ya” (Laufer, 1907).

Did Burmese amber reach the western Mediterranean in Greek and Roman antiquity? Did this Asian red am-ber decorate the Coliseum? Some early historians cite the works of Pliny and Sophocles as evidence that such a prehistoric trade route existed (Meyer, 1893), but oth-er scholars question it. The quest for Burmese amber by Westerners began much later. It might have been pro-moted by the writings of the Jesuit Father Alvarez Sem-edo who, in 1643, was the first Westerner to describe Burmese amber. His account was based on material ac-quired by the Chinese, who used the amber spiritually for prayer beads and medicinally to treat inflammation of the nose and throat (Laufer, 1907).

D

Foreign dignitaries were aware of the value placed on amber and other gemstones by the Burmese Kings. In a letter dated September 10, 1695, the governor of Fort Saint George addressed the King of Ava (a part of Bur-ma) as the Lord Proprietor of gold, silver, rubies and amber. In 1756, King Alaunagpaya of Burma considered himself the Lord over the ruby, gold, silver, copper, iron and amber mines (Woodman, 1962).

For centuries, the Chinese continued their monopoly on Burmese amber and made a handsome profit by exporting it to the West. However, af-ter establishing a commercial foothold in Burma in 1627, the English were determined to establish a trade route leading from British India to China. They planned a clandestine mission to find such a route, which would naturally have to pass through Upper Burma. Under the guise of a friend-ship visit to the northern parts of Burma, Captain Hannay set off on his quest in 1835. It was a frustrating trip; Hannay required permission from the Governor of Moguang to ex-plore every portion of the land, and sometimes waiting for this took weeks and even months. He finally received orders that he could proceed no further than the amber mines (Woodman, 1962), which, while prohibiting him from completing his goal, allowed him to be the first West-erner to visit the mines. In 1836, he made a brief de-scription of the mines and later, in 1846, was allowed to return, this time accompanied by the biologist Dr. Griffith.

Further descriptions of the amber mines were pro-vided by the German explorer Noetling (1892), who noted that the Kachin miners used their da (sword)

to make a wooden hoe and shovel to remove soil from the pits and a bamboo basket attached to a bamboo cane with a curved root, to raise the sediment to the surface. No-etling noted that the amber occurred in lumps as large as a man’s head, and that many of the pieces were rounded or flattened like pebbles on the beach, indicating that they had been eroded during trans-port. Noetling gave samples to his colleague, Otto Helm, who after some preliminary tests, decided that Burmese amber was different from all other types and named it Burmite (Helm, 1893). Noetling (1896) saw amber carvings of earplugs, oint-ment boxes, perfume bottles, cigarette mouthpieces, beads for rosaries and animal im-ages including frogs, turtles, fish, elephants and mytho-logical figures. He noted that in working the amber, the surface was first worked with a file, then smoothed with a dried leaf containing a large amount of silica, and finally polished with petrified wood,

apparently derived from the north of Burma.The most interesting cultural artifacts made from Bur-

mese amber were nadaungs (nadangs) or earplugs. A cen-tury ago, the Nadwin ceremony was part of the Kachin culture and initiated young girls into womanhood. Ac-cording to early accounts, a soothsayer would choose the day for the ceremony and all friends and family would be

Ab- The long neck, filiform antennae and four well-devel-oped wings are characteristic of snake flies (Neuroptera). This group was well represented in the Cretaceous, just as they are presently. The wing veins and bulging eyes are quite prominent in this fossil.

Ab 134a- This well-preserved caddis fly (Trichoptera) indi-cates the presence of water in the Burmese amber forest Caddis flies pre-date moths and butterflies in the fossil re-cord and are a primitive group.

22 | BURMITE AMBER | M A P S DIGEST

Ab 142- This dermestid beetle larva (Coleoptera: Dermes-tidae) has a bodycovering of long hairs. The hairs provide camouflage, making the insects appear as spiny seeds and if they are noticed, make it difficult for predators to get close enough for a bite.

M A P S DIGEST | BURMITE AMBER | 23

Ab 144. One of the oldest known ticks (Arachnida:Ixoidida) provides indirect evidence of vertebrates in the amber for-est. (Photo by Ron Buckley)

invited. An ear-borer arrived and at a specified moment and passed gold or silver needles through the ear lobes of the girl. This was followed by music, talking and eat-ing. The orifices in the ear lobes were gradually enlarged with a series of graduated, metal screw-shaped “na-kat” until they were large enough to receive the am-ber earplugs (Scott, 1910; Kha-ing, 1946). The earplugs were cylindrical in shape and some were quite long. The Nadwin ceremony has not taken place for years, but some of the elder-ly women in the hills still wear these ornaments. Nadaungs, along with many other Bur-mese amber carvings, can be seen today in various museums. These items range from simple carvings and perfume bottles to more highly crafted pieces.

Very little has changed since Captain Hannay’s visit over a century ago. Burma, which is roughly the size (678,033 sq. km) of Texas, is divided into three main geo-graphical zones, a low-lying delta where most of the com-mercial rice is grown, a me-dium-elevated dry zone with various agricultural products (maize, wheat, peanuts, tea, etc.) and the mountainous, forested zone, where slash and burn agriculture is com-mon. The amber is located in the hill area in the southwest corner of the Hu-kawng basin and the mining is still carried out by the Kachins, a small minority who represent less than 5 % of the Burmese population. The mines were closed for a long period due to political unrest and were only re-opened in 1999 after a peace agree-

ment was reached between the KIA (Kachin Inde-pendence Army) and the Central government. Jim Davis of Leeward Capital Corp., a Calgary-based

company, has established business relations with a Burmese mining company and now obtains amber from Noije Bum. Total annual production varies from 10 to 500 kg, depending on the market ( Jim Davis, personal communication, 2005).

A definitive age for Bur-mese amber has been elu-sive; there have been many different estimates. When Noetling visited the amber mines in 1892, he judged the sediments contain-ing the amber to be Mio-cene (15-20 mya). Stuart (1934) later found Eocene index fossils associated with the amber beds and when Chhibber (1934) described the mining operations in the 1930s, he accepted the Eocene age. However, T. D. A. Cockerell, an American who was the first to serious-ly study insects in Burmite, noted that many specimens possessed primitive charac-ters and suggested that the amber was from the Creta-ceous. The most recent age estimate by Cruickshank and Ko (2003) supports the

conclusions of Cockerell, and scientists now agree that the amber is from the Cretaceous. Why were there so many younger ages proposed? It is possible that some amber was eroded from its original sites and then redeposited in more recent sediments. The age discrepancy between the amber and that

of the surrounding sediments would depend on the amount of re-deposition that occurred.

The botanical source of Burmese amber was deter-mined in 2002 by Lambert and Wu, who analyzed samples with nuclear magnetic resonance spectros-copy. The results indicated the amber was produced by a member of the Araucariaceae, a family of gym-nosperms related to present day kauri pines and monkey puzzle trees, now restricted to the southern Hemisphere.

Noetling (1893, 1896) was the first to report in-sects in Burmite when he remarked that a clear piece with an insect was priced much higher than regular amber. Cockerell was the first to describe insects from Burmite in the first quarter of the 20th century. For many years, Burmese amber was inaccessible to the outside world and only with the recent re-open-ing of the old mines have scientists been given a sec-ond chance to peer through this window to the Cre-taceous world.

The inclusions in Burmese amber are unique, con-taining not only beautifully preserved angiosperm flowers but also insects that shared the same habi-tat. These fossils represent lineages that evolved in Southeast Asia in the Early Cretaceous since the mines are located on the Burma Plate, which is part of Laurasia (Old World). Burmese amber was re-cently discovered to contain leaves and a flower of a primitive grass, representing the earliest known re-mains of a grass (Poinar, 2004). Grasses are one of the most successful families of flowering plants to-day, with over 750 genera and 10,000 species living in every habitat imaginable. Much discussion has centered on their point of origin. Grass remains in Burmese amber challenges earlier theories that this group evolved during the Upper Cretaceous in South America (Hsiao et al., 1999). However, scientists had speculated that the earliest grasses would be members of the bamboo lineage, and this is supported by the Burmese fossils, whose characteristics most closely resemble members of some present-day bamboos.

