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Brief Communications
Nature 444, 835 (14 December 2006) | doi:10.1038/444835a; Received 18 August 2006; Accepted 4 October 2006; Published online 14 December 2006
A microworld in Triassic amber
Alexander R. Schmidt1, Eugenio Ragazzi2, Olimpia Coppellotti3 & Guido Roghi4
Abstract
Amber as old as the first dinosaurs captured the diversity of microbial life 220 million years ago.
Abstract
Amber provides an effective medium for conservation of soft-bodied microorganisms1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, but finds older than 135 million years are very rare and have not so far contained any microbial inclusions. Here we describe 220-million-year-old droplets of amber containing bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoans that are assignable to extant genera. These inclusions provide insight into the evolution and palaeoecology of Lower Mesozoic microorganisms: it seems that the basal levels of food webs of terrestrial communities (biocoenoses) have undergone little or no morphological change from the Triassic to the Recent.
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