Amber is fossil tree resin. Ammonites are all marine, so logically they would not be found trapped in tree resin. Only small terrestrial snail species are (rarely) found preserved in amber. There are some flat-coiled terrestrial and aquatic species of snails, however...

What is suspicious here is that all the “fossils” seem to be right on the surface of the piece of resin, not buried inside it. These look to me as if they are simply impressions made using a manufactured hot iron, sort of like a miniature branding iron, which would be hot enough to melt the resin, hence the burnt (blackened) edges on some of the impressions.

So... I think this is a fake.

Susan J. Hewitt


On Sep 2, 2014, at 6:43 AM, He Jing <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> My friend got a piece of amber with some snails buried in it.  The Amber is of later Cretaceous from Burma.
> 
> Does anyone know these snails ? My friend is told the snails were small Ammonites. Is that possible ? 
> 
> Clinck the linkage below to view the pictures. The first one is the amber, the others are part of it.
> 
> http://www.ganvana.com/UploadFiles/picone/picsnail01.jpg
> 
> http://www.ganvana.com/UploadFiles/picone/picsnail02.jpg
> 
> 
> http://www.ganvana.com/UploadFiles/picone/picsnail03.jpg
> 
> http://www.ganvana.com/UploadFiles/picone/picsnail04.jpg
> 
> http://www.ganvana.com/UploadFiles/picone/picsnail05.jpg
> 
> http://www.ganvana.com/UploadFiles/picone/picsnail06.jpg
> 
> best regards
> 
> He Jing
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
> To leave this list, click on the following web link:
> http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
> Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
> click leave the list.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------