Fossil Insect in Amber: This is a fossil earwig (order Dermaptera) preserved in amber from the Dominican Republic. The amber is Early Miocene in age, between 16 and 18 million years old. The preservation of fossil insects in Dominican amber is exquisite and often includes such fine morphological features as wing venation, delicate hairs/setae, and individual lenses, or ommatidia, of the compound eyes. In this specimen the eyes, antennae, and folded wings are clearly visible, along with the forceps, or pincers, at the end of the abdomen that are characteristic of earwigs. It is also possible to count the number of plates on the underside of the abdomen which indicates that this specimen is an adult female.

System: NSI X5000 High Resolution MicroCT System