Museum quality fossils in amber for the professional collector
payment in £GBP by cheque, direct bank transfer (preferred for payments over £500), debit/credit card or by paypal to siri.press@live.co.uk
site last updated 9th August 2010
Contact email: siri.press@live.co.uk (or david.penney@manchester.ac.uk)
LATEST FOSSILS ADDED 9 AUGUST 2010
PLEASE BOOKMARK AND REVISIT FREQUENTLY
On this page you will find superb and unique fossil amber inclusions for sale, primarily from Baltic and Dominican deposits. They are expensive, and while in some cases this may not be a reflection of the rarity of the inclusion sensu stricto, it results from the degree to which the specimens have been identified by an expert amber scientist and/or to some unique feature of the inclusion(s). Having said that however, and taking spiders as an example, the majority of spider inclusions in amber are juvenile and thus impossible to identify to species. Of the mature specimens that are found, many are not preserved sufficiently well or in the appropriate position to determine exactly which species they belong to. Each of the following specimens comes with its own story (see below) and a certificate of authenticity, neatly slotted into a white-based perspex display box with a transparent lid. Price includes delivery worldwide. The specimens will not be available until the associated 'buy it now' button appears on the page, although enquiries are welcome. Thank you for your interest in these beautiful and remarkable fossils. We have many others, if you don't see what you want, please email with your enquires.
A note on the rarity of spiders in amber
The frequency with which spiders in general occur as fossil inclusions in amber varies between deposits. For example, they represent approximately 2% of inclusions found in Dominican amber, whereas estimates for Baltic amber range from 4-6%. They are considerably less abundant in older, Cretaceous resins. However, some species are more common than others, as might be expected. Many species are known from only a single individual, thus making these fossils more scarce than vertebrates such as lizards and frogs!
SALE ITEMS - All fossils are in an amber coloured matrix, but some of the following photos were produced using filters to obtain the best possible contrast, which oftens makes the matrix appear bluish-green.
For cheaper, authentic amber fossils we are pleased to recommend Amberforeternity.
All their fossils have been identified and certified by us and come with one of our certificates.
Incredible and UNIQUE predatory insect larva in Miocene Dominican amber
(This specimen is available for a donation of £35,000 to the University of Manchester Amber & Copal Biodiversity Research fund. Please email david.penney@manchester.ac.uk for more information)
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This remarkable specimen is quite exceptional and truly unique. It is a predatory insect larva encased in a bag of sand grains with remnants of its previous meals attached to the outside. These include a pseudoscorpion claw (top left), the head of an ant (next to the claw) and the carapace of a spider from the family Oonopidae (bottom). To which order of insects it belongs is currently an enigma. I have had various experts look at it and have been told it is not a Neuroptera nor a predatory Lepidoptera larva. Given the prey items attached it must have been terrestrial rather than aquatic. If anybody knows what this might be I would be very grateful for your suggestions. Please email david.penney@manchester.ac.uk
Rare Pirate Spider (family Mimetiidae) in Eocene Baltic amber: price £150.00
Pirate spiders are easily identified by their unique leg spine pattern on the first two pairs of legs, clearly visible in this fossil. They are specialist predators of other spiders. Several species occur in Baltic amber. The amber fossil species were revised by Harms and Dunlop (2009).
Very rare geophilomorph centipede in Eocene Baltic amber: price £500.00 (These are a must for any complete amber collection)
These centipedes are longer and thinner than the more common lithobiid centipedes and live deeper within the soil, hence they are more rare as inclusions.
Extremely rare and unusual ant ?Dolichoderus (Hypoclinea) vexillarius (family Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) in Eocene Baltic amber: price £500.00 (I have seen many amber ants, but never like this one!) Note the exceptional sculpuring (pitting) of the head and thorax of this species described by Wheeler in 1915. This specimen is preserved in a large (8.1g) piece of amber 37 x 26 mm.
