Baltic Amber (Damzen collection) (Eocene of Russian Federation)

Where: Kaliningrad, Russian Federation (54.9° N, 19.9° E: paleocoordinates 53.9° N, 15.2° E)

• coordinate estimated from map

When: Priabonian (38.0 - 33.9 Ma)

• According to Aleksandrova and Zaporozhets (2008), the higher parts of the Prussian Formation (including the Blaue Erde or Blue Earth) belong to the Charlesdowniea clathrata angulosa dinocyst Zone. Based on its index species, this zone is concurrent to Zone W13 established in the Parisian basin (Châteauneuf and Gruas-Cavagnetto 1978), where it is correlated with nannoplankton zones NP18–NP21 (Powell, 1992) of the Priabonian. In the Paleogene zonation of northwestern Europe, the first occurrence of Thalassiphora fenestrata is designated at the base of the dinocyst Subzone D12b (36.20 +/- 0.1 Ma), which is correlated with zones NP18 (terminal part)–NP20 of the Priabonian (Luterbacher et al., 2004).

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; amber

Size class: mesofossils

Preservation: amber

Collected by Jonas Damzen

• Some specimens donated to the Zoological Museum of Vilnius University

Primary reference: M. S. Engel. 2001. A monograph of the Baltic amber bees and evolution of the Apoidea (Hymenoptera). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 259:1-192 [M. Clapham/A. Noshirvan]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 123764: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Arram Noshirvan on 28.01.2012, edited by Matthew Clapham

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Insecta
 Diptera - Limoniidae
Dactylolabis (Eolabis) vetusta11 Alexander 1931 crane fly
 Phasmatodea - Archipseudophasmatidae
Archipseudophasma sp.15 Zompro 2001 stick insect
Damzen 200
 Hymenoptera - Formicidae
Myrmica electrina12 Radchenko 2023 ant
JDC 5627
Myrmica longispinosa12 Mayr 1868 ant
JDC 6810
Myrmica eocenica12 Radchenko et al. 2007 ant
JDC 10573
 Hymenoptera - Apidae
"Electrapis krishnorum" = Electrapis (Mesomelissa) krishnorum, "Electrapis cf. krishnorum" = Electrapis (Mesomelissa) krishnorum, "Electrapis martialis" = Electrapis (Mesomelissa) martialis, "Melikertes stilbonotus" = Melikertes (Melikertes) stilbonotus, Electrobombus samlandensis
"Electrapis krishnorum" = Electrapis (Mesomelissa) krishnorum Engel 2001 bee
Nr. 71 (CJDL)
"Electrapis cf. krishnorum" = Electrapis (Mesomelissa) krishnorum Engel 2001 bee
Nr. 501 (CJDL)
"Electrapis martialis" = Electrapis (Mesomelissa) martialis Cockerell 1908 bee
Nr. 502 (CJDL)
"Melikertes stilbonotus" = Melikertes (Melikertes) stilbonotus Engel 1998 bee
Nr. 63 (CJDL)
Electrobombus samlandensis Engel 2001 bee
Nr. 500 (CJDL)
 Coleoptera - Mycteridae
Omineus febribilis1 Alekseev et al. 2019 palm and flower beetle
JDC 8369
 Coleoptera - Latridiidae
Revelieria groehni4 Sergi et al. 2013 minute brown scavenger beetle
JDC-9116
 Coleoptera - Cantharidae
Electronycha prussica8 Kazantsev 2013 soldier beetle
JDC 7989
 Coleoptera - Dermestidae
"Anthrenus electron" = Anthrenus (Nathrenus) electron5 Háva et al. 2006 skin beetle
JD 7197
Megatoma electra5 Zhantiev 2006 skin beetle
JD 7209
 Coleoptera - Ptinidae
Xyletinus arturi3 Háva and Zahradník 2019 spider beetle
JDC 9091
Ernobius nadravicus3 Alekseev 2014 spider beetle
JDC 9122
 Hemiptera - Aradidae
Calisius weitschati n. sp.6 Heiss 2000 flat bug
Damzen 616 (Calisius sp., in Weitschat & Wichard 1998, pl. 42, fig f)
Aradus damzeni n. sp.7 Heiss 2002 flat bug
(donated to GPIH)
 Hemiptera - Gerridae
Succineogerris larssoni n. gen. n. sp.2 Andersen 2000 water strider
JDC 595, 596
? Electrogerris sp.2 Andersen 2000 water strider
JDC 594
 Hemiptera - Hydrometridae
Metrocephala anderseni2 Popov 1996 marsh treader
JDC 591, 599
Arachnida
 Scorpiones - Buthidae
Palaeoprotobuthus pusillus n. gen. n. sp.10 Lourenço and Weitschat 2000 scorpion
Damzen 255
Palaeolychas weitschati n. sp.9 Lourenço 2012 scorpion
 Araneae - Zoropsidae
Eoprychia sp.14 Petrunkevitch 1958 spider
 Araneae - Uloboridae
Eomiagrammopes minor n. sp.13 Wunderlich 2004 hackled orb-weaver
no. 16
Eomiagrammopes spinipes13 Wunderlich 2004 hackled orb-weaver
no. 15