Ramon Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 (edited) Hi guys and gal, I recently bought some burmese amber pieces online. When I looked through this particular piece, I was amazed at the inclusion within it. It looks like a spider or tick, or some type of arachnid, however I am no entomologist. I was wondering if one of The Fossil Forum’s members could help me id this mysterious little critter. The specimen come from northern Myanmar/Burma and is about 99 million years old from the middle Cretaceous period. I have never seen an insect like this. It is quite squared in shape. It is a small insect around 3-4 mm. Through a 10x lense Abdomen focused through a 40x microscope What looks like fangs (such as those in arachnids) in a 100x microscope Edited March 16, 2019 by Ramon "Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramon Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 More pics.. Front legs though 40x Back legs through 40x "Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonianDigger Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 It seems plausible that what you have here is an arachnid, however, what you have highlighted as "fangs" doesn't line up. I can see why you would say as much, but it's just not the right proportions or placement for a mandible. If there is an arachnid here, I think the body portions are deteriorated heavily. If we could get stacked photos with better detail on that larger inclusion I think it would be easier to help. 2 Jay A. Wollin Lead Fossil Educator - Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Reserve Hamburg, New York, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 I don't think it's an arachnid. It may be a fragment of an insect. I wouldn't rule out plant material or even a coprolite though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Resembles Opiliones (Harvestmen) order of Arachnida. 1 Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 10 minutes ago, Bullsnake said: Resembles Opiliones (Harvestmen) order of Arachnida. Not sure about it, but it did get me to notice the arrangement of legs which I hadn't focused on. It does look like a somewhat disarticulated, and incomplete arachnid. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzviking Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Here's another Arachnid in Burmite Amber picture for comparison. Almost all adult arachnids have eight legs, and arachnids may be easily distinguished from insects by this fact, since insects have six legs. However, arachnids also have two further pairs of appendages that have become adapted for feeding, defense, and sensory perception. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramon Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 8 hours ago, Rockwood said: Not sure about it, but it did get me to notice the arrangement of legs which I hadn't focused on. It does look like a somewhat disarticulated, and incomplete arachnid. This is really strange!! I personally think it is an arachnid of some sort, because of the 8 pairs of legs like @Bronzviking said. "Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramon Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, DevonianDigger said: It seems plausible that what you have here is an arachnid, however, what you have highlighted as "fangs" doesn't line up. I can see why you would say as much, but it's just not the right proportions or placement for a mandible. If there is an arachnid here, I think the body portions are deteriorated heavily. If we could get stacked photos with better detail on that larger inclusion I think it would be easier to help. Yeah, this critter is definitely deteriorated, somehow it’s legs are broken. I wonder how that happened!?? Maybe it was dead prior to it getting trapped in the amber!?? Edited March 16, 2019 by Ramon "Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 6 minutes ago, Ramon said: I personally think it is an arachnid of some sort, because of the 8 pairs of legs like @Bronzviking said. It reminds me of the dried specimen setting on the windowsill in the boiler room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramon Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 3 minutes ago, Rockwood said: It reminds me of the dried specimen setting on the windowsill in the boiler room. Lol!! "Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramon Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 I got better pictures of the abdomen, unfortunately this is as good as it’s gonna get right now, because the amber needs some polishing. I will try to polish it with a very fine grid in the future. The specimen is also very close to the surface of the amber. Hope this helps "Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Don't use any grit to "polish" it. It looks polished already, just needing cleaned. Use a bit of soap & warm water to clean it, then try buffing it with a sheep skin chamois. 1 Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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