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Dominican amber

January 01, 1970

Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree Hymenaea protera.

Worker termite in Dominican amber

Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil inclusions. This has enabled the detailed reconstruction of the ecosystem of a long-vanished tropical forest.[1]

Age edit

The age of the amber has been controverisal. A study in the early 1990s returned a date up to 40 million years old.[2] However, other authors have suggested a date in the Miocene, around 20-15 million years old, based on marine microfossils found in the sediment the amber is contained in.[3]

Mining sites edit

There are three main sites in the Dominican Republic where amber is found: La Cordillera Septentrional, in the north, and Bayaguana and Sabana de la Mar, in the east. In the northern area, the amber-bearing unit is formed of clastic rocks, washed down with sandstone fragments and other sediments that accumulated in a deltaic environment, even in water of some depth.[4][5][6]

In the eastern area, the amber is found in a sediment formation of organic-rich laminated sand, sandy clay, intercalated lignite, and as well as some solvated beds of gravel and calcarenite.[7]

Both areas seem to have been part of the same sedimentary basin but were later disrupted by movements along major faults.[8]

Mining edit

Dominican amber, especially Dominican blue amber, is mined through bell pitting, which is extremely dangerous. The bell pit is basically a foxhole dug with whatever tools are available. Machetes do the start, some shovels, picks and hammers may participate eventually. The pit itself goes as deep or safe as possible, sometimes vertical, sometimes horizontal, but never level. It snakes into hill sides, drops away, joins up with others, goes straight up and pops out elsewhere. 'Foxhole' applies indeed: rarely are the pits large enough to stand in, and then only at the entrance. Miners crawl around on their knees using short-handled picks, shovels and machetes.

There are little to no safety measures. A pillar or so may hold back the ceiling from time to time but only if the area has previously collapsed. Candles are the only source of light. Humidity inside the mines is at 100%. Since the holes are situated high on mountainsides and deep inside said mountains, the temperature is cool and bearable, but after several hours the air becomes stale. During rain the mines are forced to close. The holes fill up quickly with water, and there is little point in pumping it out again (although sometimes this is done) because the unsecured walls may crumble.[9]

Variations edit

Dominican amber can be found in many colors, besides the obvious amber. Yellow and honey colored are fairly common. There is also red and green in smaller quantities and the rare blue amber (fluorescent).[10][11]

The blue amber reportedly is found mostly in Palo Quemado mine south from La Cumbre.[12][13]

The Museo del Ambar Dominicano, in Puerto Plata, as well as the Amber World Museum in Santo Domingo have collections of amber specimens.

Paleobiology edit

Numerous organisms have been described from amber specimens including:

