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Feb 27, 2020

Due to the impact of the COVID-19, the Research Institute in Chaozhou will be temporarily closed, the opening time is to be determined, please pay attention to the latest news on this website.

Jan 1, 2020

Congratulations on opening Longyin Amber Museum in Xishan District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China

Oct 10, 2019

Possible egg masses from amphibians, gastropods, and insects in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

The eggs of fish, amphibians, and many invertebrates are soft, delicate structures that are only rarely preserved in the fossil record. Here we report egg masses preserved as inclusions in mid-Cretaceous amber deposits of Myanmar. Of five specimens recovered, three of the egg masses probably pertain to insects, but the other two appear different. One mass is composed of relatively stiff eggs that retain their shape throughout the mass and may be linked by mucoid strands. This morphology resembles that of some terrestrial molluscs. The second mass is composed of softer eggs that have compressed one another so that their shapes are strongly distorted within the mass. These eggs most closely resemble those of amphibians. Given the forest environment reconstructed for the amber locality, the eggs were presumably attached on or close to the resin producing tree.

Xing, L.D., Wang, D.H*., Li, G., McKellar, R.C., Bai, M., Chen, H.R., Evans, S.E*. 2019. Possible egg masses from amphibians, gastropods, and insects in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Historical Biology DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2019.1677642

May 30, 2019

Update for the Declaration from DIP

Science has corrected their negligence. We are grateful to the journal for their positive response and revision. The text has been changed, and a note at the end alerts readers: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/05/fossils-burmese-amber-offer-exquisite-view-dinosaur-times-and-ethical-minefield
*Update, 29 May, 12:20 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect the current ownership of the snake in amber specimen: Xiao and DIP have arranged for the institute to own that specimen, but it is loaned back to Xiao until 2027.
 <<<Details>>>>
 

May 26, 2019

A Solemn Declaration from DIP

The DIP has noted that Science published Sokol, J., 2019. Troubled treasure. Science 364 (6442): 722-729. DOI: 10.1126/science.364.6442.722. We are grateful to Science for its interest in Burmese amber. However, some of these statements are clearly not true, and these claims have seriously affected the reputation of the Institute. We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to it.   <<<Details>>>>

Feb 12, 2019

Birds of a Feather May Stick Together, but This Bird’s Foot Got Stuck in Amber

"Researchers say the feathered specimen known as “Ugly Foot” or “Hobbit Foot” offers long-sought clues to the evolutionary path of birds."

Xing, L.D., McKellar, R.C*., O'Connor, J.K*., Bai, M.,Tseng, K.W., Chiappe, L.M, 2019. A fully feathered enantiornithine foot and wing fragment preserved in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Scientific Reports 9:927

Oct 11, 2018

Exclusive: Stunning snail found in dinosaur-era amber

"A record-setting fossil from Myanmar reveals the detailed anatomy of ancient snails' soft tissues."

Xing, L.D., Ross, A.J*., Stilwell, J.D., Fang, J., McKellar, R.C. 2019. Juvenile snail with preserved soft tissue in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar suggests a cyclophoroidean (Gastropoda) ancestry. Cretaceous Research 93: 114–119. DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2018.09.013

Jun 14, 2018

First Baby Snake From Dinosaur Era Found in Amber

"The delicate fossil is also the oldest known snake that lived in a forested ecosystem."

Xing, L.D., Caldwell, M.W*., Chen, R., Nydam, R.L., Palci, A., Simões, T.R., McKellar, R.C., Lee, M.S.Y., Liu, Y., Shi, H.L., Wang, K., Bai, M. In press. A Mid-Cretaceous Embryonic-To-Neonate Snake in Amber from Myanmar. Science Advances 4, eaat5042. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat5042

Jun 14, 2018

World's Oldest Rain Forest Frogs Found in Amber
“It was exhilarating to hold these small fossils up to the light to reveal the frogs within.”
And named Electrorana limoae, it is an extinct species of frog that lived in the Myanmar in the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) forests, 99 million years ago.

