Amber with insects (Burmite)
A range of really truly fascinating pieces, these are Burmite – Burmese Amber, often with insect and plant life remains.
£5.00 – £35.00
Burmite Amber
A range of really truly fascinating pieces, these are Burmite - Burmese Amber, often with insect and plant life remains.
Burmite is an extremely old form of Amber, which is found in Burma (formerly Myanmar). It is a Cretaceous amber dating to around 99 million years old.
Burmese amber is of tremendous scientific importance, as a huge range of flora and fauna can be included within - over 1300 species, including insects, arachnids, plantlife, snakes, frogs, birds, lizards, and even fragments of dinosaurs.
I've tried to include closeup photos of the more interesting inclusions in the Amber - some are of a sufficient level of detail that they could be identified. You will need magnification for these pieces - a 10x loupe or higher is recommended.
See below for a description of each piece, as the photos can't include everything.
- #1 - 21x14.7x7.6MM: a reasonably clear piece containing a lot of mixed up plant material.
- #2 - 15.7x14.6x4.5MM: a nice little piece with at least two insects and likely fragments of more.
- #3 - 18.1x13.3x6.4MM: a striped piece with very little in the way of inclusions. Just dirt/plant material.
- #4 - 20x12.65x4.2MM: a heavily included piece with plenty of plant material and some possible seed pods.
- #5 - 17.5x11.9x4.4MM: a heavily included piece with at least one insect visible, likely two.
- #6 - 20.4x10x3.4MM: a heavily included piece with plant inclusions and dirt etc.
- #7 - 26x18.5x3.4MM: a clear piece; very thin - it has at least two insect inclusions.
- #8 - 26.7x18.9x7.7MM: an odd piece with various inclusions which seem to be legs or antenna or similar.
- #10 - 25.4x9.6x2.7MM: nice little piece with at least two insects - one of which seems to be a spider moult.
- #11 - 17x16.2x2.6MM: A clear piece with a single small insect. Quite thin.
- #12 - 22.8x11.6x7.2MM: a piece with odd inclusions, one of which seems to be an unusual barbed leg or antenna.
- #13 - 21x14.7x3.8MM: a nice piece with many, many hundreds of air bubbles, and at least one visible insect.
- #14 - 15.5x9.5x4.6MM: a really cool looking piece, with what I believe is a plant inclusion, similar to a catkin perhaps.
- #15 - 21.5x15.3x4.2MM: a heavily included piece with a minimum of two insects - at least one fly and one that looks a bit like a tick!
- #16 - 21.4x15.5x6.9MM: a banded and striped piece with few inclusions - possibly some seedpods or similar.
- #17 - 12.8x9.3x5.9MM: a piece with a minimum of two but more likely three reasonably well preserved insects. It also has some dark plant-like material.
- #18 - 16x11.3x5.5MM: an exceptional piece with a very, very nicely preserved piece of plant material. Possibly Selaginella sp. Contains numerous small 'pellets' or balls, possibly spores of some kind.
- #19 - 16.7x11.8x2.8MM: a piece with a slightly mangled spider.
- #20 - 17.7x12.4x3.4MM: a cloudy, included piece with at least one insect, although it is hard to make out.
- #21 - 19.1x7.5x3MM: a small thin piece with several inclusions, likely to be plant material. There is one very unusual thing that may be a fracture pattern or something more interesting.
- #22 - 30.5x21.9x5.3MM: a nice piece with at least two insects - one millipede and one other - possibly a spider or fly. It is quite mangled. The millipede is fairly well preserved.
- #23 - 16.9x14.9x6.2MM: a slightly included piece with a possible insect fragment or a piece of a plant seed or similar.
- #24 - 13x9.5x4.7MM: at least two visible insects and some plant material/dirt.
- #25 - 12x8.4x2.4MM: a streaked, included piece with a single very small insect.
- #26 - 25.4x16.3x8MM: very interesting this - at least one reasonable insect and a very odd 'cone' like structure. Whether this is biological or how the amber formed around a stick or similar, I don't know!
- #27 - 30.5x25.5x3.8MM: at least two 'moults' visible, or possibly full insects which have been partially eaten. Possibly spiders.
- #28 - 25x15.6x4.5MM: at least one hairy insect and several unusual seedpods or eggs or similar.
