Lebanese Amber - The Oldest Insect Ecosystem in Fossilized Resin

George O. Poinar, Jr. and Raif Milki


Book Cover The first book on Lebanese Amber which is the oldest amber in the world, 136 million years old - Lower Cretaceous Period.

The oldest insect ecosystem in fossilized resin.
All insects are extinct at the species level;
most are extinct at the genus level.

 

 

 

Introduction
Amber is one of the great natural treasures of Lebanon. The scientific importance of Lebanese amber lies in its great age. This amber dates back to the Early Cretaceous and contains the oldest known arthropods of any fossilized resin deposit. These now extinct organisms lived in a forest different from any in existence today, long before the land known as Lebanon reached the Mediterranean Sea. The resin-producing woods originated in the southern hemisphere where Lebanon was part of the great continent of Gondwanaland.

Created by the Digital Documentation Center at AUB in collaboration with Al Mashriq of Høgskolen i Østfold, Norway.

20012811 NSZ - Email: ddc-info@aub.edu.lb