RARE flat-bellied ground spider (family Gnaphosidae) in Eocene Baltic amber: price £400.00 (a beautiful specimen showing the highly distinctive tubular spinneret arrangement)
Extant gnaphosids are a diverse family of free-living, nocturnal, ground hunting spiders. They are easily identified by having distinctly large and tubular spinnerets and they usually have eliptical middle eyes in the hind eye row.
Lizard in subRecent copal from Madagascar: price £5000.00 (to our knowledge this is the first lizard reported in copal from Madagascar!)This remarkable specimen is in a piece of copal 25 x 15 mm. The left side of the lizard is preserved, with claws visible on the hind leg. The head, tip of the tail and the right limbs are not preserved. The detail of the scaly skin is quite magnificent as clearly illustrated in the photograph. Whilst many amber collectors do not consider copal, they overlook its importance as a unique window to extinction in our lifetime. This specimen would make an important (and unique) addtion to any collection.
Winged aphid Mindarus magnus (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea: Mindaridae) in Eocene (44-49 million-year-old) Baltic amber: price £450.00 (a beautiful specimen of a non-amber forest resident!)Although several species of
Mindarus have been described from Baltic amber, it has been suggested that these insects were not residents of the amber forest, but merely dispersive stages of insects that lived in proximate forest habitats. If they had been amber forest residents then they should be encountered more frequently than they are. This species was described by A.C. Baker in 1922.
Predatory fly Empis sp. male (Diptera: Empididae) with Cecidomyiidae prey in Eocene (44-49 million-year-old) Baltic amber: price £650.00 (a wonderful example of frozen behaviour!)
Empidids, often referred to as dagger flies as a result of their long, piercing proboscis, are a diverse family of mainly predatory flies that catch their prey (other insects) on the wing. They are major predators of mating swarms of male nonbiting midges. They are common as inclusions in amber but are not usually found with their prey, as in the beautifully preserved specimen shown below. This specimen is truly a magnificent example of palaeoethology (fossilized behaviour).
Fossil silverfish Lampropholis dubia (Thysanura: Lepismatidae) in Eocene (44-49 million-year-old) Baltic amber: price £500.00 (such fabulous preservation in highly unusual in silverfish fossils!)This species Lampropholis dubia (Thysanura: Lepismatidae) was first described as Lepisma dubia by C.L. Koch and G.C. Berendt in 1854. The silverfish in Baltic amber were revised by F. Silvestri in 1913, who considered this species closely related to the extant Isolepisma. Silverfish are not particularly rare in amber, but it is highly unusual to find such extremely well preserved specimens, such as that offered here.
Fossil spider in Eocene (44-49 million-year-old) Baltic amber: price £350.00Mature male
Mizalia spirembolus (family Oecobiidae). This genus was first described by Koch & Berendt in 1854 from fossils in Baltic amber. Initially, it was attributed to the extant family Theridiidae. In 1870 Thorell erected the strictly fossil family Mizaliidae for this genus. The type specimen of the original species
M. rostrata has been lost. This genus is now placed in an extinct subfamily within the extant Oecobiidae. This species was described as new in 2004 by J. Wunderlich.
Armoured ant-eating spider with prey in Eocene (44-49 million-year-old) Baltic amber: price £750.00 (a highly unusual specimen!)
Spiders of the family Zodariidae are commonly called armoured ant-eating spiders because they often have a sclerotized scutum on top of their abdomen and because they are specialist predators of ants. They are also characterized by the configuration of their spinnerets. Most spiders have six, but in zodariids they are much reduced and situated prominently at the end of the abdomen. This mature male of the fossil species
Anniculus balticus described by A Petrunkevitch in 1942 clearly shows these characteristics (it has only two spinnerets) and is even preserved with what is most certainly its ant prey. There is also a beetle syninclusion in this remarkable and unusual piece that documents an interesting story of specialized spider-ant predation in the Eocene.
Super-rare parasitic chalcidoid wasp from the family Torymidae: price £1500 (a new species...you will not see this for sale anywhere else!)