The theorized habitat of the original grass was trop-ical forests, which is also supported by this discovery because the Burmese resin-producing trees prob-

ably grew in exactly this type of habitat. Since some botanists consider southeast Asia (including Burma) the most likely location for the “birthplace” of the flowering plants (Angiosperms)(Takhtajan, 1987), Burmese amber could contain some of the most an-cient angiosperms known to science. Other scientists feel that the earliest angiosperms were monocot-like plants (Burger, 1981), which makes the discovery of these grass fossils even more exciting.

A wide range of arthropod fossils provides not only the first appearance of new genera and families but also indirect evidence of specialized habitats and

Ab 178- This well preserved, primitive fly (Diptera: Nematocera) prob-ably developed in mushrooms, possibly the small growths of the club fungi. Many fungi were probably associated with the araucarian tree that formed the amber.

Ab 157- This ancient millipede (Chilopoda) has an unusually flattened appearance, suggesting that it may have lived under the bark of the amber-forming araucaria tree.

24 | BURMITE AMBER | M A P S DIGEST

other life forms. For example, caddis flies, the larvae of which are aquatic (Fig. Ab 134), indi-cate the presence of standing water in the ancient Burmese amber forest. The oldest ticks (Fig. Ab 144), which also occur in these deposits, provide indirect evidence of vertebrates. Direct evidence of ancient birds comes from feathers entombed in the fossilized resin. Some of these feathers are so primitive that today’s specialists cannot relate them to any living bird group.

There are ancient millipedes (Fig. Ab 157) that wandered over the forest floor and unknown ferns (Fig. Ab 238) growing on the bark of the amber tree. And in the decaying abscesses of the bark grew clusters of small fungi, similar to today’s coral mushrooms (Fig. Ab 242, Poinar and Brown, 2003). An ancient scorpion (Fig. Ab 242) belonging to an extinct subfamily (Santiago-Blay et al., 2004) probably be-came entombed during its search for prey. Evidence of herbivorous insects is a tiny scaled insect, with its protective wax plates still attached to its body seg-ments (Fig. Ab 266). Then there are representatives of crane flies (Fig. Ab 149), fungus gnats (Fig. Ab 178) and even weevils (Fig. Ab 214) in the amber.

An example of paleopara-sitism is shown by the pres-ence of a parasitic mite still attached to the back of its midge host (Fig. Ab.254). Similar mites occur today on a variety of insects and are parasitic only in the lar-val stage, which can last for several days. How the insect host can maneuver in flight or even if it can

fly with such a burden is unknown. After it has fin-ished feeding on the host’s hemolymph, the mite drops off and molts into a preda-tory, free-living form.

Amber also allows us to trace lineages back millions of years. Perhaps one of the most interesting entomo-logical topics is the origin of sociality. In Burmese am-ber are the oldest ants (Fig. Ab 278a) known to science. Here is the first evidence that social behavior in ants could have extended back into the Early Cretaceous. While these ants differ from their present day counter-parts, they have the basic characters that align them with the ant lineage that has continued for 100 mil-lion years. Characteristics of

the ant shown here, such as the constriction of the first metasomal segment, presence of a metapleural gland,

Ab 238- This rare tip of a fern leaf clearly shows not only the veins of the leaflets but also small clusters of spores under each leaf segment.

Ab 254- Fossil evidence of parasitism (Paleosymbiosis) is rare. Here we see a long-legged parasitic mite (A1cari: Erythraeidae) mite on the back of a nematoceran fly. The mouthparts of the mite are still attached to the fly.

M A P S DIGEST | BURMITE AMBER | 25

evidence of a worker caste and a well-de-veloped sting, all have been proposed to be those found in the hypothetical ant an-cestor, which is proposed to already have a social lifestyle (Baroni Urbani, 1989).

But there is one character that the Burmese ants (and most other Creta-ceous ants) have that differs from pres-ent day forms, and that character has caused much controversy among scien-tists. It is the presence of an elongate first antennal segment, called the scape. In extant ants, the scape is elongate, with the remaining antennal segments much shorter. But in primitive ants, the scape is much shorter, often subequal to some of the other segments. The significance of a short scape and its effect on ant be-havior is unknown. An elongated scape is proposed to enable the ant to inspect and recognize other objects it encoun-ters, both animate and inanimate, which would include its own young and nest mates. It is also important in trophallax-is (the passage of food from one ant to another) by allowing two ants to main-tain contact with each other during the food exchange (Baroni Urbani, 1989). So is an ant with a short scape a true ant? That question will probably be debated for a long time. The effect of the short scape on the behavior of these primitive ants as compared with modern ones is not known; such a condition was obvi-ously not crucial for the continuation of any ant lineages, since all living ants have an elongate scape. However, our Burmese ant appears to have survived in the Cretaceous forest without much difficulty. Could it still have tended its young and communicated with its nest mates with a short scape? We may never have a complete answer to this question, and so the sociality of these primitive

Ab 266- This scale insect is called an ensign coccid (Hemiptera: Ortheziidae). It is amaz-ing that the plate-like wax secretions are still attached to its body. The wax provided a degree of protection for the insect.

Ab 276- This amazing photo shows a spider (Araneae) standing over a fly that has just flown into its web. Other strands of the silk are clearly visible in this photo.

26 | BURMITE AMBER | M A P S DIGEST

ants may remain forever a mystery.Another question asked by ant evo-

lutionists is in what habitat would the hypothetical ant ancestor have evolved? Some of the most primitive of today’s ants are terrestrial and nest in the ground, although many will forage in the trees. We can surmise from discov-ering the specimen in amber that Bur-mese ants foraged in trees, and while they could have nested in the ground, we cannot be certain of that.

Ants aside, other objects in Burmite are even more enigmatic. In fact, one has scientists baffled, with proposals ranging from a mushroom to a jellyfish or an artifact (Fig. Ab 184). And what other ancient plants and animals does this amber hold? The future of Burmese amber is bright, as more fossils are made available to scientists around the world. Eventually we should have a much more complete view through the Burmese am-ber window of the Early Cretaceous, one that never would appear with any other type of fossilization process.

END NOTEAll of the amber inclusions of insects

and botanicals pictured in this article are in the personal collection of Ron Buck-ley of Florence, Kentucky. His email is ronbuckley@fuse.net. He is presently working with scientists to describe two mushrooms he has found, plus bird feath-ers, new scarab beetles, numerous bo-tanicals, mantis and grasshoppers. None of these important scientific discoveries would have ever been found if it were not for the relentless and continuing efforts of Jim Davis of Lewward Capital Corp. in Calgary Canada.

Ab 278a- The protruding eyes of this primitive ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) continue to survey the surroundings after 100 million years. These ants probably already formed societies, much like our present day forms.

M A P S DIGEST | BURMITE AMBER | 27

Ab 281- Here are the small fruiting bodies of an ancient club fungus (Paleoclavaria burmitis). It is amazing that an entire group of fungi could be preserved in a single piece of amber. Many insects certainly dined on these growths.

AD 100Burmese amber trade route with China established.

AD 265Chinese first outsiders to visit Burmese amber mines.

1613The Portuguese Jesuit Father Alvarez Semedo first Westerner to write about the Burmese amber mines from China.

1836Captain Hannay is first European to visit Burmese amber mines.

1892Noetling visits amber mines; supplies a Miocene age for the amber.

1893Otto Helm names the amber Burmite.

1896Noetling notes presence of insects in amber.

1917Cockerell suggests amber is Cretaceous in age.

1923Stuart reports an Eocene age for the amber.

1934Chhibber provides additional information on the mining operations.

1936- 1998Amber mines closed – supplies limited.

1999Amber mines re-opened and amber available for study.

2002Lambert and Wu determine the botanical source of Burmese am-ber as Araucariaceae.

2003Cruickshank and Ko determine Burmese amber to be Lower Creta-ceous (Upper Albian) in age.

2005Numerous scientific studies on the flora and fauna in Burmite are ongoing.

