AMBER-ENTRAPPED FLY. ...

Description

AMBER-ENTRAPPED FLY
Oligocene
Dominican Republic
This unsuspecting winged insect was caught in the sticky ooze of tree sap that over 30-90 million years slowly hardened and fossilized into what we today know as amber. The large polished nugget measures 1¾ x 7/8 x 3/8 inches and exhibits wonderful clarity. With several other small inclusions and what appears to be the leg of a rather larger insect whose greater strength presumably allowed it to free itself from the sticky fly-trap, leaving its limb behind. But the fly is the real prize, perfectly preserved and visible in fantastic detail, from the membranes of the wings down to impossibly slender antennae, preserved forever as though in suspended animation.

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