- #29 - 16.2x9.7x6.8MM: an unknown inclusion, possibly a fragment of an insect.
- #30 - 15.6x10.1x7MM: quite a cool piece - a pair of either wing cases or possibly halves of a seedpod.
- #31 - 15.3x8.7x4MM: a very good quality millipede or similar, and a strange round fragment or fracture - looks almost shell-like but appears to be two dimensional rather than 3D.
- #32 - 16.5x15.5x8.2MM: a highly included piece with plenty of plant material.
- #33 - 15.5x12x5.1MM: plenty of air bubbles, and what I'm fairly confident is a nice piece of plant material that looks almost like lavender.
- #34 - 20x11.7x4.3MM: an unknown inclusion, possibly a piece of plant life or seed pod of some kind.
- #35 - 20.3x17.3x7.8MM: at least one insect visible.
- #36 - 14.4x8.9x3MM: a piece with a spider fragment or spider moult and a very very well preserved insect - perhaps a fly or similar. Compound eyes are visible and well preserved under high magnification.
- #37 - 18.3x11.6x9.6MM: several pieces of plant-like material visible; likely some grass or twig remnants which have since dissolved.
- #38 - 17.6x9x8.4MM: several pieces of unknown plant material - moss or balls of mixed up flowers and similar.
- #39 - 22.4x11.4x5.3MM: one reasonably well preserved insect visible.
- #40 - 11.9x9.3x6.4MM: very clear - surprisingly clear, actually! A few visible bubbles of air.
- #41 - 20.5x12.7x5.6MM: a piece with many pieces of plant inclusions.
- #42 - 23.9x18.8x6MM: a streaky, included piece with several small pieces of dirt or plant material. No insects spotted.
- #43 - 21.2x12.9x8.7MM: a heavily included piece with lots of air bubbles and some mixed plant material.
- #44 - 19x10.2x8.4MM: a single well preserved insect with a seed pod, egg, or other insect fragment.
- #45 - 17.5x12x8.3MM: not an especially clear piece, with at least one insect visible.
- #46 - 22.8x18.7x6MM: a very cloudy piece with one insect, a little hard to see to be honest.
- #47 - 19x12.9x6.4MM: a streaky, included piece with at least two insects.
Unfortunately, there are ethical concerns due to Burma's ongoing civil war, and concerns over the safety of miners.
There is a large debate between scientists as to whether Burmese Amber should be purchased and/or studied due to the potential humanitarian concerns; I have studied the issues for a long time before considering purchasing personally.
Several organisations have issued a blanket ban on studying Burmese Amber; however, this would include bans on all legitimate mines and cause harm to many miners and people working within the industry. It also creates a culture in which a scientific resource ends up smuggled into China and sold online, carved, and lost to science forever.
Ultimately, whether or not you decide to purchase any specimens of Burmese amber will be a personal decision as the ethical concerns are extremely complex. This is true of all rocks and minerals, not purely pieces from Afghanistan, Burma, China, Russia, or any other country with a less than ideal human rights record - and yes, that includes the UK.
Further reading on potential human rights issues regarding Burmese Amber:
Additional information
| Weight | 0.05 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 3 × 3 × 1 cm |
| Specimen | #1 – 21×14.7×7.6MM, #4 – 20×12.65×4.2MM, #5 – 17.5×11.9×4.4MM, #6 – 20.4x10x3.4MM, #13 – 21×14.7×3.8MM, #14 – 15.5×9.5×4.6MM, #15 – 21.5×15.3×4.2MM, #18 – 16×11.3×5.5MM, #22 – 30.5×21.9×5.3MM, #23 – 16.9×14.9×6.2MM, #26 – 25.4×16.3x8MM, #28 – 25×15.6×4.5MM, #30 – 15.6×10.1x7MM, #33 – 15.5x12x5.1MM, #34 – 20×11.7×4.3MM, #36 – 14.4×8.9x3MM, #38 – 17.6x9x8.4MM, #41 – 20.5×12.7×5.6MM, #42 – 23.9×18.8x6MM, #43 – 21.2×12.9×8.7MM, #45 – 17.5x12x8.3MM |
Mike James (verified owner) –
Small but perfectly formed and for a school demonstration.