28 | BURMITE AMBER | M A P S DIGEST

CHRONOLOGICAL EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF BURMITE AMBER

Ab 371- This extremely well preserved cockroach (Blattaria) has the long, multi-segmented antennae and spiny legs typical of our pres-ent day roaches. Blattids are certainly one of the most successful groups of insects, withstanding all major extinction events and will probably be around long after we humans depart from the planet.

Ab 307- To find an Early Cretaceous grasshopper (Orthoptera: Ac-rididae) in amber is quite a discovery. This specimen may have fed on some of the early angiosperms in the Burmese forest.

REFERENCES

Baroni Urbani, C. 1989. Phylogeny and behavioural evolution in ants, with a discussion of the role of behaviour in evolutionary processes. Ethology, Ecology and Evolution 1: 137-168.

Burger, W. C. 1981. Heresy revived: The Monocot theory of Angiosperm origin. Evolutionary Theory 5: 189-225.

Cruickshank, R.D. and K. Ko. 2003. Geology of an amber locality in the Hukawng Valley, northern Myanmar. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21: 441-455.

Gilhodes, Rev. C. 1922. The Kachins: Religion and Customs. Catholic Orphan Press. Calcutta. 304 pp.

Harvey, C. E. 1925. History of Burma. Longmans, Green & Co., London, 415 pp.

Helm, O. 1892. On a new, fossil, amber-like resin occurring in Burma. Records of the Geological Survey of India. 25: 180-181.

Helm, O. 1893. Further note on Burmite, a new amber-like fossil resin from Upper Burma. Records of the Geological Survey of India. 26: 61- 64.

Hlaing, U. Tin. 1999. Burmite-Burmese amber. Australian Gemnologist 20: 250-253.

Hsiao, C., Jacobs, S. W. L., Chatterton, N. J. and Asay, K. H. 1999. A molecular phylogeny of the grass family (Poaceae) based on the sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS). Australian Systematic Botany 11: 667- 688.

Kress, W. J., R. A. DeFilipps, E. Farr & D.Y.Y. Kyi. 2003. A checklist of the trees, shrubs, herbs, and climbers of Myanmar. Smithsonian Institution Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol. 45: 1-590.

Khaing, Mi. 1946. Burmese Family. Longmans, Green & Co. London. 138pp.

Laufer, B. 1907. Historical jottings on amber in Asia. Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association 1: 211-244.

Meyer, A. B. 1893. Wurde Bernstein von Hinterindien nach dem Weste exportiert? Abhandlungen der naturwissen Gesellschaft Isis, Dresden 1893: 63-68.

Noetling, F. 1892. Preliminary Report on the economic resources of the amber and jade mines area in Upper Burma. Records of the Geological Survey of India. 25: 130- 135.

Noetling, F. 1893. On the occurrence of Burmite, a new fossil resin from Upper Burma. Records of the Geological Survey of India. 26: 31-40.

Noetling, F. 1896. Das Vorkommen von Birmit (indischer Bernstein) und dessen Verarbeitung. Globus 69: 217-220, 239-242.

Poinar, Jr., G. O. 2004. Early Cretaceous grass-like monocots in Burmese amber. Australian Systematic Botany 17: 497-504.

Poinar, Jr., G. O. and Brown, A. E. 2003. A non-gilled hymenomycete in Cretaceous amber. Mycological Research 107: 763-768.

Santiago-Blay, J. A., Fet, V., Soleglad, M. E. and Anderson, S. R. 2004. A new genus and subfamily of scorpions from Lower Cretaceous Burmese amber (Scorpiones: Chaerilidae). Revista Ibérica de Arachnologia. 9: 3-14.

Takhtajan, A. 1987. Flowering plant origin and dispersal: the cradle of the angiosperms revisited. pp. 26-31 in Whitmore, T. C. (ed.). Biogeographical Evolution of the Malay Archipelgo. Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Woodman, D. 1962. The Making of Burma. The Cresset Press, London, 594 pp.

(GP) Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A. (e-mail: gpoinar@comcast.net)

(RB) 9635 Sumter Ridge, Florence, KY 41042, U.S.A. (e-mail: ronbuckley@fuse.net)

(AB) 629 Euclid Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94708, U.S.A. (e-mail alex.brown3@comcast.net)

M A P S DIGEST | BURMITE AMBER | 29

Ab242- Electrocherilinae buckleyi. This is a new genus and subfamily of scor-pions which is not found in present age scorpions. This is one of the oldest and most complete scorpions ever found. Cretaceous (Albian) Burma

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

M A P S DIGEST | ABOUT THE AUTHORS | 5

George Poinar studies fossil insects and other George Poinar studies fossil insects and other George Poinarlife forms found in amber. He is especially in-terested in fossil symbiosis (Palaeosymbiosis), including phoresis and parasitism in the fossil record. He is also interested in ancient DNA and was on the team that extracted and sequenced the fi rst DNA from an organism in amber.

Ron Buckley owns a noted collection of Burmite insect and botanical inclusions. He also works with scientists from around the world, photo-graphing and describing Burmite inclusions.

Jim and Terri Davis are geologists. Terri has been involved in the Burmite discoveries and found one of the two Burmite fl owers, which is being named after her. She is a working geologist in Canada and the Arctic Circle. Jim also works these areas and is involved in another Burma project.

Ted Pike holds three degrees in entomology, and plays a key role in the study of Burmite am-ber, examining amber specimen photos to make sure that scientifi cally important pieces are re-tained for study.

Don Mikulic is a geologist at the Illinois State Don Mikulic is a geologist at the Illinois State Don MikulicGeological Survey. He also does research on pa-leontology, specializing in trilobites, ancient reefs, Silurian and Devonian geology and the history of fossil studies. He is co-chair of the Paleontologi-cal Collections Committee of the Paleontological Society and serves on the Management Board of the Geological Society of America-North Central Section. Don was a recipient of the 2002 MAPS Eugene Richardson Award.

Joanne Kluessendorf is the Director of the Weis Joanne Kluessendorf is the Director of the Weis Joanne KluessendorfEarth Science Museum at the University of Wis-consin-Fox Valley, a member of the Collections and Education Committees of the Paleontologi-cal Society and chair of the Winifred Goldring Award Committee of the Association for Women Geoscientists. Her research interests are Silu-rian and Devonian geology, ancient reefs and Fossil Konservat Lagerstätten. She has writ-ten numerous nominations for National His-toric Landmarks for the National Park Service. Joanne also received the 2002 MAPS Eugene Richardson Award.

Jim Brace-Thompson is a member of the MAPS, the Fossils for Fun Society (California), the Ven-tura Gem & Mineral Society and the Carmel Val-ley Gem & Mineral Society. He is also the Juniors Activities Chair of the California and American Federations of Mineralogical Societies. Primarily, he’s a collector of fossils, especially fossil fi sh and shark teeth, insects, echinoderms, plants and mi-crofossils. He has also published articles on clas-sifi c fossil-collecting sites around the U.S.

Michael Graham has been an avid fossil collec-tor since childhood. He focuses on the Green River formation, and is known for his expertise in identifying fossil insects.

Scott McKenzie teaches at Mercyhurst College Archaeological Institute in Erie, Pennsylvania. Scott has written articles on early horseshoe crabs, phyllocarid shrimp and early plants in scientifi c journals since 1981. He is a member of MAPS, the Paleontological Society, The Pa-laeontological Society (London), Conchologists of America, The Meteoritical Society and is a charter member of the GIA Alumni Society.

Nancy Mathura hunts twice a year in the Bad-lands of South Dakota and Nebraska. She’s also secretary and librarian of the Oakland County (Michigan) Earth Science Club and preps whale fossils in Bloomfi eld, Michigan.

