Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the resin for more than 100,000 tons of amber.
Bitterfeld amber from the Lignite mines near Bitterfeld in Germany was previously thought to be redeposited Baltic amber, but is now known to be chemically distinct, though like with Ukrainian Rovno amber, it is thought to have been deposited around the same time as Baltic amber.
Because Baltic amber contains from 3 to 8% succinic acid, it is also termed succinite.
Geologic context
In situ Baltic amber is derived from the sediments of the geological formation termed the Prussian Formation, formerly called the "Amber Formation", with the main amber bearing horizon being referred to as "Blue Earth", so named due to its
glauconite content. The formation is exposed in the northern part of the
Sambia Peninsula in Kaliningrad. Much of the Baltic amber has been secondarily redeposited in
Pleistocene Till deposits across the North European Plain.
It has been proposed that the amber is secondarily redeposited in coastal lagoonal conditions after a marine transgression of the amber forest. The age of the amber is controversial, though it is generally interpreted as having been produced during the
Eocene epoch (56-34 million years ago). Different authors have given estimates of 40-47 million years ago and 35-43 million years ago as the age of the amber. Dating the amber precisely is difficult due to its redeposited context.
While the Bitterfeld amber found near Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, was historically considered redeposited Baltic amber, it has been found to be chemically distinct.
Baltic amber tree
It was thought since the 1850s that the
resin that became amber was produced by the tree
Pinites succinifer, but research in the 1980s concluded that the resin originates from several species. More recently, it has been proposed, on the evidence of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of amber and resin from living trees, that conifers of the family
Sciadopityaceae were responsible.
The only extant representative of this family is the Japanese umbrella pine,
Sciadopitys verticillata.
Structure
The structure of Baltic amber (succinite) is complex. It is not a
polymer, because it is not composed of a repeating pattern of
Repeat unit of the same type. Rather it has a
macromolecular structure arranged in a crosslinked network, in which the pores (free spaces) are filled by components of molecular structure (e.g. by
Monoterpene and
). Thus the chemical structure of the amber may be described as a
supramolecule.
[Matuszewska A. Bursztyn (sukcynit), inne żywice kopalne, subfosylne I współczesne. Katowice, 2010.] The structure makes the amber denser, harder and more resistant to external factors. It also makes possible good preservation of plant and animal inclusions.
History of use
Baltic amber has been traded since the
Neolithic period in Europe, with Baltic amber being found as trade goods from 3634–3363 BC in Spain,
with Baltic amber being traded to China by the time of the
Han dynasty.
Initially Baltic amber was extracted from redeposited amber in
Holocene deposits, like sandbars, with large scale industrial extraction beginning in the 19th century.
[Anna Małka & Regina Kramarska The mining of Baltic amber deposits in Poland ‐ an overview International Amber Researcher Symposium Amberif 2013]
Paleobiology
Numerous extinct genera and species of plants and animals have been discovered and scientifically described from inclusions in Baltic amber.
Inclusions of insects make up over 98% of the animals preserved in the amber, while all other
,
,
,
,
contribute less than 0.5% of the animals. Vertebrates are another 0.5% of the animals included and mostly are represented by mammal fur, feathers, and reptiles.
Flora
Fauna
Arthropods
(Not Open Access)
Onychophorans
|
| Succinipatopsis balticus | Poinar | 2000 | Succinipatopsidae | Controversial anatomy and taxonomic status | |
Mollusks
Vertebrates
|
| Succinilacerta succinea | | 1998 | Lacertidae | Known from multiple specimens, including an almost complete juvenile. | |
Gallery of images
Image:Baltic beach sand containing amber.jpg|Typical beach sand on the Baltic Sea where amber is often washed up
Image:Amber Fisher.jpg|Fishing for amber at the seacoast, Mikoszewo, close to Gdańsk, Poland
Image:Colours of Baltic Amber.jpg|Different colours of Baltic amber
File:Baltic amber Coleoptera Brentidae Apion 3.JPG|Fossil Brentidae beetle
See also
Bibliography
