This is the largest fossil flower ever found encased in amber and is over 35,000 years old
Such a floral inclusion has never been seen before and in fact this is the largest ever observed in an amber. According to the researchers it dates back to the late Eocene, an invaluable time repertoire capable of providing information on the ecosystem of the past
A work of nature impossible to replicate in its perfection, a show for amber enthusiasts. This is how the repertoire conserved at the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, BGR extension of Berlin, a late Eocene Baltic amber with a floral inclusion believed by science to be the largest ever seen.
A rarity according to experts from the institute and the University of Vienna who have studied and described the wonderful amber in question in a new study published in the journal Scientific reports.
It was discovered 150 years ago and immediately caught the attention of experts for a detail that certainly does not go into the background: it is three times larger than all amber floral inclusions known today. Floral inclusions are usually very small and never exceed 10 mm. This is instead the largest of which we know and measures a good 28 mm thick.
It comes from a deposit in Kaliningrad, on the Baltic Sea, and is said to be between 34 and 38 thousand years old. In the fossil resin, the researchers also discovered tiny grains of pollen and observed them under a microscope. This allowed the species to be identified.
The flower had been described as Stewartia kowalewskii. Instead, the analyzes showed similarities with gender Symplocos of the family of symplaceae, a shrub native to Asia. This would be the first confirmed find.
Ambers are thoughtful by the experts of the “time capsule” as they crystallize plants, as well as animals, from millions of years ago, giving us detailed and valuable information on the vegetation of the past.
Our new findings on this strikingly beautiful floral inclusion are one more piece of the puzzle that will help us to decode more of the forest flora where Baltic amber comes from and thus draw conclusions about the climate of bygone times. Only with such insights can we gain deeper insights into the forests of Earth’s history and understand their change over time, has explained Eva-Maria Sadowski, lead author of the study.
The climate was much hotter and wetter then, and these shrubs grew in a “diverse ecosystem of coastal marshes, peat bogs and mixed forests,” the researchers say.
Source: Scientific reports
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