Seediscussions,stats,andauthorprofilesforthispublicationat:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261998402

DicranoptychaOstenSacken,1860(Diptera,Limoniidae)fromtheearliestCenomanianBurmeseamber

ArticleinCretaceousResearch·May2014

DOI:10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

CITATIONS

25

READS

215

3authors:

Someoftheauthorsofthispublicationarealsoworkingontheserelatedprojects:

Classification,diversityanddisparityoftheHemipteraViewproject

IBERIANAMBER:ANEXCEPTIONALRECORDOFCRETACEOUSFORESTSATTHERISEOFMODERN

TERRESTRIALECOSYSTEMSViewproject

IwonaKania

UniversityofRzeszów,Poland

41PUBLICATIONS109CITATIONS

SEEPROFILE

BoWang

753PUBLICATIONS7,602CITATIONS

SEEPROFILE

JacekSzwedo

UniversityofGdansk

185PUBLICATIONS719CITATIONS

SEEPROFILE

AllcontentfollowingthispagewasuploadedbyJacekSzwedoon26September2014.

Theuserhasrequestedenhancementofthedownloadedfile.Allin-textreferencesunderlinedinblueareaddedtotheoriginaldocument

andarelinkedtopublicationsonResearchGate,lettingyouaccessandreadthemimmediately.

Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken, 1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from theearliest Cenomanian Burmese amber

Iwona Kania a,*, Bo Wang b,c, Jacek Szwedo d

aDepartment of Environmental Biology, University of Rzeszów, Zelwerowicza 4, PL35-601 Rzeszów, Polandb State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39,East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, PR Chinac Steinmann Institute, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, GermanydDepartment of Palaeozoology, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 64, Wilcza Street, PL 00-679 Warszawa, Poland

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 18 January 2014Accepted in revised form 1 March 2014Available online xxx

Key words:DipteraLimoniidaeLimoniinaeDicranoptychaNew speciesCenomanianUpper CretaceousBurmese amberMorphologyTaxonomy

a b s t r a c t

A new species of Dicranoptycha from Burmese amber (lowermost Cenomanian, Upper Cretaceous) isdescribed, Dicranoptycha burmitica sp. nov. The morphology comparison with their closest recent andfossil relatives is provided. The distribution of fossil representatives of Dicranoptycha is presented andtheir morphological traits discussed.

� 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The dipteran family Limoniidae Speiser, 1909 is a large groupwith about 11,000 described species of worldwide distribution(Oosterbroek, 2014). The larvae of recent forms are found in aquaticor semiaquatic environments where they feed on decaying plantmatter, fungi and algae, while adults, whether from terrestrial oraquatic habitats, generally congregate along aquatic environmentsand moist grounds (Pritchard, 1983). Fossil record of the familyextends to the late Triassic (Krzemi�nski, 1992; Shcherbakov et al.,1995; Krzemi�nski and Krzemi�nska, 2003). The status of the familywas recently challenged as not a natural group, with a revisedtaxonomic system for its members, placing the subfamilial di-visions as monophyletic subfamilies of Tipulidae (Petersen et al.,2010). However, further detailed studies, morphological, palae-oentomological and molecular are necessary to result in morerobust and testable arrangements.

The genus Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken, 1860 is one of the mostnumerous present-day genus within subfamily Limoniinae Speiser,1909, after the genera like: Antocha Osten Sacken, 1860, Dicrano-myia Stephens, 1829, Elephantomyia Osten Sacken, 1860, Ger-anomyia Holiday, 1833, Helius Lepeletier et Serville, 1828, LibnotesWestwood, 1876, Limonia Meigen, 1803, Orimarga Osten Sacken,1869, RhipidiaMeigen, 1818 and Trentepohlia Bigot, 1854. The genusDicranoptycha comprises nearly 90 extant species mainly distrib-uted in the Afrotropic and Nearctic Regions, but not known fromthe Australian Region (Oosterbroek, 2014). The crane-flies from thegenus Dicranoptycha are also represented in fossil materials. Thedata of fossil materials indicate that the first representatives ofDicranoptycha appeared in the Cretaceous, approximately at thesame time as the oldest representatives of the genus Limonia(Westwood, 1854; Krzemi�nski and Teskey, 1987; Gelhaus andJohnson, 1996) and just after as the oldest representatives of thegenus Helius (Kania et al., 2013). Up to now, only single species ofthe genus, i.e. Dicranoptycha fragmentata Krzemi�nski, 2004 wasknown from the lowermost Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber(Krzemi�nski, 2004). Chronologically, the first fossil, placed recentlyin the genus was described from the Palaeocene Ardtun Head, Isle

* Corresponding author.E-mail addresses: ikania@univ.rzeszow.pl (I. Kania), savantwang@gmail.com

(B. Wang), szwedo@miiz.waw.pl (J. Szwedo).

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Cretaceous Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate/CretRes

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.0020195-6671/� 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e9

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

of Mull in Scotland by Zeuner (1941). This species, originallydescribed under the name Stibadocerites europaeus Zeuner, 1941,was placed in the family Cylindrotomidae, as the oldest represen-tative of the family. Krzemi�nski (1993) after re-examination of theZeuner’s material, transferred this species to the genus Dicra-noptycha, of the family Limoniidae. The other fossil representativesof Dicranoptycha are known from later periods. The Dicranoptychaelectrina Alexander, 1931 and Dicranoptycha osata Podenas, 2004were described from the Eocene Baltic amber, two other species,i.e. Dicranoptycha lignitica Statz, 1934 and Dicranoptycha rottensisStatz, 1944 are known from the Oligocene of Germany; and Dicra-noptycha anna Krzemi�nski et Gentlini, 1992 was described from theMiocene of Italy. Another specimen, compared with the recentDicranoptycha megaphallus Alexander, 1926 from North America,was mentioned by Wappler (2002) from the middle Eocene Eck-felder Maares in Germany (Table 1).

2. Material and methods

The study was based on material from the Nanjing Institute ofGeology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing,China. The specimen (one inclusion in Burmese amber) was studiedusing a Nikon SMZ 1500 stereomicroscope. The microphotographswere taken with a stereomicroscope equipped with a Nikon DS-Fi1camera. The drawings were made on the basis of specimens andphotographs. The measurements of specimens were taken withNIS-Elements D 3.0 software.

Burmese amber (amber from northern Myanmar), is a remark-able resin and arguably the most important amber for studyingterrestrial diversity in the mid-Cretaceous. The oldest written re-cord referring to Burmese amber was in the Annals of the HanDynasty (205e265 AD). This resin has been commercially exploitedfor 2,000 years, and for centuries it was traded with China, andamber was used and is still used in Chinese medicine (Grimaldiet al., 2002; Ross et al., 2010; Shi et al., 2012). Amber has beenrecorded from the Shwebo, Thayetmyo, Pakokku and Pegu districtsin Myanmar. However, the only commercial source is the HukawngValley in the Myitkyina and Upper Chindwin districts (Zherikhinand Ross, 2000; Cruikshank and Ko, 2003; Ross et al., 2010;Fig. 1AeD). It is the amber from the Hukawng Valley that wasstudied and named ‘burmite’ by Helm (1892, 1893). This amber is

rich in animal and plant inclusions, preserving the most diversepalaeobiota among the worlds’ seven major deposits of Cretaceousamber (Ross et al., 2010; Shi et al., 2012).

The burmite-bearing matrix containing amber is a greyish tobluish-green volcanoclastic to mudstone (Cruikshank and Ko,2003; Shi et al., 2012), the amber is located in the finer facies ofsedimentary rocks, which consists mainly of rounded lithic clasts(0.03e0.15 mm in diameter), with minor fragments of quartz andfeldspar. Among the lithic clasts aremostly volcanic rocks (Shi et al.,2012). Burmite is only the second Cretaceous deposit of fossilif-erous amber with a close radiometric age constraint, the otherbeing amber from the Foremost Formation of Alberta, Canada. Shiet al. (2012) analysed the age of Burmese amber based on U-Pbdating of zircons. They stated that considering the nearshore ma-rine environment and 1-m thickness of the burmite-bearing sedi-ments, and the syn- and post-eruption deposition of volcanic clasts,the age of 98.79 � 0.62 Ma can be used as a maximum limit for theburmite (either at or after), establishing an earliest Cenomanian agefor the fossilized inclusions. The age also indicates that volcaniceruption occurred at 98.79 � 0.62 Ma in the vicinity of theHukawng Valley (Shi et al., 2012).

