Blood Engorged Bug in Burmese Amber

[Ramon]

Hello Fossil Forum members. I have recently been expanding my amber collection. I have all sorts of amber from all over the globe, from Chiapas amber to Baltic Amber. But one type of amber in particular has caught my attention recently.  Burmese amber, or as some call it “Burmite”. It is from the cenomanian around 99 million years old. It comes from northern Myanmar (Burma). The inclusions within this amber where alive when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. I have recently been obsessed with Burmese amber. I just bought a small piece of Burmese amber from a Chinese dealer online. It is small (about 2 centimeters). But don’t let its size fool you!! Within the small piece is a very significant inclusion (in my opinion). There is a female biting midge. It is engorged with the blood of some unknown vertebrate. Doing my research on blood engorged insects in amber, I came upon this article https://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/amphtml/Science/2013/1015/46-million-year-old-mosquito-filled-with-blood-is-a-scientific-first

It says that the chances of finding a fossilized blood engorged mosquito was unlikely, due to the set of circumstances that would have to occur. A mosquito was found engorged in blood, from the middle Miocene of Montana. About 46 million years ago. Blood engorged insects have only been reported on a handful of occassions. But perphaps the most exciting and interesting thing about the biting midge I bought, was that it might have bitten a dinosaur, since it is from the middle Cretaceous. So could It have DNA? Maybe, small fragments of DNA could be preserved within Amber (theoretically). But not nearly enough to clone a dinosaur. 

 

The piece of Burmese amber with the biting midge will arrive in about 2-3 weeks. I am hoping to be able to photograph it better with my microscope, and get a close up look at its blood engorged abdomen. 

 

Here are the pictures the seller provided,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Macrophyseter]

Maybe we can finally make Jurassic Park a reality with this piece? 

[Ramon]

Just now, Macrophyseter said:

Maybe we can finally make Jurassic Park a reality with this piece? 

 

We all wish!! 

[caldigger]

11 minutes ago, Ramon said:

 

We all wish!! 

Really?  Are you going to follow your pet dino around with a 55 gallon trash bag when you take it for a walk?!

Ya, I bet you didn't think about that aspect of all this cloning fun now did you? 

[DPS Ammonite]

If you collect Eocene amber you might be able to revive some microorganisms. A California brewer created a beer with some 45 myo yeast.

 

http://www.fossilfuelsbeer.com/thestory

 

[Ramon]

7 minutes ago, caldigger said:

Really?  Are you going to follow your pet dino around with a 55 gallon trash bag when you take it for a walk?!

Ya, I bet you didn't think about that aspect of all this cloning fun now did you? 

 

Woah... Who said I wanted a gigantic Brachiosaurus as my pet?? I just want a small feathery velociraptor!!

[Ramon]

1 minute ago, DPS Ammonite said:

If you collect Eocene amber you might be able to revive some microorganisms. A California brewer created a beer with some 45 myo yeast.

 

http://www.fossilfuelsbeer.com/thestory

 

 

Ohh wow!! That is the most interesting thing I have heard in a while!!

[Tidgy's Dad]

If the silly midge hadn't been so greedy and bloated, maybe it would have escaped the seeping amber. 

Serves the greedy guts right! 

[JohnBrian]

43 minutes ago, Ramon said:

 

Woah... Who said I wanted a gigantic Brachiosaurus as my pet?? I just want a small feathery velociraptor!!

 

You want the cretaceous version of a Chihuahua? Bloody ankle biters!

 

[Ramon]

7 minutes ago, JohnBrian said:

 

You want the cretaceous version of a Chihuahua? Bloody ankle biters!

 

 

Haha!!

[aplomado]

 

[Coco]

Hi,

 

What does this encrypted message mean ?

 

Coco

[ynot]

30 minutes ago, Coco said:

Hi,

 

What does this encrypted message mean ?

 

Coco

In "jurassic park 2" Jeff Goldblum made a prophecy that they would be running from the dinosaurs in a later scene.

