Amber Listserv / Amazonia amber - CNRS site

Tue Nov 14 14:20:06 EST 2006

Hi Pierre good stuff!

Here is the translation:

Paris, August 28, 2006 Discovered fossil insects in the amber of Amazonia 
In the North of Peru, there is 15 to 12 million years, of the insects, 
acarina and other arthropods were made trap in the resin along branch or 
tree trunks. An international team paleontologists and geologists (1) 
found fossilized in amber. This discovery is the first of the kind in 
Western Amazonia. Thanks to it, the researchers prove the early existence 
of a large terrestrial biodiversity in the area, a forest environment and 
under a hot and wet climate. These results are published on line on the 
site of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (To consult 
the Web site). Amber, i.e. the fossil resin, comes from only one 
stratigraphic level, dated from average Miocène (there is 15 to 12 million 
years). The researchers discovered it at the edge of the Amazon, during a 
forwarding close to Iquitos in 2004. The team, coordinated by 
Pierre-Olivier Antoine, of the Laboratory of the mechanisms of transfer in 
geology (CNRS/Université Toulouse 3/IRD), has prospected for several years 
the sedimentary grounds of this area located at the foot of the Andes and 
the borders of Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia. Its goal is to recall the 
evolution of fauna and the flora, the environments and the geography of 
Western Amazonia in the last twenty million years, under the effect of the 
rising of the Andes. It is one of the objectives of the Environnements 
program and climates of last (ECLIPSE), multi-field program of the 
INSU-CNRS. Amazonia is today the seat of the largest terrestrial 
biodiversity, but very few things are known on the past of this moved back 
area and little explored, which was there are 12 to 15 million years 
completely isolated from the rest of the world (Panama Canal was not 
closed again that 3,5 million years ago). The found insects and fossil 
Arachnida are the first terrestrial arthropods ever discovered in this 
part of the sphere. The amber of Amazonia is exceptionally rich in animal 
and vegetable inclusions: at least 13 species of insects and 3 species of 
acarina were already identified by the paleoentomologist André Nel, of the 
National Natural history museum of Natural History in Paris (MNHN). The 
fossil resin for example trapped several flies and mosquitos, of the 
parasitic wasps, a coleopter cousin of the ladybirds, a phryganea (the 
well-known caddis-bait of the fishermen) etc an acarina is even limed on a 
wire of spider. Innumerable microfossiles was seized by the resin, among 
which a great diversity of bacteria, cyanobacteries, spores of mushrooms, 
algae, or a lichen and a grain of pollen. The cellular contents of some 
microfossiles are preserved, which lets hope that one will have access to 
their ADN to try to reconstitute their phylogeny (their family tree). 
Thanks to this discovery, the researchers know from now on that there are 
12 to 15 million years, the area was a delta open on an inland sea 
bordered of dense forests, under an already hot and very wet climate, 
where it did not make inevitably good food!

This small fly, long of approximately 1,2 mm, is trapped in a block of 
amber coming from Western Amazonia (Iquitos, the North-East of Peru). The 
related current species with this specimen, old from 12 to 15 million 
years, nourish organic matter in decomposition. One can imagine the life 
at the time, in a dense forest, wet and hot. © 2006 Andre Nel (National 
Natural history museum of Natural History, Paris)

This block of amber was discovered in deltaic sediments of the area of 
Iquitos, in the North-East of Peru, in full heart of Amazonia. It contains 
trapped insects there are 12 to 15 million years by castings of resin 
along a trunk or a branch. © 2006 Pierre-Olivier Antoine (University Paul 
Sabatier, Toulouse)

This small acarina is trapped in a block of amber coming from Western 
Amazonia (Iquitos, the North-East of Peru). The quality of safeguarding is 
such as all the anatomical elements of this animal, however old 12 to 15 
million years, are visible. The length of the animal does not exceed 0,2 
mm (200µm). © 2006 Dario De Franceschi (National Natural history museum of 
Natural History, Paris)

This small acarina, limed on a wire of cobweb and trapped in a block of 
amber coming from Western Amazonia (Iquitos, the North-East of Peru), is 
old 12 to 15 million years. The length of the animal does not exceed 0,2 
mm (200µm). Note the presence of a drop of adhesive on the wire, in top of 
the photograph. © 2006 Dario De Franceschi (National Natural history 
museum of Natural History, Paris)

   Notes: 1) The French researchers depend on the Laboratory of the 
mechanisms of transfer in geology (CNRS/Université Toulouse 3/IRD) and of 
the National Natural history museum of Natural History in Paris. 
References: Amber from western Amazonia reveals Neotropical diversity 
during the middle Miocene, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Dario De Franceschi, 
John J. Flynn, Andre Nel, Patrice Baby, Mouloud Benammi, Ysabel Calderón, 
Nicolas Espurt, Anjali Goswami, and Rodolfo Salted-Gismondi, PNAS, 
publication on line, week of August 28, 2006 (To consult the Web site). 

  Contacts : 
Chercheur CNRS
Pierre-Olivier Antoine
T 05 61 35 94 60 ou 05 61 35 94 60
poa at lmtg.obs-mip.fr

Presse CNRS
Claire Le Poulennec
T 01 44 96 49 88
Claire.le-poulennec at cnrs-dir.fr

Chercheur IRD
Patrice Baby
T 511 47 59 590 - F 511 47 54 830
Patrice.baby at ird.fr

Presse IRD 
Aude Sonneville ou Elodie Vignier
T 01 48 03 75 19 
presse at paris.ird.fr 

regards
__________________________
Keith Luzzi

Phone:  +1-973-682-3430
Mobile: +1-973-809-0846
email:    keith.luzzi at db.com

Pierre Lafrance <pierre.lafrance at ete.inrs.ca> 
Sent by: amber-bounces at ambericawest.com
11/14/2006 12:49 PM

To
amber at ambericawest.com
cc

Subject
Amber Listserv / Amazonia amber - CNRS site

Hello all,

Following the kind previous sending of the very well advise member about 
the finding of amber bearing insects in Peru-West-Amazonia, one may found 
the French version (not just a translation of the AMNH note) of this 
communicate at:

http://www2.cnrs.fr/presse/communique/915.htm?debut=24

This is the official site of the French CNRS which was involved in this 
int. team. It gives a few more pics of inclusions and some other 
indications about the site itself (in French, obviously !).

Results are available on-line (not free it seems) at the Proc. Nat. Acad. 
Sci. (PNAS) Antoine et al., PNAS 2006; 103: 13595-13600.

Thanks Keith !

Pierre

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