3. Systematic palaeontology

Order: Diptera Linnaeus, 1758Family: Limoniidae Speiser, 1909Subfamily: Limoniinae Speiser, 1909Genus: Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken, 1860Type species: Dicranoptycha germana Osten Sacken, 1860: 217; bysubsequent designation by Coquillett 1910: 533.

Diagnostic features. Antenna 16-segmented, reaching the base ofwing in males, slightly shorter in the females; scapus cylindrical,elongated, pedicel stout, obconical, the four-five next anten-nomeres oval, following ones elongated; setae moderately long.Compound eyes without setae, almost contiguous below.Rostrum short, palpi short, second segment short, stout, third alittle longer, fourth not much longer than third. Wings elon-gated, moderately broad, vein Sc distinct, cross vein sc-rapparent, near its tip; d-cell present; more or less distinctwrinkle, having almost the appearance of a supplementary vein,which runs from about the middle of vein Cu, down the anal

Table 1List of fossils belonging to the genus Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken, 1860

Species Stage Locality References

Dicranoptycha fragmentataKrzemi�nski, 2004

Cenomanian,Upper Cretaceous

Myanmar (Burma); Burmese amber Krzemi�nski 2004; Ross et al., 2010

Dicranoptycha burmiticasp. nov.

Cenomanian,Upper Cretaceous

Myanmar (Burma); Burmese amber Present paper

Dicranoptycha europea(Zeuner, 1941)

upper (?) Palaeocene Ardtun Head, Isle of Mull, Scotland Zeuner, 1941; Krzemi�nski, 1993, 2004;Wappler, 2002; Evenhuis, 1994

Dicranoptycha electrinaAlexander, 1931

Eocene Sambian Peninsula, Kalinigrad region,Russia; Baltic amber

Alexander, 1931; Wappler, 2002;Podenas, 2004

Dicranoptycha osataPodenas, 2004

Eocene Sambian Peninsula, Kalinigrad region,Russia; Baltic amber

Podenas, 2004

Dicranoptycha cf.megaphallus Alexander,1926

middle Eocene Eckfelder Maares, Germany Wappler, 2002

Dicranoptycha ligniticaStatz, 1934

upper Oligocene Rott, Germany Statz, 1934; Krzemi�nski and Gentilini, 1992;Evenhuis, 1994; Wappler, 2002; Podenas, 2004

Dicranoptycha rottensisStatz, 1944

upper Oligocene Rott, Germany Statz, 1934, 1944; Evenhuis, 1994; Wappler, 2002;Podenas, 2004; Krzemi�nski, 2004

Dicranoptycha annaKrzeminski et Gentilini,1992

Lower Messinian;Miocene

Monte Castellaro, Italy Krzemi�nski and Gentilini, 1992; Wappler, 2002;Podenas, 2004; Krzemi�nski, 2004

I. Kania et al. / Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e92

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

Fig. 1. AeD. Location of recent amber mining area in the Hukawng Valley, Myitkina Province, Burma. Compiled from data provided by Grimaldi et al. (2002), Cruikshank & Ko (2003)and Wandrey (2006).

I. Kania et al. / Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e9 3

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

area, towards posterior margin of the wing, but disappears justbefore reaching it; vein A2 short. Tibiae without spurs at tip, feetlong, rather stout, pilose, tarsal claws smooth beneath, pulvillidistinct. Male gonocoxites subcylindrical, gonostyles falciform orunguiform.

Dicranoptycha burmitica Kania et Szwedo, sp. nov.Figs. 2e4

Material. Holotype, male, No. NIGP156981; Syninclusions: Hemi-ptera: Mimarachnidae; Thysanoptera; Diptera: Nematocera (2exx.); Hymenoptera; Araneae (2 exx.); a few small particles ofdetritus; few air bubbles. Deposited in the collections of NanjingInstitute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sci-ences, Nanjing, P.R. China.Etymology. The species name is derived from the mineralogicalname of the resin containing inclusions e burmite.Age and occurrence. Earliest Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous; Burmeseamber. Hukawng Valley, Myitkina Province, Myanmar.

Diagnosis: Wing unspotted, like in late Cretaceous Dicranoptychafragmentata Krzemi�nski, 2004 (wing patterned in D. europaea,D. electrina and D. anna), with pale brown pterostigma; vein Scending just before the bifurcation of Rs; cross veinm-cu behind thebifurcation of Mb, in 1/7 of the length of d-cell (in D. fragmentata

vein Sc ending just behind the bifurcation of Rs); cross veinm-cu ispresented in proximal 1/5 of d-cell base; R1 ending behind half ofR3þ4, (R1 ending opposite 3/5 of the length of R3þ4 in D. burmitica);Rs reaching less than half the length of R5 (Rs reaching half of R5 inD. fragmentata); Rs 1.27 times as long as d-cell (Rs 1.66 times as longas d-cell in D. fragmentata); hypopygium elongated, with elongatedgonocoxite and gonostyles lobe-shaped, with outer gonostylusstrongly sclerotized and with distinct denticles on outer edge.Description. Body brown, about 6 mm long (Fig. 3A); head withcompound eyes wide (0.64 mm), approximately twice as long aswide with huge, not distinctly separate eyes; antenna 16-segmented, about 1.17 mm long (Figs. 2B, 4B), scape elongated,cylindrical, pedicel barrel-like, flagellomeres 1e3 almost as long

I. Kania et al. / Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e94

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

as wide, flagellomeres 4e16 elongated, the last segment ofantennae as long as penultimate one, two elongated setae visibleon all segments of flagellomeres, longer than segments bearingthem.

Palpus (Figs. 2A, 4B) four-segmented, the last segment as long asthe penultimate one (about 0.05 mm each).

Wing (Figs. 2C, 3A, B, 4A) about 5.1 mm long, 1.2 mm wide; Scending before fork of Rs, cross vein sc-r at four of its lengths beforethe end of Sc; R1 ending behind half of R3þ4, opposite 3/5 of thelength of R3þ4; cross vein r-r (R2) at twice its length before end ofR1; Rs reaching less than half the length of R5; Rs slightly longerthan d-cell; d-cell large, almost rectangular; cross veinm-cu behindthe bifurcation of Mb, in proximal 1/7 of d-cell. Longitudinal wrinkleof cubital cell (between Cu and A1) faint.

Hind femur 5.4 mm long, hind tibia 6.26 mm long, hind tarsusnearly 2/3 of hind tibia length (about 4 mm), basitarsomere thelongest (2.26 mm), second: 0.74 mm, third: 0.47 mm; fourth:0.23 mm, apical tarsomere 0.16 mm, tarsal claws and arolium:0.16 mm.

Tergite IX 0.27 mm long in mid line. Hypopygium (Figs. 2D, 3B,C) 0.59 mm long, elongated with pair of gonostyles; gonocoxite0.39 mm long, three times as long as wide; gonostyles 0.21 mmlong, lobe-like, outer gonostylus dark, strongly sclerotized withdistinct denticles at outer edge; inner gonostylus pale, slightlysclerotized with numerous elongated bristles at inner edge. Para-meres slightly asymmetrical.

Remarks: The specimen well preserved, fore and mid legs missing.The other species known from the genus Dicranoptycha from the

Fig. 2. AeD. Dicranoptycha burmitica sp. nov.; Holotype No. NIGP156981. A. wing venation; B. antenna; C. palpus; D. hypopygium.

I. Kania et al. / Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e9 5

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

Upper Cretaceous e Dicranoptycha fragmentata Krzemi�nski, 2004 e

was described based exclusively on wing venation characters. It isimpossible to compare the morphology of male terminalia of thisspecies with the new species described above.

