Photo credit: Heritage Auctions
First sold by Heritage Auctions in 2016, this piece of amber is crystal clear and a pale yellow color, which makes this 12-million-year-old praying mantis a sight to be hold. You’re easily able to make out its triangular head, bulging eyes, and flexible neck through the fossilized tree resin.
Molecular polymerization, resulting from high pressures and temperatures produced by overlying sediment, transforms the resin first into copal. Sustained heat and pressure drives off terpenes and results in the formation of amber.
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The insect with the unique characteristics is poetically singular in the otherwise pristine fossil remnant. A close-up photo of the bug gives further insight into this entombed mantis. This is a tiny specimen with a major inclusion,” reports Twisted Sifter.
