Insect Fossil in Amber
(c) 2005 Andrew Alden, licensed to About.com, Inc. (fair use policy)
Amber is fossilized tree resin, known in rocks from recent times back to the Carboniferous Period more than 300 million years ago. Like a miniature version of the tar pits of La Brea, resin traps various creatures and objects in it before becoming amber. This piece of amber contains a fairly complete fossil insect. Despite what you saw in the movie "Jurassic Park," extracting DNA from amber fossils is not routinely, or even occasionally successful. So although amber specimens contain some amazing fossils, they are not good examples of pristine preservation.
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