4. Discussion

The genus Dicranoptychawas described by Osten Sacken (1860)and originally placed in his second group “Tipulae anomalae”. Theplacement of the genus was variable, it was even placed in separatesubtribe Dicranoptycharia (Alexander, 1943), within the tribeLimoniini. According to Oosterbroek (2014) the genus is placed inthe Limoniidae, subfamily Limoniinae. Fossil species of the genuswere placed in the families Tipulidae or Limoniidae, depending on

taxonomic view of authors, and in various subfamilies. Alexander(1931) placed Dicranoptycha electrina in subfamily Limoniinae (inthe family Tipulidae). Podenas (2004) placed Dicranoptycha osataand D. electrina in Limoniidae: Limoniinae. Dicranoptycha anna andDicranoptycha fragmentatawere placed by Krzemi�nski and Gentilini(1992) and Krzemi�nski (2004), respectively, in the Limoniidae,subfamily Eriopterinae. Zeuner (1941) placed his species Dicra-noptycha europaea in the family Cylindrotomidae, but Krzemi�nski(1993) classified it as a representative of family Limoniidae. Statz(1934) placed Dicranoptycha lignitica in family Tipulidae, subfam-ily Limnobiidae, tribe Rhamphidiinae; the same placement heproposed for Dicranomyia rottensis (Statz, 1944). Carpenter (1982)placed the genus Dicranoptycha in the family Tipulidae. Wappler(2002) mentioned one more species comparable to the recent

Fig. 3. AeC. Dicranoptycha burmitica sp. nov.; Holotype No. NIGP156981. A. general view; B. wing venation, abdomen; C. hypopygium.

I. Kania et al. / Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e96

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

Dicranoptycha megaphallus Alexander, 1926 from middle EoceneEckfelder Maares in Germany, he placed it in Limoniidae subfamilyEriopterinae, but this specimen needs further investigations as itdiffers in structure details from the recent D. megaphallus, thespecies occurring in North America (Young, 1987).

The available data indicate that the first representatives ofDicranoptycha appeared in the fossil record approximately at thesame time as the oldest representatives of the other Limoniidaegenera (Fig. 5). For example the oldest record of the fossil ascribedto the genus Limonia Meigen, 1803 comes from Lower Cretaceous,Berriasian of Purbecks of England (Westwood,1854), but placementof the species ‘Limonia’ pertinax (Westwood, 1854) remains un-solved, as Gelhaus and Johnson (1996) suggested it could representTipulidae: Tipulinae s. l.

Then, the oldest known records of the genus Limonia comesfrom the Upper Cretaceous, Turonian amber from New Jersey, fromRaritan-Maghonian Formation (Gelhaus and Johnson, 1996) andfrom the Upper Cretaceous Canadian amber, from Foremost For-mation of Alberta, Canada (Krzemi�nski and Teskey, 1987), the latterwith maximum age for this formation 79.14 � 0.15 Ma and aminimum of 78.2 � 0.2 Ma (Shi et al., 2012). The genus Dicra-noptycha Osten Sacken, 1860 appeared in fossil record just after asthe oldest representatives of the genus Helius Lepeletier et Serville,1828 (Kania et al., 2013). Up to now, only single species of the genus,i.e. Dicranomyia fragmentata Krzemi�nski, 2004 was known, from

the lowermost Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber (Krzemi�nski,2004). It must be noted that Krzemi�nski (1993), Evenhuis (1994)and Podenas (2004) assigned a Late Cretaceous age for Dicra-noptycha europaea (Zeuner, 1941) e the age of Ardtun Head, Isle ofMull deposit is considered now as late Palaeocene (Mussett, 1986;Boulter & Kva�cek, 1989; Krzemi�nski, 1993). Dicranoptycha europea(Zeuner, 1941) was originally described as Stibadocerites europaeusZeuner, 1941, but the taxonomic placement of this fossil was laterchanged by Krzemi�nski (1993), who, after revision, moved it fromfamily Cylindrotomidae and place in the genus Dicranoptycha offamily Limoniidae.

Little is known about biology of the recent species of Dicra-noptycha. Larvae can be found in the uppermost few millimeters ofsoil layer, below the leaf litter, they are probably saprophagous.Imagines occur in humid to relatively dry open woodlands, theyprobably feed on flower nectar (Alexander, 1919; Young, 1987).

5. Concluding remarks

The species described above e Dicranoptycha burmitica sp. nov.e is second record of this genus and second species described fromthe lowermost Cenomanian Burmese amber. The fossil record ofthe genus Dicranoptycha is slightly younger than oldest fossilsknown of the related genera Helius and Limonia (early Cretaceous),but together these fossils represent the oldest forms of the

Fig. 4. AeB. Dicranoptycha burmitica sp. nov.; Holotype No. NIGP156981. A. wing venation; B. morphology of head.

I. Kania et al. / Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e9 7

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

Fig. 5. Chronostratigraphic distribution of the Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken, 1860 fossil species, and some of their Cretaceous relatives. Circle with asterisk e figured species, opencircle e not figured.

I. Kania et al. / Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e98

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

subfamily Limoniinae. This finding is very important as it suggeststhat Dicranoptycha, together with some other genera reported fromolder strata, originated and diversified during the Cretaceous times.Findings of new fossil representatives of the genus DicranoptychaOsten Sacken, 1860 give the new perspective on the evolution anddiversification of the group and its taxonomic status.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Prof. Wies1aw Krzemi�nski (Institute ofSystematic and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences,Cracow) for advices and comments during preparation of this pa-per. Many thanks toMr. Marcin Gasior, M.Sc. (Museum and Instituteof Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw) for his kind helpin preparation of the map. B.W. was supported by a ResearchFellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. We alsothank the Reviewers and Editors for their comments andsuggestions.

References

Alexander, C.P., 1919. The biology of the North American crane-flies (Tipulidae,Diptera). V. The genus Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken. Pomona College Journal ofEntomology and Zoology 12, 67e74.

Alexander, C.P., 1931. Crane-flies of the Baltic amber (Diptera). Bern-steinforschungen 2, 135 pp.

Alexander, C.P., 1943. (1942). Family Tipulidae. In: Crampton, G.C., Curran, C.H.,Alexander, C.P. (Eds.), Guide to the insects of Connecticut. Part VI. The Diptera ortrue flies of Connecticut. First Fascicle, Bulletin Connecticut State Geological andNatural History Survey 64, pp. 196e486.

Boulter, M.C., Kva�cek, Z., 1989. The Palaeocene flora of the Isle of Mull. SpecialPapers in Palaeontology 42, 1e149.

Cruikshank, R.D., Ko, K., 2003. Geology of an amber locality in the Hukawng Valley,Northern Myanmar. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21, 441e455.

Evenhuis, N.L., 1994. Catalogue of the fossil flies of the world (Insecta: Diptera).Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.

Gelhaus, J.K., Johnson, R., 1996. First record of crane flies (Tipulidae: Limoniinae) inUpper Cretaceous amber from New Jersey, U.S.A. Transactions of the AmericanEntomological Society 122, 55e65.

Grimaldi, D.A., Engel, M.S., Nascimbene, P.C., 2002. Fossiliferous Cretaceous amberfrom Myanmar (Burma): its rediscovery, biotic diversity, and paleontologicalsignificance. American Museum Novitates 3361, 1e71.

Helm, O., 1892. On a new, fossil, amber-like resin occurring in Burma. Records ofGeological Survey of India 25, 180e181.

Helm, O., 1893. Further note on Burmite, a new amber-like fossil resin from UpperBurma. Records of Geological Survey of India 26, 61e64.

Kania, I., Krzemi�nski, W., Azar, D., 2013. The oldest representative of Helius Lep-eletier & Serville 1828 (Diptera: Limoniidae) from Lebanese amber (EarlyCretaceous). Insect Systematics and Evolution 44 (2), 231e238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1876312X-44032093.

Krzemi�nski, W., 1992. Triassic and Lower Jurassic stage of Diptera evolution. Mit-teilungen der schweizerischen entomologischen Gesellschaft 65, 39e59.

Krzemi�nski, W., 1993. The systematic position of Stibadocerites europaeus Zeunerfrom the Upper Cretaceous of Scotland (Diptera: Tipulomorpha). Annals of theUpper Silesian Museum (Entomology) Supplement 1, 77e80.

Krzemi�nski, W., 2004. Fossil Limoniidae (Diptera, Tipulomorpha) from LowerCretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 2,123e125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1477201904001257.

Krzemi�nski, W., Gentilini, G., 1992. New information on Limoniidae from MonteCastellaro, Italy (Upper Miocene). Acta zoologica cracoviensia 35 (1), 87e95.