 
Anochetus intermedius, an ant
 
Odontomachus spinifer

Protozoans edit

Flora edit

Funga edit

Fauna edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ George Poinar, Jr. and Roberta Poinar, 1999. The Amber Forest: A Reconstruction of a Vanished World, (Princeton University Press) ISBN 0-691-02888-5
  2. ^ Browne, Malcolm W. (1992-09-25). "40-Million-Year-Old Extinct Bee Yields Oldest Genetic Material". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  3. ^ ITURRALDE-VINENT, MANUEL A.; MACPHEE, ROSS D.E. (2019-06-24). "Remarks on the age of Dominican amber". Palaeoentomology. 2 (3): 236–240. doi:10.11646/palaeoentomology.2.3.7. ISSN 2624-2834.
  4. ^ Leif Brost and Ake Dahlstrom. The Amber Book, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson , AZ, 1996 ISBN 0-945005-23-7
  5. ^ Wilfred Wichard und Wolfgang Weitschat: Im Bernsteinwald. - Gerstenberg Verlag, Hildesheim, 2004, ISBN 3-8067-2551-9
  6. ^ Baroni Urbani, C. & Saunders, J.B. (1980): The fauna of the Dominican Republic amber: the present status of knowledge. – Memorias, 9a geologica del Caribe, 1: 213-223; Santo Domingo. (Published 1983).
  7. ^ Schlee, D. (1984): Besonderheiten des Dominikanischen Bernsteins. – Stuttgarter Beitr. Naturk., C, 18: 63-71; Stuttgart.
  8. ^ Manuel A. Iturralde-Vennet 2001. Geology of the Amber-Bearing Deposits of the Greater Antilles. Caribbean Journal of Science, Vol. 00, No. 0, 141-167, 2001
  9. ^ Martínez, R. & Schlee, D. (1984): Die Dominikanischen Bernsteinminen der Nordkordillera, speziell auch aus der Sicht der Werkstaetten. – Stuttgarter Beitr. Naturk., C, 18: 79-84; Stuttgart.
  10. ^ Schlee, D. (1980): Bernstein-Raritaeten (Farben, Strukturen, Fossilen, Handwerk). – 88 S. (mit 55 Farbtafeln); Staatl. Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart.
  11. ^ L. Linati and D. Sacchi, V. Bellani, E. Giulotto (2005). "The origin of the blue fluorescence in Dominican amber". J. Appl. Phys. 97 (1): 016101–016101–2. Bibcode:2005JAP....97a6101B. doi:10.1063/1.1829395.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Blue Amber - EPOD - a service of USRA". epod.usra.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  13. ^ "AMBER | BLUE STONE International". Retrieved 2019-09-18.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ Poinar, G. (2014). "Evolutionary history of terrestrial pathogens and endoparasites as revealed in fossils and subfossils". Advances in Biology. 2014: 1–29. doi:10.1155/2014/181353.
  15. ^ Poinar, G. (2005). "Triatoma dominicana sp. n. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae), and Trypanosoma antiquus sp. n. (Stercoraria: Trypanosomatidae), the First Fossil Evidence of a Triatomine-Trypanosomatid Vector Association". Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 5 (1): 72–81. doi:10.1089/vbz.2005.5.72. PMID 15815152.
  16. ^ Ancient Termite Pollinator of Milkweed Flowers in Dominican Amber Poinar GO Jr. American Entomologist 2017 63:52-59
  17. ^ Poinar, G. O.; Peterson, E. B.; Platt, J. L. (2000). "Fossil Parmelia in new world amber". The Lichenologist. 32 (3): 263–269. doi:10.1006/lich.1999.0258. S2CID 86227172.
  18. ^ De Andrade, M. L. (1998). "First description of fossil Acanthostichus from Dominican amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft. 71: 269–274.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h De Andrade, M. L. (1994). "Fossil Odontomachiti Ants from the Dominican Republic (Amber Collection Stuttgart: Hymenoptera, Formicidae. VII: Odontomachiti)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie). 199: 1–28.
  20. ^ MacKay, W. P. (1991). "Anochetus brevidentatus, new species, a second fossil Odontomachiti ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Journal of the New York Entomological Society. 99: 138–140.