[Mediospirifer]

Nice piece! It'll be cool to see the photos you take once it arrives. May it arrive (intact!) soon. 

 

[Ramon]

3 minutes ago, Mediospirifer said:

Nice piece! It'll be cool to see the photos you take once it arrives. May it arrive (intact!) soon. 

 

 

Thank you!! I am looking forward to photographing it with my microscope. I hope it does arrive intact all the way from Western China!! 

[Mediospirifer]

This post inspired me to (finally!) get a post up about a piece of amber in my collection.

 

One of the mosquitos in my piece also has an engorged gut. I didn't realize that this was particularly rare! Here's a link to my post: LINK. 

 

And here's a photo of my fossilized bloodsucker. The scale bar is 1mm total length: 

 

[Ramon]

9 minutes ago, Mediospirifer said:

This post inspired me to (finally!) get a post up about a piece of amber in my collection.

 

One of the mosquitos in my piece also has an engorged gut. I didn't realize that this was particularly rare! Here's a link to my post: LINK. 

 

And here's a photo of my fossilized bloodsucker. The scale bar is 1mm total length: 

 

 

 

Wow, now we can clone dinosaurs and make our own theme park!! 

 

That looks a lot like mine!! But these aren’t mosquitoes, they are biting midges. Mosquitoes have a long probosis that they use to suck blood from vertebrates, just like a hummingbird would suck nectar out of a flower. 

[Mediospirifer]

11 minutes ago, Ramon said:

 

 

Wow, now we can clone dinosaurs and make our own theme park!! 

 

That looks a lot like mine!! But they aren’t mosquitoes, they are biting midges. Mosquitoes have a long probosis that they use to suck blood from vertebrates, just like a hummingbird would suck nectar out of a flower. 

 

That would also explain the size; I've never seen mosquitos that were smaller than around 5mm, let alone less than 2! And I guess I've never really looked closely at midges.

 

I don't know the origin of my piece, but I think it may be Burmese. I have referred to it as my Jurassic Park amber to family and friends. 

 

[Ramon]

Just now, Mediospirifer said:

 

That would also explain the size; I've never seen mosquitos that were smaller than around 5mm, let alone less than 2! And I guess I've never really looked closely at midges.

 

I don't know the origin of my piece, but I think it may be Burmese. I have referred to it as my Jurassic Park amber to family and friends. 

 

 

Yeah, size is also a major difference between these two groups of bloodsuckers!! 

 

I wonder if there’s any way to tell what amber type a particular piece came from, (beside quemical analysis).

[Mediospirifer]

If the midges and spiders in my piece are distinctive enough, it could probably be dated. The color and clarity looks a lot like the Burmese amber pieces I've seen photos of, but it also resembles some Dominican amber and copal. I'd have to show it to an expert.

 

[Ramon]

17 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

If the midges and spiders in my piece are distinctive enough, it could probably be dated. The color and clarity looks a lot like the Burmese amber pieces I've seen photos of, but it also resembles some Dominican amber and copal. I'd have to show it to an expert.

 

 

Lets hope it is Burmese amber!! So it can have some dinosaur blood!! 

[JohnBrian]

20 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

If the midges and spiders in my piece are distinctive enough, it could probably be dated. The color and clarity looks a lot like the Burmese amber pieces I've seen photos of, but it also resembles some Dominican amber and copal. I'd have to show it to an expert.

 

 

IIRC, Burmese amber will look light blue & Baltic will look greenish under a blacklight.

[MarielleK]

That's really neat! Be sure to share more when it arrives!

[Mediospirifer]

19 hours ago, JohnBrian said:

 

IIRC, Burmese amber will look light blue & Baltic will look greenish under a blacklight.

 

Good to know! I'll have to check that out tonight. 

 

[Ramon]

9 hours ago, MarielleK said:

That's really neat! Be sure to share more when it arrives!

 

Thank you, I will try to better pictures of it when it arrives.