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Evidence for marine microfossils from amber.

Vincent Girard¹, Alexander R Schmidt, Simona Saint Martin

¹Université de Rennes 1, Unité Mixte de Recherche Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 6118, 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, F-35042 Rennes Cedex, France. vincent.girard@univ-rennes1.fr

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|November 5, 2008

Summary

Marine microfossils, including diatoms and radiolarians, have been discovered preserved in ancient amber. This finding challenges previous assumptions about amber

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Area of Science:

Paleontology
Geology
Marine Biology

Background:

Amber typically preserves terrestrial and limnetic organisms from ancient forest environments.
It was previously believed that amber could not preserve marine organisms due to differing depositional environments.

Purpose of the Study:

To report the discovery of marine microfossils preserved in amber.
To investigate the environmental conditions that allowed for the preservation of marine life in amber.

Main Methods:

Analysis of Late Albian and Early Cenomanian amber samples from southwestern France.
Microscopic examination to identify fossilized marine organisms within the amber.

Main Results:

Diverse marine microfossils were identified, including diatoms, radiolarians, sponge spicules, a foraminifer, and an echinoderm larval spine.
Fossiliferous amber samples date to approximately 100 million years ago.
The amber originated from coastal conifer forests adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean.

Conclusions:

Marine organisms can be preserved in amber, contrary to previous scientific assumptions.
Coastal amber forests, influenced by marine processes like wind, spray, and tides, can incorporate and preserve marine microfossils.