Insect in opal

[Lefty]

We've all seen insects in amber but how about this - Insect preserved in opal

Still a few people arguing about whether it's even possible or not but either way it's intruiging.

 

[Gravity]

That stone would be worth a small fortune, what a great find :Y:

 

[silver]

Here's the image from the story

 

[Lefty]

Kind f looks like the bug was inside a hole or a tree root that filled with/became silicified

 

[Heatho]

Interesting that the article says it might be opalised amber, that was the first thing that came to my mind when seeing it, amazing find, probably the rarest of the rare.

 

[Manpa]

The whole thing is shaped like a tooth. Hate to think what it's worth to a collector.

 

[Rockhunter62]

Now lets extract some dna out of it and make a dinosaur. :lol:

Cheers

Doug

 

[Jaros]

Wonder what it was? Way back then.....

 

[BigWave]

We probably had no Mortein?

 

[user 4386]

Interesting that the article says it might be opalised amber, that was the first thing that came to my mind when seeing it, amazing find, probably the rarest of the rare.

I doubt if it is the slow-forming opal that we know:

(1) replacement of amber by opal is possible
(2) it could be a higher-temperature opal (which can form rapidly, eg from hot springs - this is the most likely form of opal in Indonesia)
(3) it could be synthetic opal ,which can be made in two weeks.

If genuine, it is certainly interesting.

 

[LONEWOLF]

Wonder what it was? Way back then.....

Mosquitosaurus... Grasshoppersaurus {)

LW.....

 

[silver]

Somethinsawus ?

 

[LONEWOLF]

Doyouthinkhesawus..?

LW....

 

[Manpa]

We probably had no Mortein?

That rules out Insectiicidus then! layful:

 

[Mr Magoo]

Interesting that the article says it might be opalised amber, that was the first thing that came to my mind when seeing it, amazing find, probably the rarest of the rare.

I doubt if it is the slow-forming opal that we know:

(1) replacement of amber by opal is possible
(2) it could be a higher-temperature opal (which can form rapidly, eg from hot springs - this is the most likely form of opal in Indonesia)
(3) it could be synthetic opal ,which can be made in two weeks.

If genuine, it is certainly interesting.

Another theory put forward.

An "opalization" of amber
" This specimen challenges our current understanding of opal formation ," says geologist Ben McHenry , director of the Earth Sciences Collection at the South Australian Museum . The specialist puts forward a possible explanation: the insect would first have fallen into amber, which would have sank in the crack of a wood . The highly siliceous volcanic flows would then have invested the slot and an ion exchange would have occurred during the polymerization , during which the amber would then be "opalized".

.

The oldest insect ever found?
You should know that most of the amber that is found is actually copal, an intermediate between resin and amber aged several hundred to a few thousand years. The true fossilization of amber resin requires, in turn, several million years. " If this theory of opalization is right, from the sap of the tree with an insect, followed by a sedimentary process passing through the copal, amber and opal, the insect visible in this stone could be the same. 'one of the oldest ever discovered ,' concludes Brian Berger. New investigations are underway to learn more about the insect in question.