SCIENCE IN PICS: Three Triassic Era Amber Droplets

The oldest known amber-preserved arthropods have been discovered in Italy, dating back 230 million years ago to the Late Triassic.

The outcrop in the Dolomite Alps of northeastern Italy where researchers found Triassic-era amber droplets. Two of the researchers can be seen collecting the droplets near the bottom of the formation on the right. E. Ragazzi/University of Padova

The oldest known amber-preserved arthropods have been discovered in Italy, dating back 230 million years ago to the Late Triassic.

Previously, the oldest arthropods fossilized in resin were from the Early Cretaceous about 130 million years ago, when large amounts of resin began to appear in the fossil record.

The amber is from the Heiligkreuz Formation in the Dolomite Alps of northeastern Italy. Most of the droplets are 2-6 millimeters long, and were produced by trees in the extinct conifer family Cheirolepidiaceae.