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Hi guys, 3mm long in Baltic amber. Was wondering if this was a seed or a leaf? Best images I can do I'm afraid. @Amber Man

Tiny Beetle in Amber: Clues to Landmass Shifts This news is a little old ( I believe it is from October 30) but still very interesting.

I was looking through some GRF insects that I had, and wondered if anyone had an ID for this one? I am mostly familiar with insects from amber inclusions, so it is a bit different looking at them on rock. Some options I thought of were a species of beetle, caddisfly, or maybe a cicada? Any information would be great!

Scientists discover the first Antarctic ground beetle PhysOrg, November 28, 2016 http://phys.org/news/2016-11-scientists-antarctic-ground-beetle.html Ancient Bug Discovered in the Heart of Antarctica George Dvorsky, Gizmo http://gizmodo.com/ancient-bug-discovered-in-the-heart-of-antarctica-1789462820 Rare Antarctic beetle find delights BBC News, Science & Environment, November 29, 2016 http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38145258 the paper is: Ashworth, A. C., and T. L. Erwin, 2016, Antarctotrechus balli sp. n. (Carabidae, Trechini): the first ground beetle from Antarctica. ZooKeys. vol. 635, pp. 109-122 (23 Nov 2016) https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.635.10535 http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=10535 Yours, Paul H.

Here are 5 insects from the lower cretaceous; specimens 1 and 2 (pics 2a, 2b) from the Yixian Formation, Huangbangi Valley, Beipiao (~ Barremian) specimens 3, 4 and 5 from Nova Olinda, Crato Formation, Brasilia (upper Aptian / lower Albian) Length: specimen 1 = 10 mm (body length) specimen 2 = 8 mm (head to the end of the longest wing) (Diptera?) specimen 3 = 10 mm (body length, head - tail) specimen 4 = 21 mm (total length) (Orthoptera) specimen 5 = 18 mm (total length) (Beetle: Dystiscidae?) Any suggestions are appreciated! (specimen 4 is a grasshopper, specimen 5 a beetle; but is it possible to say more about them?) An additional question: The small circular fossils which look like small bivalves on the Yixian specimens are conchostracans (Nestoria pissovi), but I wonder about the brownish striations on the Nova Olinda material. They are suggestive of trace fossils, but otherwise they seem to show some organic matter similar to the body fossils.They are extremely common on the plates with Crato fossils. Does someone know what they are? Thank you very much! araucaria1959

Hello all, This is a paper that my adviser just had published on early boring activity of beetles. Pretty good read if your into petrified wood or early insects. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0031668