r/Amberfossil

RARE Possible Lacewing Eggs in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

Age: 99 Million Years Ago

Order: Neuroptera

RARE Possible Lacewing Eggs in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

- Certain lacewings are known to lay tiny, oval-shaped eggs on top of long, slender, hair-like silken stalks attached to plant leaves or stems. This unique elevated design stops newly hatched, aggressive larvae from eating each other or being easily reached by crawling predators like ants. The eggs are typically laid on the underside of leaves where they stay hidden from predators and harsh weather.

- I cannot be sure of the specific species of Cretaceous lacewings that these eggs are associated with but they're very similar to the eggs laid by Green Lacewings and Brown Lacewings nowadays.

*Finding lacewing eggs or insects in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (roughly 99 million years old) is extremely rare. While lacewing larvae occasionally turn up in amber collections, fragile structures like delicate stalked lacewing eggs are exceptionally uncommon finds in the fossil record. (The most famous fossil discovery of hatching lacewing eggs and egg-bursters actually came from older 130-million-year-old Lebanese amber, not Burmese amber).*

There are about 8-9 Lacewing eggs which measure around 2mm to 2.5mm. Three of the lacewing eggs have been degraded and aren't very visible.

Other notable inclusions: strange loose debris contained in the left enhydro (which moves when the amber is tilted), many unknown tiny filaments scattered in the piece next to the Lacewing eggs and two strange spherical occlusions.

RARE Extinct Spongefly (Paradoxosisyrinae) in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

Age: 99 Million Years Ago

Order: Neuroptera

Family: Sisyridae

Subfamily: Paradoxosisyrinae (Extinct Spongefly)

Genus: Paradoxosisyra

Species: (Inconclusive)

Other notable inclusions: a Piddock boring, botanical matter and a Beetle also in the piece.

Paradoxosisyrinae is an extinct subfamily of Spongeflies (in the family Sisyridae) known from Cretaceous fossils, notably discovered in 99-million-year-old Burmese amber. These tiny, specialized lacewings feature extraordinarily long mouthparts, pointing to ancient feeding strategies like nectarivory or probing shallow Cretaceous flowers.

Paradoxosisyrinae represent the earliest known lineage of Spongeflies, dating back to the Cenomanian stage of the Cretaceous period.

Instead of the aquatic, sponge-feeding habits of modern subfamilies, these Cretaceous stem-group Spongeflies were likely adapted to feed on nectar from early shallow flowers.

RARE Possible Frog Tadpole Hatchlings in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

Age: 99 Million Years Ago

RARE Possible Frog Tadpoles in Burmese Burmite amber fossil

There have not been any tadpoles found yet in the fossil record of amber. While adult and juvenile forest frogs like Electrorana limoae have been found in 99-million-year-old Burmese amber from Myanmar, fully aquatic life stages like tadpoles are almost impossible to trap in tree resin, making them infinitely rarer than adult frogs.

- *These particular specimens appear to be an extremely rare case of tadpole hatchlings preserved in Burmese amber.
The specimens each measure about 2.5mm to 3mm in length. There are about eight to nine tadpole hatchlings in this piece (three of them are badly preserved and have degraded).*

- I cannot know the exact species or type of frog that these tadpole hatchlings are associated with but it is quite possible that these belong to a type of tropical tree frog (similar to modern tree frogs) which are known to lay eggs on top of leaves that hang over puddles of water.

- *In this extraordinary piece of amber, there is also what appears to be imprints of a leaf in the background layers of the amber along with two notable enhydros (trapped pockets of water). There is some loose debris that moves inside one enhydro (left enhydro) as well as some strange small spherical occlusions.*

Other notable inclusions: strange loose debris contained in the left enhydro (which moves when the amber is tilted), many unknown tiny filaments scattered in the piece next to the tadpole hatchlings and two strange spherical occlusions.