Scorpion in Rare Cretaceous Amber

Description: This plaque of amber displays a most uncommon inclusion: a complete scorpion juvenile. The oldest amber containing insects comes from the deposits of Lebanon at some 135 million years of age. Deposits in Myanmar, New Jersey, and Japan are somewhat younger. Despite the fact that scorpions have an extensive history dating back to the Lower Devonian, Mesozoic examples are quite rare, with most known examples from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil and a single amber specimen from Lebanon. As of the publication of the cited work by the AMNH the only examples from Burmite amber were three fragments, one which was of the sting. That publication was prophetic in that it predicted there was the likely possibility that a complete example would eventually come to light. In the years since a few have indeed been found, with this example notable in that it is easily seen in this clear piece of amber from the time of the dinosaurs.

References: AMNH Novitates, No. 3361, Mar 26, 2002.