Krzemi�nski, W., Krzemi�nska, E., 2003. Triassic Diptera: review, revisions and de-scriptions. Acta zoologica cracoviensia 46 (suppl. e Fossil Insects), 153e184.

Krzemi�nski, W., Teskey, H.J., 1987. New taxa of Limoniidae (Diptera: Nematocera)from Canadian amber. Canadian Entomologist 119, 887e892.

Mussett, A.E., 1986. 40Ar-39Ar step-heating ages of the Tertiary igneous rocks ofMull, Scotland. Journal of the Geological Society of London 143, 887e896.

Osten Sacken, C.R., 1860. New genera and species of North American Tipulidae withshort palpi, with an attempt at a new classification of the tribe. Proceedings ofthe Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 1859, 197e256.

Oosterbroek, P., 2014. Catalogue of the Craneflies of the World (Diptera, Tipuloidea:Pediciidae, Limoniidae, Cylindrotomidae, Tipulidae). Last updated 14 February2014. Last accessed 16 February 2014. http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/ccw/index.php.

Petersen, M.J., Bertone, M.A., Wiegmann, B.M., Courtney, G.W., 2010. Phylogeneticsynthesis of morphological and molecular data reveals new insights into thehigher-level classification of Tipuloidea (Diptera). Systematic Entomology 35(3), 526e545. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00524.x.

Podenas, S., 2004. Dicranoptycha Crane Flies (Diptera: Limoniidae) from BalticAmber (Eocene). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 130 (4),457e462.

Pritchard, G., 1983. Biology of Tipulidae. Annual Review of Entomology 28, 1e22.http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.28.010183.000245.

Ross, A., Mellish, C., York, P., Crighton, B., 2010. Chapter 12. Burmese Amber. In:Penney, D. (Ed.), Biodiversity of fossils in amber from the major world deposits.Siri Scientific Press, Manchester, pp. 208e235.

Shcherbakov, D.E., Lukashevich, E.D., Blagoderov, V.A., 1995. Triassic Diptera andinitial radiation of the order. International Journal of Dipterological Research 6(2), 75e115.

Shi, G., Grimaldi, D.A., Harlow, G.E., Wang, J., Wang, J., Yang, M., Lei, W., Li, Q., Li, X.,2012. Age constraint on Burmese amber based on U-Pb dating of zircons. Creta-ceous Research 37, 155e163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2012.03.014.

Statz, G., 1934. Neue Tipulidenfunde aus den Braunkohlenschiefern von Rott amSiebengebirge. Wissenschaftliche Mitteilungen des Vereins für Natur undHeimatkunde in Köln 1 (3), 90e106.

Statz, G., 1944. Neue Dipteren (Nematocera) aus dem Oberoligocän von Rott. III.Familie Limnobiidae (Stelzmücken). IV. Familie: Tipulidae (Schnaken). V. Fam-ilie: Culicidae (Stechmücken). Palaeontographica (A) 95 (3e6), 93e121.

Wandrey, C.J., 2006. Eocene to Miocene composite total petroleum system,Irrawaddy-Andaman and North Burma geologic provinces, Myanmar. In:Wandrey, C.J. (Ed.), Petroleum systems and related geologic studies in Region 8,South Asia. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2208-E, 26 pp.

Wappler, T., 2002. Dicranoptycha (Insecta: Nematocera: Limoniidae) aus der mit-teleozänen Fossillagerstätte Eckfelder Maar bei Manderscheid / Eifel(Deutschland). Mainzer Naturwissenschaftliches Archiv 40, 129e134.

Westwood, J.O., 1854. Contributions to fossil entomology. Quarterly Journal of theGeological Society of London 10, 378e396.

Young, C.W., 1987. A revision of the crane fly genus Dicranoptycha in North America.Kansas University Science Bulletin 53, 215e274.

Zeuner, F.E., 1941. The Eocene insects of the Ardtun beds, Isle of Mull, Scotland.Annals and Magazine of Natural History 11 (7), 82e100.

Zherikhin, V.V., Ross, A.J., 2000. A review of the history, geology and age of Burmeseamber (Burmite). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) GeologySeries 56 (1), 3e10.

I. Kania et al. / Cretaceous Research xxx (2014) 1e9 9

Please cite this article in press as: Kania, I., et al., Dicranoptycha Osten Sacken,1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) from the earliest Cenomanian Burmeseamber, Cretaceous Research (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.03.002

Burmese amber from Hti Lin

Tay Thye Sun 1, Arunas Kleismantas

2, Thet Tin Nyunt 3, Zheng Minrui

4, Murali Krishnaswamy 5, Loke Hui Ying

1 1

Far East Gemological Laboratory, 12 Arumugam Road #04-02, Lion building B, Singapore 409958. 2 University of Vilnius, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, M.K. Ciurlionio 21/27, Vilnius, Lithuania.

3 University of Yangoon, Department of Geology, Yangon, Myanmar. 4 National University of Singapore, Physics department, Kent Ridge, Singapore.

5 NUS High School of Mathematic and Science, Department of Chemistry, 20 Clementi Ave 1, Singapore.

Keywords Amber, Myanmar, infrared spectroscopy

Introduction

Burmese amber or Burmite, more correctly amber from Myanmar, has been commercially exploited for a millennium and its main market is China. The history of the use of Burmite has been reviewed by several authors (Webster & Read, 1994; Zherikhin and Ross, 2000; Grimaldi et al., 2002; Ross et al., 2010). The main amber producing area in Burma has been the Hukawng valley (Hukawng Basin) in the Kachin region, northern Myanmar (Noetling, 1892; Chhibber, 1934; Cruickshank and Ko, 2003; Guanghai Shi et al., 2014).

A new location of amber mining in Burma is at Tilin or Hti Lin township, Gangaw District, Magway Region, Central Myanmar and located at N21˚- 41’ – 44.6”, E94˚-5’ – 47”. The author (TTS) took the opportunity to visit the area in mid-March 2015 with the help of travel guide Mr Nyi Nyi Aung and geologist Mr Kyaw Kyaw and villager of Yaw people Mr Kyaw Min and a few of his colleagues. At Hti Lin, the actual amber location is at Kyakhe (translating to English as tiger bite).

Brief geology & mining of amber at Hti Lin

At the amber mine sites, the geology of Hti Lin area is made up of reddish brown mudstone, shales with coal bearing layers, some greenish, fine to medium grained calcareous sandstone, gritty sandstone with quartz pebble and conglomerate (per comm. Aung Kyi, 2015). At Kyakhe, shales could be found on dump sites, occasionally broken sub-bituminous coal together with ball-like pyrite and broken white calcite blocks. At one of the site, there were two small sulphur vents giving out sulphur fumes, i.e. volcanic activities. This sandstone bed has been named Kabaw Formation, and is from the upper Cretaceous (Than Htut, 2015). The strike of the sandstone bed is nearly NS, dipping east (approximately 330/50NE). Its lithology mainly consists of shale intercalated with occasional fine grained turbiditic sandstones which is unconformably overlain by Paunggyi Formation (Win Swe, 2012; per comm. Mitchell, A.H.G., 2015). Therefore, the geological setting is quite similar to that of Hukawng valley, Tanai, the better known amber locality.

At Kyakhe, about 100 miners (mainly farmers) work in 20-30 pits, covering an area approximately 10 km2. Based on the miners’ observations, amber is found in the shale which is from 30 to 40 cm thick. Miners usually look for traces of thin coal layers and follow them until they find amber in the shale bedding plane. The miners dig a lebin or square pit to a depth of about 15 to 20 m before reaching the shale with amber. Nearly all the rough ambers found are opaque with blackish skin. The samples weigh from a few grams to a few kilograms per piece.

34th IGC 2015 – Vi ln ius, L i thuania Thursday 27th August 2015

26

Figure 1. Some of the polished amber from the new Hti Lin deposit in Myanmar – the largest one on the top left hand weighs 27.7 g (6.6x5.9x1.2 cm); and one rough amber sample on the right 45.9 g (8.7x8.8x1.4 cm). Photo by Tay.

