Recently, the research team officially announced that a new species of ancient birds was found in Myanmar amber for the first time. Paleontologists identified the specimen as a new genus and new species. The genus was named amber bird, which means birds in amber, and the species was named elektorornis chenguangi, in order to pay tribute to Mr. Chen Guang, who collects fossils. Many people don't know much about amber, so what is amber? How is amber formed? What is the value of amber? Let's take a look at this article.
Amber, a transparent biological fossil, is a resin fossil of coniferae, spruce family, Araceae and other plants. The resin drips and is buried underground for thousands of years. It is petrified and formed under the action of pressure and heat. Some are wrapped with small insects such as bees, which is strange and unusual. Amber is mostly formed by resin fossilization of Pinaceae plants, so it is also known as' rosin fossil '. Amber has a variety of shapes. The lines generated when the resin flows are often retained on the surface and inside. Bubbles and ancient insect, animal or plant debris are often seen inside. Common amber types: golden amber, golden blue amber, green tea amber, black tea amber, blood amber, Yi amber, flower amber, Brown Red Amber, blue amber, green amber, insect amber, beeswax, Bergen, Burmese root amber, etc. On March 6, 2016, Chinese scientists discovered the world's oldest amber ore, which is about 99 million years old.
How is amber formed
In ancient China, amber was once called tiger spirit, Yupei, beast spirit, dunmou, Jiangzhu, Yiyu, etc., saying that "the spirit of the tiger died and turned into stone", or that amber was the tears shed by the tiger. These legends contain the speculation and pursuit of Amber by the ancient Chinese, suggesting that people believe that Hu Po has the function of seeking good luck and avoiding bad luck and calming the nerves in the house. In the eyes of ancient emperors, amber also had extraordinary significance. According to records, 'the emperor's Chaozhu miscellaneous ornaments were lapis lazuli for the temple of heaven, amber for the Earth altar, coral for the altar of the sun and Turquoise for the moon.' Amber is an organic mixture formed by geological processes from the resin of conifers from Mesozoic Cretaceous to Cenozoic tertiary. The formation of amber generally has three stages. The first stage is that the resin is secreted from the cypress pine tree. The second stage is that the resin is deeply buried and fossilized. The composition, structure and characteristics of the resin have changed significantly; In the third stage, the petrochemical resin was washed, transported, deposited and diagenesis, resulting in the formation of amber.
What are the two aspects of amber's value
The higher value of amber is antiques, exquisite works of art or biological remains. The economic value of amber depends on the clarity, shape, size and color of insects. The one with strong color and few impurities is preferred. Blue, green and blood red are the best colors, but green amber is found in Dominica, Mexico and Fushun, China. The Baltic green amber is mostly caused by being placed in chemicals at high temperature. The transparent blood is mostly caused by high-temperature baking color, and the natural blood will have visible contents. Usually, the color is thick, usually accompanied by a small amount of visible impurities. It is said that the small inclusions are the chromogenic factor of amber, which also comes from this. The most valuable variety is amber wrapped with insects, commonly known as' amber Tibetan bee ', which is best with clear insects, lifelike shape, high texture, large individual and large quantity.