  21. ^ Baroni Urbani, C. (1980). "Anochetus corayi n. sp., the first fossil Odontomachiti ant. (Amber Collection Stuttgart: Hymenoptera, Formicidae. II: Odontomachiti)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie). 55: 1–6.
  22. ^ a b Schultz, T.R. (2007). "The fungus-growing ant genus Apterostigma in Dominican amber". Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 80: 425–436.
  23. ^ a b Wilson, E.O. (1985). "Ants of the Dominican amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). 3. The subfamily Dolichoderinae". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 92: 17–37. doi:10.1155/1985/20969.
  24. ^ "Cephalotes jansei Vierbergen and Scheven 1995 (ant)". Fossil works. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  25. ^ a b Engel, MS; Grimaldi, DA (2007). "The neuropterid fauna of Dominican and Mexican amber (Neuropterida, Megaloptera, Neuroptera)". American Museum Novitates (3587): 1–58. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2007)3587[1:TNFODA]2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/5880. S2CID 49393365.
  26. ^ Johnson, M.S.; et al. (2001). "Acropyga and Azteca Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with Scale Insects (Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea): 20 Million Years of Intimate Symbiosis". American Museum Novitates (3335): 1–18. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2001)335<0001:AAAAHF>2.0.CO;2. S2CID 55067700.
  27. ^ Poinar, G.O. (2011). "The Evolutionary History of Nematodes: As Revealed in Stone, Amber and Mummies". Nematology Monographs and Perspectives Pages. 9: 91–93, 239–240, 324–325.
  28. ^ Poinar, G. (2008). "Lutzomyia adiketis sp. n. (Diptera: Phlebotomidae), a vector of Paleoleishmania neotropicum sp. n. (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in Dominican amber". Parasites & Vectors. 1 (1): 22. doi:10.1186/1756-3305-1-22. PMC 2491605. PMID 18627624.
  29. ^ Laybourne, R.C.; Deedrick, D.W.; Hueber, F.M. (1994). "Feather in amber is earliest New World fossil of Picidae". Wilson Bulletin. 106 (1): 18–25.
  30. ^ Mapalo, Marc A.; Robin, Ninon; Boudinot, Brendon E.; Ortega-Hernández, Javier; Barden, Phillip (2021). "A tardigrade in Dominican amber". Proc. R. Soc. B. 288 (20211760): 20211760. doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.1760. PMC 8493197. PMID 34610770.
  31. ^ Daza, Juan Diego; Bauer, A. M.; Wagner, P.; Böhme, W. (Jan 1, 2012). "A reconsideration of Sphaerodactylus dommeli Böhme, 1984 (Squamata: Gekkota: Sphaerodactylidae), a Miocene lizard in amber". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 51: 55–63. doi:10.1111/jzs.12001. ISSN 1439-0469. Subsequent to the acceptance of this paper, we obtained high resolution X-ray computed tomography imagery for the paratype of Sphaerodactylus dommeli that confirms that it is correctly allocated to genus. Details of its osteology will be reported elsewhere.
  32. ^ Woodruff, R.E. (2009). "A new fossil species of stag beetle from Dominican Republic amber, with Australasian connections (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)". Insecta Mundi. 0098: 1–10.
  33. ^ Szwedo, J.; Stroiński, A. (2001). (PDF). Genus. 12 (1): 29–34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-04-17.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dominican amber.
  • Ambercollector.info: Dominican Amber 2019-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
  • — by Christine Lipkin.
  • PBS NOVA: "Amber: Jewel of the Earth"
  • Emporia.edu: Life in Amber 2010-03-01 at the Wayback Machine — includes numerous other links.

