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Fossilized insect discovered preserved in opal


Still Waters

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The markets of Southeast Asia are common places to find the fossils of insects, embedded in amber millions of years old. But last year, gemologist Brian Berger found something much more rare and astonishing.

The piece he bought features an insect inclusion, except it's not preserved in amber - the lithified resin of ancient trees - but in precious opal, a mineraloid whose formation is still largely a mystery.

"As evidenced in the photos, you can see what appears to be a complete insect encased beautifully inside," Berger wrote in a blog post for Entomology Today.

https://www.sciencealert.com/an-insect-found-trapped-in-precious-opal-could-upend-our-theories-of-how-the-stone-forms

Quote

Fossilized Insect Discovered Not in Amber, But in Opal

https://entomologytoday.org/2019/01/18/fossilized-insect-discovered-amber-opal/

 

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  • The title was changed to Fossilized insect discovered preserved in opal
 

Cool beans!

The jasper-opal quarry used by the Natives in Gap, Pennsylvania was formerly volcanic mud that was turned into jasper and opal. I never found a fossil in a Indian cache of it, or while I was reducing it for knapping but I can see where it's possible. 

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