Amber

Amber

Usually yellow or orange in color, amber is fossilized resin that exuded out of the bark of trees. Insects and other creatures can easily become trapped in the sticky resin, which subsequently falls to the ground, is covered by sediment, and hardens. Packed with nearly 170 color photographs, Amber provides an engaging overview of this prehistoric substance and its fossilized wonders. As we learn, amber comes in several forms across the globe, including Baltic amber, mined in the vicinity of Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia, and Dominican amber, found in the Dominican Republic.
In addition to detailing amber’s properties, Andrew Ross offers detailed illustrated identification keys to the organisms most commonly found within it. These include bacteria, fungi and many different types of plants. Invertebrates, other than insects and spiders, include worms, snails and rotifers, as well as water bears and microscopic protozoa. Even small frogs, lizards and bird feathers have been observed in amber.
In these pages you’ll encounter photos of everything from a pair of biting midges caught mating within a piece of Baltic amber, to a specimen of Dominican amber entombing two ants, one of which is holding the other’s abdomen with its jaws in a doomed attempt to pull itself free.
Complete with images of items from the collection of London’s Natural History Museum that are not on view to the general public, Amber is essential reading for everyone interested in this natural time capsule.

Hardcover: 112 pages

Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd. ( February 10, 2010 )

Item #: 23-2570

ISBN: 9781554076093

Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 10.0 x 0.0 inches

Product Weight: 21.0 ounces