Prehistoric wasp found trapped in amber

[UM-Bot]

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/images/newsitems/amber.jpg

In something akin to a scene from Jurassic Park a 95-million-year-old wasp has been found trapped in amber. The rare find parallels the concept outlined in the Jurassic Park movie series where dinosaur DNA is found by extracting blood preserved within a mosquito trapped in amber.

"this amber was purchased by a Vienna-based mineral dealer in Addis Ababa. Later realizing the potential paleontological value, the dealer sold a big piece to the Natural History Museum in Vienna and several smaller pieces to paleontologists of the University of Vienna. "

View: Full Article | Source: Discover Magazine

[+DieChecker]

I thought there were lots of examples of spiders and insects trapped in amber.

[Darkcore]

I thought there were lots of examples of spiders and insects trapped in amber.

You are right:

"Amber sometimes contains animals or plant matter that became caught in the resin as it was secreted. Insects, spiders and their webs, annelids, frogs,[17] crustaceans, bacteria and amoebae,[18] marine microfossils,[19] wood, flowers and fruit, hair, feathers and other small organisms have been recovered in ambers dating to 130 million years ago.[6] In most cases the original organic material has decayed, leaving only a cavity, and sometimes remnants of resistant materials such as chitin." Wiki.

Guess it's the "lucky find" that made it as an article.

also, not to confound with what you find on e-bay

Often amber (particularly with insect inclusions) is counterfeited using a plastic resin. A simple test consists of touching the object with a heated pin and determining if the resultant odor is of wood resin. If not, the object is counterfeit, although a positive test may not be conclusive owing to a thin coat of real resin. Often counterfeits will have a too-perfect pose and position of the trapped insect. (same source)