Materials and methods

Twenty samples of amber from Hti Lin (Figure 1) were examined using basic gemmological methods. Another five samples from Hti Lin and five samples from Tanai (Hukawng Valley) were examined using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy of Shimadzu model IR Prestige-21 in the range 4000-400 cm-1, with a resolution of 4.1 cm-1, accumulating 45scans. Raman spectroscopy was performed on a Renishaw InVia in the range 1400 cm-1 to 1768 cm-1, using a 785 nm laser in the continuous waving mode.

Results

Gemological data The colour of Hti Lin amber ranges from white, yellow, yellowish-brown to dark brown, and some is reddish-brown. The materials can be transparent to opaque. The refractive index ranges from 1.54 to 1.55, and specific gravity ranges from 1.03 to 1.05. Slightly higher SG was attributed to the presence of pyrite inclusions. Under magnification, there are flattened gas bubbles, flow marks, thin film inclusions that is reflective (Figure 2a) under oblique fibre optic lighting, some unidentifiable probably organic debris but no insects were found. Some pieces show dark brown droplet inclusion and also older flow marks interrupted by a second generation of flow marks. There are also pyrite included crystals (Figure 2b). Under ultraviolet radiation, Hti Lin amber tends to fluoresce very strong chalky blue with white veins under long wave and weak chalky blue under short wave.

Figure 2. Some of the inclusions found in amber from Hti Lin. Photo by Tay.

(a) Reflective thin film in amber x20 (b) Exposed pyrite crystals in amber x15

34th IGC 2015 – Vi ln ius, L i thuania Thursday 27th August 2015

27

Infrared and Raman spectrometer data Infrared spectroscopy in the transmission mode of Hti Lin ambers show significant peaks at 2925 cm-1, 1725 cm-1, 1460 cm-1, 1375 cm-1, also between 1300–1000 cm-1 and a weak pair of peaks between 855 cm-1–810 cm-1 (Figure 3a).

In a brief comparative analysis of Hti Lin amber versus Tanai amber absorption spectra, it was found that both spectra are similar except that some of the Hti Lin has double peaks at 1724 cm-1 and 1699 cm-1 whereas Tanai has a peak at 1724 cm-1 only. More samples are needed to strengthen this indication.

Using Raman spectroscopy on Hti Lin and Tanai amber, it becomes apparent that both show strong photoluminescence which makes Raman measurement ineffective. Previously, the 1400-1800 cm-1 region had been successfully used in the study of Baltic amber (Tay et al., 1998; Thanong et al., 2013) but is unfortunately now not effective due to strong fluorescence of Burmese amber.

Figure 3a. Infrared spectrum of amber from Hti Lin with a doublepeak at 1724 and 1699 cm-1.

Figure 3b. Infrared spectrum of amber from Tanai shows a single peak at 1724 cm-1.

Discussion & conclusion

Amber from Hti Lin is found in the late Cretaceous sedimentary rock, and quite similar to Hukawng valley of Tanai area. To some geologists, Hti Lin amber area could have overlap into Eocene deposits (per comm. Aung Kyi, 2015).

The gemmological data of amber from Hti Lin is quite similar to that of amber from many areas around the world. For example, the R.I. ranges from 1.54 to 1.55, the S.G. from 1.03 to 1.05, with inclusions such as gas bubbles, flow marks, pyrite included crystals, thin reflective film and some unidentified, probably organic, debris. Burmese amber from Hukawng valley is famous for its abundance of some rare, as well as common insects, whereas in Hti Lin, no insect has been found in the samples we examined.

Based on the mid-IR result, the spectrum of amber from Hti Lin looks quite similar to that from Hukawng Valley, Tanai area, but some of the Hti Lin amber shows double peaks at 1724 cm-1 and 1699 cm-1. Looking for the ‘Baltic amber shoulder’ i.e. 1259-1184 cm-1 and associated feature at 1159 cm-1 (Beck et al., 1964; Langenheim, 1969), the Hti Lin sample does not show the ‘Baltic amber shoulder’, but rather broad peaks between 1226 – 1145 cm-1.

References

Aung Kyi – per communication, 2015. Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration, Ministry of Mines, Myanmar.

Beck, C., Wilbur, E., Meret, S., 1964. “Infrared spectra and the origin of amber”, Nature, Vol. 201, pp. 256-257.

34th IGC 2015 – Vi ln ius, L i thuania Thursday 27th August 2015

28

Bannert, D., Sang Lyen, A., Than Htay, (Hannover 2011) “The Geology of the Indoburman Ranges in Myanmar”, Geologisches Jahrbuch, Reihe B Heft 101, 61 pp.

Chhibber, H.L., 1934. “The Mineral Resources of Burma” London, Macmillan & Co.

Cruickshank, R.D., Ko Ko, 2003. “Geology of an amber locality in the Hukawng Valley, Northern Myanmar”, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 21, pp. 441-455.

Grimaldi, D.A., 1996. “Amber: Window of the Past”. Harry B. Abrams, Publishers, in association with the American Museum of Natural History, 216 p.

Langenheim J., 1969. “A botanical inquiry” Science, Vol. 163, pp. 1157-1169.

Mitchell, A.H.G., per communication, 2015. In the process of finishing his book on the Geology of Myanmar.

Noetling, F., 1892. “Preliminary report on the economic resources of the amber and jade mines area in Upper Burma” Rec. Geol. Surv. India 25: 130-35.

Ross, A., Mellish, C., York, P., Crighton, B., 2010. “Burmese amber. In: Penney, D. (Ed.), Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits. Siri Scientific Press, Manchester, pp. 192-207.

Pavia, D.L., Lampman, G.M., Kriz, G.S., Vyyan, J.R. 2009. “Introduction to Spectroscopy”. 4th ed. Cengage Learning: Belmont.

Shi, G.H., Grimaldi, D.A., Harlow G.E., Wang Jing, Wang Jun, Yang M.C., Lei W.Y., Li Q.L., Li X.H., 2012. “Age Constraints on Burmese amber based on U-Pb dating Zircons”, Cretaceous Research, 37, pp. 155-163.

Tay, T.S., Shen, Z.X., Yee, S.I., 1998. “On Identification of Amber and its Imitations using Raman Spectroscopy – Preliminary results” The Australian Gemmologist, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 114-123.

Thanong L., Pornsawat W., Sumarni P., Chakkaphan S., Boontawee S., Pimtida B., 2013. “The Characteristics of amber from Indonesia” The Australian Gemmologist, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 142-145.

Than Htut, 2015. “The Shale Gas Prospect in Myanmar”, Journal of the Myanmar Geosciences Society, Vol. 6, No. 1, 99-130 pp.

Webster, R., 1994. “Gems: Their sources, description and identification”. P 573, 5th ed. Revised by P. Read. Butterworth-Heinemann: London 2003.

Win Swe, 2012. “Outline Geology and Economic Mineral Occurrences of the Union of Myanmar”, Journal of the Myanmar Geosciences Society, Special Publication No. (1), 215 pp.

Yan Liu, Shi G.H., Shen Wang, “Colour Phenomena of Blue Amber”, Gems & Gemology, Summer 2014, Vol. 50, No. 2, Notes & New Techniques pp. 2-8.

Zherikhin, V.V., Ross, A.J., 2000. “A review of the history, geology and age of Burmese amber (Burmite). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum, London (Geology) 56, 3-10.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Ma Gjam, Ko Aung Naing, Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, Ko Kyaw Kyaw for directing Tay Thye Sun to the Tilin location. Also thanks to Ms Pek Lay Pheng, Senior Laboratory Technologist, NUS High School of Mathematics and Science for preparation of samples for IR. Prof. Shen Zexiang and Ms.Yin Ting Ting for Raman microscopy work at Centre For Disruptive Photonic Technologies, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore. Also many thanks to Mr. Tin Kyaw Than, Mr. Aung Kyi, Dr Andrew Mitchell and Prof. Dr Khin Zaw (CODES Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits, University of Tasmania), for discussion on the geology of Myanmar especially Tilin area.

34th IGC 2015 – Vi ln ius, L i thuania Thursday 27th August 2015

29