January 01, 1970
dominican, amber, amber, from, dominican, republic, derived, from, resin, extinct, tree, hymenaea, protera, worker, termite, differentiates, itself, from, baltic, amber, being, nearly, always, transparent, higher, number, fossil, inclusions, this, enabled, det. Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree Hymenaea protera Worker termite in Dominican amber Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent and it has a higher number of fossil inclusions This has enabled the detailed reconstruction of the ecosystem of a long vanished tropical forest 1 Contents 1 Age 2 Mining sites 3 Mining 4 Variations 5 Paleobiology 5 1 Protozoans 5 2 Flora 5 3 Funga 5 4 Fauna 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksAge editThe age of the amber has been controverisal A study in the early 1990s returned a date up to 40 million years old 2 However other authors have suggested a date in the Miocene around 20 15 million years old based on marine microfossils found in the sediment the amber is contained in 3 Mining sites editThere are three main sites in the Dominican Republic where amber is found La Cordillera Septentrional in the north and Bayaguana and Sabana de la Mar in the east In the northern area the amber bearing unit is formed of clastic rocks washed down with sandstone fragments and other sediments that accumulated in a deltaic environment even in water of some depth 4 5 6 In the eastern area the amber is found in a sediment formation of organic rich laminated sand sandy clay intercalated lignite and as well as some solvated beds of gravel and calcarenite 7 Both areas seem to have been part of the same sedimentary basin but were later disrupted by movements along major faults 8 Mining editDominican amber especially Dominican blue amber is mined through bell pitting which is extremely dangerous The bell pit is basically a foxhole dug with whatever tools are available Machetes do the start some shovels picks and hammers may participate eventually The pit itself goes as deep or safe as possible sometimes vertical sometimes horizontal but never level It snakes into hill sides drops away joins up with others goes straight up and pops out elsewhere Foxhole applies indeed rarely are the pits large enough to stand in and then only at the entrance Miners crawl around on their knees using short handled picks shovels and machetes There are little to no safety measures A pillar or so may hold back the ceiling from time to time but only if the area has previously collapsed Candles are the only source of light Humidity inside the mines is at 100 Since the holes are situated high on mountainsides and deep inside said mountains the temperature is cool and bearable but after several hours the air becomes stale During rain the mines are forced to close The holes fill up quickly with water and there is little point in pumping it out again although sometimes this is done because the unsecured walls may crumble 9 Variations editDominican amber can be found in many colors besides the obvious amber Yellow and honey colored are fairly common There is also red and green in smaller quantities and the rare blue amber fluorescent 10 11 The blue amber reportedly is found mostly in Palo Quemado mine south from La Cumbre 12 13 The Museo del Ambar Dominicano in Puerto Plata as well as the Amber World Museum in Santo Domingo have collections of amber specimens Paleobiology editNumerous organisms have been described from amber specimens including nbsp Anochetus intermedius an ant nbsp Odontomachus spinifer Protozoans edit Paleoleishmania neotropicum 14 Trypanosoma antiquus 15 Flora edit Discoflorus neotropicus 16 Hymenaea protera Palaeoraphe Roystonea palaea Funga edit Parmelia ambra 17 Fauna edit Acanthostichus hispaniolicus 18 Anelaphus velteni Anochetus ambiguus 19 Anochetus brevidentatus 20 Anochetus conisquamis 19 Anochetus corayi 21 Anochetus dubius 19 Anochetus exstinctus 19 Anochetus intermedius 19 Anochetus lucidus 19 Apterostigma electropilosum 22 Apterostigma eowilsoni 22 Araneagryllus Augochlora leptoloba Azteca alpha 23 Azteca eumeces 23 Cephalotes jansei 24 Dicromantispa electromexicana 25 Dicromantispa moronei 25 Eickwortapis Electromyrmococcus 26 Elaphidion inclusum Elaphidion tocanum Formicodiplogaster myrmenema 27 Leptofoenus pittfieldae Lutzomyia adiketis 28 Neocorynura electra Nesagapostemon cf Nesoctites 29 Odontomachus pseudobauri 19 Odontomachus spinifer 19 Oligochlora Palaeoplethodon Paradoryphoribius 30 Plectromerus grimaldii Plectromerus tertiarius Pterolophosoma otiliae Sphaerodactylus dommeli 31 Stizocera evanescens Syndesus ambericus 32 Tainosia 33 Termitaradus mitnicki Triatoma dominicanaSee also editLagerstatte Japanese amberReferences edit George Poinar Jr and Roberta Poinar 1999 The Amber Forest A Reconstruction of a Vanished World Princeton University Press ISBN 0 691 02888 5 Browne Malcolm W 1992 09 25 40 Million Year Old Extinct Bee Yields Oldest Genetic Material New York Times Retrieved 2008 04 15 ITURRALDE VINENT MANUEL A MACPHEE ROSS D E 2019 06 24 Remarks on the age of Dominican amber Palaeoentomology 2 3 236 240 doi 10 11646 palaeoentomology 2 3 7 ISSN 2624 2834 Leif Brost and Ake Dahlstrom The Amber Book Geoscience Press Inc Tucson AZ 1996 ISBN 0 945005 23 7 Wilfred Wichard und Wolfgang Weitschat Im Bernsteinwald Gerstenberg Verlag Hildesheim 2004 ISBN 3 8067 2551 9 Baroni Urbani C amp Saunders J B 1980 The fauna of the Dominican Republic amber the present status of knowledge Memorias 9a geologica del Caribe 1 213 223 Santo Domingo Published 1983 Schlee D 1984 Besonderheiten des Dominikanischen Bernsteins Stuttgarter Beitr Naturk C 18 63 71 