An incredible 20-million-year-old amber fossil

An incredible 20-million-year-old amber fossil was discovered in the Dominican Republic. According to experts, it is believed to be 20-30 million years old. The most bizarre thing about this amber is the air bubbles that float around inside of the amber fossil.

A case of floating bubbles is extremely rare to find. Floating air bubbles are the result of water which was trapped in the amber. A phenomenon like that is called enhydro. It is a rare case when air is moving around the water pocket and has enough space to freely move there.

Amber is a unique gemstone made of natural hardened resin of ancient trees. Due to its natural origins, some pieces may contain organic inclusions both fauna and flora.
The fascinating video clip was posted by the twitter user ‘Fossil Locator’. As they say:

 

‘Enhydro (water inclusion) with a moving air bubble in amber from the Dominican Republic, 20-30 million years old, with plenty of insect fossils,’ .

 

Amber is known for its natural vast range of colors and shades such as vibrant yellow, orange, red, or even green and jet black!

It is a valued gemstone usually made into various accessories such as bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings as well as pendants and men’s jewelry, or into a variety of other decorative items. It’s been used in jewelry since ancient times.

Amber usually contains organic inclusions such as tiny animals, insects, or plants. They are trapped by resin and then immortalized in the hardened amber for millions of years.

Amber can be found almost all over the world. One of the largest natural deposits is located in the Dominican Republic. Other big sources of this gemstone can be found in Europe (Baltic area) and in Maynmar. Each of these regions is known for different types of ambers that can be found there.

Dominican amber is known to be formed from the extinct Hymenaea tree. It is rich in organic inclusions such as a sea creature that is 99 million years old! It is a first example to be ever found with an ammonite trapped in amber. It was found in 2019 in Myanmar. Such species are extremely rare and precious for scientists as it helps recreate the evolutionary path of the found species and are a great source of information about the ancient ecosystem.