Xing, L.D*., Stanley, E., Bai, M., Blackburn,D.C*. 2018. The earliest direct evidence of frogs in wet tropical forests from Cretaceous Burmese amber. Scientific Reports 8:8770. DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-26848-w

Feb 3, 2018

A cover story: Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (99 Ma Burmese amber) has become a valuable supplement to the traditional skeletal record of small theropod dinosaurs preserved in sedimentary rocks, particularly for coelurosaurs and enantiornithines. The specimens recovered from this deposit preserve skeletal material and soft tissues in unmatched detail. This provides opportunities to study three-dimensional preservation of soft tissues, microstructure, and pigmentation patterns that are seldom available elsewhere in the fossil record. Ultimately, this line of research provides insights into life stages that are difficult to preserve, the ecology and appearance of the groups involved, and the evolutionary-development of structures such as feathers. Here we describe the most recent discovery from Burmese amber, an articulated skeleton of an enantiornithine bird. This individual has been sectioned along the coronal plane, providing a unique view inside multiple body regions. Osteological observations and plumage patterns support placement within the Enantiornithes, and suggest that the animal may have been a juvenile at the time of death. The specimen has a complex taphonomic history that includes exposure at the surface of a resin flow prior to encapsulation, and may include scavenging by some of the insects trapped within the same amber piece. The chemical composition observed along surface exposures and shallowly buried regions of the body indicate that the specimen has not undergone significant exchange with its surroundings. High iron concentrations are present in regions that preserve soft tissues as carbon films, and calcium distribution corresponds to regions where bones breach the surface of the amber.

Jan 22, 2018

We report the first Cretaceous ostracod in amber—the gigantic (12.9 mm) right valve of an exclusively marine group (Myodocopa: Myodocopida) preserved in Burmese amber.

Jun 6, 2017

Our team have uncovered an incredible specimen in Myanmar that has given us a glimpse of life from 100 million years ago - a piece of amber containing the remarkably preserved remains of an ancient bird hatchling.

Inside the amber, you can make out the head, tail, and neck of the bird, but it's the wings and feet that are the real marvels - the chunk of fossilised tree resin has perfectly preserved the bird's feathers, flesh, and claws, and gives us insight into a doomed group of prehistoric species called the Enantiornithes.

Lida Xing, Jingmai K. O'Connor, Ryan C. McKellar, Luis M. Chiappe, Kuowei Tseng, Gang Li & Ming Bai (2017)
A mid-Cretaceous enantiornithine (Aves) hatchling preserved in Burmese amber with unusual plumage.
Gondwana Research
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2017.06.001
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X17300527

Dec 9, 2016

Our first !!  DINO!! SAUR!! in AMBER!!!!! Found in 2015.

First Dinosaur Tail Found Preserved in Amber!!

A Feathered Dinosaur Tail with Primitive Plumage Trapped in Mid-Cretaceous Amber. In Current Biology

National Geographic First Dinosaur Tail Found Preserved in Amber

CNN: 'Once in a lifetime find': Dinosaur tail discovered trapped in amber

BBC: 'Beautiful' dinosaur tail found preserved in amber

PBS: Entire chunk of feathered dinosaur discovered in amber

Sciencenews: Dinosaur tail preserved in amber, with feathers

CNBC: Dinosaur tail found in amber at market in Myanmar

June 30, 2016

China news: Researchers find birds' wings encased in amber

  



June 28, 2016


National Geographic: Rare Dinosaur-Era Bird Wings Found Trapped in Amber

BBC: Ancient birds' wings preserved in amber

New scientist: Beautifully preserved feathers belonged to tiny flying dinosaurs

Science daily: Early bird wings preserved in Burmese amber

CNN: 99-million-year-old bird wing discovered

Nature: Bird wings trapped in amber are a fossil first from the age of dinosaurs

May, 2015

 

We have visited the mine area, and study amber in Myitkyina, Myanmar

June, 2014

We have visited the mine area, and study amber in Myitkyina, Myanmar

In 2014, we discovered amber amber containing a baby bird, wings and so on.

In 2013, we began to pay attention to the inclusion of Burmese amber

 

 

 

Dexu Institute of Palaeontology (DIP), China 

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