The Amber Lab

Welcome to the Amber Lab
(pages under development, updated 8th March 2010)

These web pages are being developed by Dr David Penney, an amber research scientist at the amber lab of Siri Scientific Services and Visiting Scientist in the Preziosi lab of the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester, UK. For a list of mainly amber-related publications by Dave Penney click here. At present, the primary aim of this site is to showcase nice photographs of identified fossil inclusions preserved in amber (some of which are for sale). These originate mainly from the Dominican Republic and Baltic regions, but some from other regions are also included.

At the entrance to a Dominican amber mine in the La Toca region of the Dominican Republic

We have some fabulous examples of rare inclusions for sale including:

Polyxenid millipedes in Dominican amber
Phasmids in Dominican amber
Mayflies in Dominican amber
Isopods in Dominican amber
Mosquito in Dominican amber
Torymid wasp in Dominican amber
Braconid wasp in Baltic amber
Various spiders in Dominican and Baltic amber

...and many more to come, so bookmark these pages!

Come visit us at the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival April/May 2010 see: www.fossilfestival.com

Collecting amber in Lebanon

We have thousands of fossil amber inclusions from various deposits around the world. At the amber lab, each specimen is tested for authenticity and carefully examined by an expert amber scientist in order to obtain the correct identification. At present, very few of the specimens are for sale. In addition to the rare (and expensive) amber specimens for sale (click the Amber For Sale tab above) we also sell amber collector starter packs (see below)...great for kids, school projects, gifts etc. Each pack contains five Dominican amber stones in professional display boxes (with a transparent lid) and a certificate of authenticity. A minimum of one fossil fly (Diptera), one spider (Araneae), one beetle (Coleoptera), one true bug (Hemiptera) and one ant (Hymenoptera) are included. Some specimens may contain more than one inclusion, so this is the minimum you can expect. The nature of fossilization in amber is that it often traps relatively small organisms, so please do not order these if you are expecting huge fossil insects. Most are best observed with a hand lens or under a microscope.

We also offer an identification service. This is currently restricted to spiders, but this may change in the future.

If you need particular taxonomic groups for systematics research or to produce sufficient replicates for other projects such as attempts to extract DNA this can probably be arranged. Please contact siri.press@live.co.uk with your specific requirements. Please enjoy the photos on the associated pages.

Amber Collector Starter Pack
(note this includes only five amber pieces (as described above) in display boxes with certificates of authenticity. The photo is to give an idea of the stones available. The price is only £55.00, which includes postage and packing within the UK. Save money by purchasing our new amber booklet at the discount price of £2.50 (normally £3.00) and with no additional postage when ordered with any amber specimen(s). Please email siri.press@live.co.uk for this option.

Single specimens are also available and are priced depending on the size of the stone and the quality/size/rarity of the fossil inclusion. Again, these make great gifts for kids to show off at school...their very own piece of Jurassic Park history!

For super rare (expensive) amber specimens click the Amber For Sale tab on the top menu bar.

Siri Scientific Services (including Siri Scientific Press)

High Quality, Affordable Natural History Services for the Professional & Layman