Stuttgart Manuel A Iturralde Vennet 2001 Geology of the Amber Bearing Deposits of the Greater Antilles Caribbean Journal of Science Vol 00 No 0 141 167 2001 Martinez R amp Schlee D 1984 Die Dominikanischen Bernsteinminen der Nordkordillera speziell auch aus der Sicht der Werkstaetten Stuttgarter Beitr Naturk C 18 79 84 Stuttgart Schlee D 1980 Bernstein Raritaeten Farben Strukturen Fossilen Handwerk 88 S mit 55 Farbtafeln Staatl Museum fur Naturkunde Stuttgart L Linati and D Sacchi V Bellani E Giulotto 2005 The origin of the blue fluorescence in Dominican amber J Appl Phys 97 1 016101 016101 2 Bibcode 2005JAP 97a6101B doi 10 1063 1 1829395 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Blue Amber EPOD a service of USRA epod usra edu Retrieved 2019 09 18 AMBER BLUE STONE International Retrieved 2019 09 18 permanent dead link Poinar G 2014 Evolutionary history of terrestrial pathogens and endoparasites as revealed in fossils and subfossils Advances in Biology 2014 1 29 doi 10 1155 2014 181353 Poinar G 2005 Triatoma dominicana sp n Hemiptera Reduviidae Triatominae and Trypanosoma antiquus sp n Stercoraria Trypanosomatidae the First Fossil Evidence of a Triatomine Trypanosomatid Vector Association Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 5 1 72 81 doi 10 1089 vbz 2005 5 72 PMID 15815152 Ancient Termite Pollinator of Milkweed Flowers in Dominican Amber Poinar GO Jr American Entomologist 2017 63 52 59 Poinar G O Peterson E B Platt J L 2000 Fossil Parmelia in new world amber The Lichenologist 32 3 263 269 doi 10 1006 lich 1999 0258 S2CID 86227172 De Andrade M L 1998 First description of fossil Acanthostichus from Dominican amber Hymenoptera Formicidae Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft 71 269 274 a b c d e f g h De Andrade M L 1994 Fossil Odontomachiti Ants from the Dominican Republic Amber Collection Stuttgart Hymenoptera Formicidae VII Odontomachiti Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde Serie B Geologie und Palaontologie 199 1 28 MacKay W P 1991 Anochetus brevidentatus new species a second fossil Odontomachiti ant Hymenoptera Formicidae Journal of the New York Entomological Society 99 138 140 Baroni Urbani C 1980 Anochetus corayi n sp the first fossil Odontomachiti ant Amber Collection Stuttgart Hymenoptera Formicidae II Odontomachiti Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde Serie B Geologie und Palaontologie 55 1 6 a b Schultz T R 2007 The fungus growing ant genus Apterostigma in Dominican amber Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80 425 436 a b Wilson E O 1985 Ants of the Dominican amber Hymenoptera Formicidae 3 The subfamily Dolichoderinae Psyche A Journal of Entomology 92 17 37 doi 10 1155 1985 20969 Cephalotes jansei Vierbergen and Scheven 1995 ant Fossil works Retrieved 22 January 2019 a b Engel MS Grimaldi DA 2007 The neuropterid fauna of Dominican and Mexican amber Neuropterida Megaloptera Neuroptera American Museum Novitates 3587 1 58 doi 10 1206 0003 0082 2007 3587 1 TNFODA 2 0 CO 2 hdl 2246 5880 S2CID 49393365 Johnson M S et al 2001 Acropyga and Azteca Ants Hymenoptera Formicidae with Scale Insects Sternorrhyncha Coccoidea 20 Million Years of Intimate Symbiosis American Museum Novitates 3335 1 18 doi 10 1206 0003 0082 2001 335 lt 0001 AAAAHF gt 2 0 CO 2 S2CID 55067700 Poinar G O 2011 The Evolutionary History of Nematodes As Revealed in Stone Amber and Mummies Nematology Monographs and Perspectives Pages 9 91 93 239 240 324 325 Poinar G 2008 Lutzomyia adiketis sp n Diptera Phlebotomidae a vector of Paleoleishmania neotropicum sp n Kinetoplastida Trypanosomatidae in Dominican amber Parasites amp Vectors 1 1 22 doi 10 1186 1756 3305 1 22 PMC 2491605 PMID 18627624 Laybourne R C Deedrick D W Hueber F M 1994 Feather in amber is earliest New World fossil of Picidae Wilson Bulletin 106 1 18 25 Mapalo Marc A Robin Ninon Boudinot Brendon E Ortega Hernandez Javier Barden Phillip 2021 A tardigrade in Dominican amber Proc R Soc B 288 20211760 20211760 doi 10 1098 rspb 2021 1760 PMC 8493197 PMID 34610770 Daza Juan Diego Bauer A M Wagner P Bohme W Jan 1 2012 A reconsideration of Sphaerodactylus dommeli Bohme 1984 Squamata Gekkota Sphaerodactylidae a Miocene lizard in amber Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 51 55 63 doi 10 1111 jzs 12001 ISSN 1439 0469 Subsequent to the acceptance of this paper we obtained high resolution X ray computed tomography imagery for the paratype of Sphaerodactylus dommeli that confirms that it is correctly allocated to genus Details of its osteology will be reported elsewhere Woodruff R E 2009 A new fossil species of stag beetle from Dominican Republic amber with Australasian connections Coleoptera Lucanidae Insecta Mundi 0098 1 10 Szwedo J Stroinski A 2001 Tainosia quisqueyae gen and sp nov from the Oligocene Miocene Dominican amber Hemiptera Fulgoroidea Nogodinidae PDF Genus 12 1 29 34 Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 19 Retrieved 2011 04 17 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dominican amber Ambercollector info Dominican Amber Archived 2019 02 25 at the Wayback Machine Ambarazul com The Definitive List of Dominican Blue Amber Mines Palaeo uk Geological setting and age of the Dominican Republic by Christine Lipkin PBS NOVA Amber Jewel of the Earth ISEM Research Anolis lizard in amber American Museum of Natural History Amber Window to the Past 1998 Emporia edu Life in Amber Archived 2010 03 01 at the Wayback Machine includes numerous other links Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dominican amber amp oldid 1213124146, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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