Tiny parasitic chalcidoid wasps of the family Chalcididae are reasonably common in Dominican amber, but torymiids with their enlarged hind legs, which they use for holding onto their host during oviposition (egg laying) are extremely rare. This fabulous specimen belongs to the tribe Podagrionini and is closely related to the living genus Podagrion (but there appear to be some differences). However, it most probably represents a new species (none have been described from Dominican amber) and may even belong to a new fossil genus.
Beautifully preserved Culex mosquito in Miocene Dominican amber: price £1500 (you will not see this for sale anywhere else!)Beautiful, rare Lophoturus polyxenid millipedes (two specimens in the same piece!), with a woodlouse and mature male pholcid spider: price £5,500 (an exceptional assemblage!)
All these inclusions are rare in Dominican amber, but to find them preserved together in the same piece is quite exceptional...especially two polyxenid millipedes together! Although previously known from Dominican amber, no polyxenids have been formally described, so they probably represent a new species. They belong in the genus
Lophoturus (family Lophoproctidae), although these fossils have previously been assigned to the genus
Lophoproctus. The spider is a mature male
Pholcophora brevipes (daddy-long-legs spider, family Pholcidae), described by J Wunderlich in 1988. The woodlouse is clearly visible in ventral view. The piece also contains a fabulously preserved Diptera, a partial Diptera and an unusual larval form. Thus, the specimen contains four different arthropod classes: Myriapoda, Arachnida, Crustacea and Insecta.
Beautiful parasitic braconid wasp in Eocene Baltic amber: £650 (a remarkably well preserved specimen)
This is a fabulous example of the parasitic braconid wasp
Microtypus terebrator (family Braconidae) described by CT Brues in 1932. Braconid wasps are parasitic on insects of practically every systematic group, but the larvae of Lepidoptera seem to be preferred. Eggs are layed directly on (or inside) the host using the long ovipositor clearly visible in this remarkable fossil.
Super rare stick insect (phasmida) in Miocene Dominican amber: price £5,500 (so rare you just don't see these for sale!)
No phasmids have been officially described from Dominican amber, so this probably represents a new species. They are extremely rare and because of their long-bodied and long-legged nature are rarely encountered as complete specimens. The specimen here is missing the abdomen, but the head, thorax and anterior legs are visible.
THREE fabulous woodlice Pseudarmadillo cristatus (Isopoda: Pseudarmadillidae) in Miocene Dominican amber: price £1,250 (unusually well preserved and three specimens in the same piece!)
Woodlice tend to be rare in amber and when they are found they are often poorly preserved because when entrapped in resin the calcium rich cuticle does not undergo the same organic tanning as that of insects. The calcite is usually affected by the acids in the fresh resin and this usually distorts the cuticle quite drastically. Not so in these fabulous specimens (three in the same stone!) of
Pseudarmadillo cristatus which was described as a new species by H Schmalfuss in 1984.
Spider with AMAZING PEDIPALPS in Eocene (44-49 million-year-old) Baltic amber: price £500.00 (a highly unusual spider identified by a world expert!)Mature male spiders have their pedipalps modified as secondary sexual organs. These modifications are highly variable and are always species specific. This fossil spider
Mastigusa bitterfeldensis (family Dictynidae) was described by J Wunderlich in 2004 and represents an excellent example of extreme pedipalp modification. The detail of these structures in the fossil is quite exceptional.
Super rare mayfly in Miocene (16 million-year-old) Dominican amber: price £3,000.00
(you will be hard pushed to find a mayfly of this quality for sale anywhere else!)Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are super rare in Dominican amber, with only four known species, all described in 2003. This may be because they spend their early stages as aquatic larvae and the winged adult lives only for a matter of days. Thus, the presence of mayflies as fossils is indicative of freshwater environments within the amber forest. This mature male specimen belongs to the species
Borinquena parva (family Leptophlebiidae), recorded in the literature from only a single specimen, and is preserved with many insect syninclusions. This adult (imago) is only the second known specimen of this species and is more completely preserved than the holotype, including with intact tales!
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