Polished Amber stones from Simijovel at the Museum of Amber (Museo del Ámbar) inSan Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Mexican amber, also known asChiapas Amber isamber found inMexico, created during theEarly Miocene andmiddle Miocene epochs of the Cenozoic Era in southwestern North America. As with other ambers, a wide variety of taxa have been found as inclusions including insects[1][2][3][4][5] and other arthropods,[6] as well as plant fragments[7] and epiphyllous fungi.[8]
Mexican amber is mainly recovered from fossil bearing rocks in theSimojovel region ofChiapas, Mexico. It is one of the main minerals recovered in the state ofChiapas, much of which is from 15 to 23 million years old, with quality comparable tothat found in the Dominican Republic. Chiapan amber has a number of unique qualities, including much that is clear all the way through and some with fossilized insects and plants. Most Chiapan amber is worked into jewelry including pendants, rings and necklaces. Colors vary from white to yellow/orange to a deep red, but there are also green and pink tones as well. Since pre-Hispanic times, native peoples have believed amber to have healing and protective qualities.[citation needed]
The largest amber mine is inSimojovel, a small village 130 km from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, which produces 95% of Chiapas' amber. Other mines are found in Huitiupán, Totolapa, El Bosque, Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, Pantelhó and San Andrés Duraznal. According to the Museum of Amber in San Cristóbal, almost 300 kg of amber is extracted per month from the state. Prices vary depending on quality and color.[citation needed]
The amber dates from between 15 million years old, for the youngest sediments of theBalumtun Sandstone and 22.5 million years old for the oldestLa Quinta Formation.
The amber was produced by either the two extinct leguminous treesHymenaea mexicana orHymenaea allendis, both of which were initially described from fossil flowers included in Mexican amber.[9]
Piece of amber withscorpion as seen through magnifying glass at the Museum of Amber in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
TheTityus apozonalli scorpionholotype fossil is composed of a very complete adult male recovered from the Guadalupe Victoria site.[10] The amber dates from between 23 million years old at the oldest and 15 million years at the youngest. The Guadalupe Victoria site is an outcrop of amber bearing strata belonging to theMazantic Shale andBalumtum Sandstone. The deposits preserve a transitional river or stream environments near the coast and preserves fossils of amangrove forest ecosystem.[10]Asteromitesmexicanus is an epiphyllouscoelomycetes fungus species recovered on a petal.[8] Nine specimens ofMiocene crabs are known as inclusions in Chiapas amber.[11]
^De Andrade, M. L. (1995). "The ant genusAphaenogaster in Dominican and Mexican amber (Amber Collection Stuttgart: Hymenoptera, Formicidae. IX: Pheidolini)".Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie).223:1–11.
^Jennings, John T.; Krogmann, Lars; Mew, Steven L. (18 June 2012). "Hyptia deansi sp. nov., the first record of Evaniidae (Hymenoptera) from Mexican amber".Zootaxa.3349 (1): 63.doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3349.1.7.S2CID1615260.
^Krishna, Kumar; Emerson, Alfred Edwards (1983). "A new fossil species of termite from Mexican amber, Mastotermes electromexicus (Isoptera, Mastotermitidae)".American Museum Novitates.hdl:2246/5310.
^Solórzano Kraemer, Mónica (10 December 2007). "Systematic, palaeoecology, and palaeobiogeography of the insect fauna from Mexican amber".Palaeontographica Abteilung A.282 (1–6):1–133.doi:10.1127/pala/282/2007/1.
^Heinrichs, Jochen; Schäfer-Verwimp, Alfons; Boxberger, Julia; Feldberg, Kathrin; Solórzano Kraemer, Mónica M.; Schmidt, Alexander R. (19 March 2014). "A fossil species of Ceratolejeunea (Lejeuneaceae, Porellales) preserved in Miocene Mexican amber".The Bryologist.117 (1):10–14.doi:10.1639/0007-2745-117.1.010.S2CID83696803.
^Calvillo-Canadell, L.; Cevallos-Ferriz, S.R.S.; Rico-Arce, L. (2010). "MioceneHymenaea flowers preserved in amber from Simojovel de Allende, Chiapas, Mexico".Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.160 (3–4):126–134.doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2010.02.007.
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