| Prussian Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
 | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Sub-units |
|
| Underlies | Palvé Formation |
| Overlies | Alka Formation |
| Thickness | up to 16 metres (52 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Phosphorite, amber, glauconite, clay |
| Other | Quartz, feldspar |
| Location | |
| Location | Kaliningrad Oblast |
| Country | Russia |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Prussia |
| Region | Sambian Peninsula |
The Prussian Formation, previously known as the Amber Formation, is a geologic formation in Prussia, today mostly Kaliningrad Oblast, that dates to the Eocene.[2] It holds 90% of the world's amber supply and Baltic amber is found exclusively in the Prussian Formation.[3]
The Prussian Formation is equivalent to the Obukhov Formation of Ukraine and Belarus.[3]
History
[edit]Baltic amber was first collected during the Bronze Age around 1700 BC and it was traded along the Amber Road with evidence of the amber being processed across workshops along the Vistula and Oder where it was transported for use across Europe with evidence found in Šventoji, Lithuania, the Curonian Spit, and Mycenaean Greece.[4]
During the 13th century, the Teutonic Order established a monopoly on the Baltic amber trade and they outlawed the unauthorised collection of the amber by assigning the illegal collection of Baltic amber to the death penalty as it became state property; the first documented large-scale mining of the Prussian Formation took place during the 14th century.[5] The amber was at the disposal of the owner of Lochstedt Castle, the “Bernsteinmeister”, and the mining operations intensified after the Teutonic Order was secularized in 1525.[6]
Starting from the 18th century, the mining operations at the Prussian Formation became regulated, and Stantien & Becker opened the Yantarny mine around 1858 to the benefit of nearby towns such as Königsberg.[7] Also in the 1850s, Heinrich Ernst Beyrich became the first to map the geology of the area, and Georg Giebel studied the arthropod genera found within the Baltic amber. By 1874, Beyrich determined the area was Eocene in age.[8]
In the early 20th century, Theodore D. A. Cockerell and William Morton Wheeler studied the bee and ant genera found in the Baltic amber.[9][10] Poinar Jr. (1992) studied preservation biases in the formation.[11]
Geology
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In situ Baltic amber is found within the Prussian Formation and it is exposed in the northern part of the Sambia Peninsula in Kaliningrad and it overlies the Alka Formation and underlies the Palvé Formation.[3]
The Prussian Formation is up to 16 metres (52 ft) thick in its type section and has multiple sub-units.[1] The lowermost unit is the Blue Earth Member which is up to 15 metres (49 ft) thick and is the main amber bearing horizon, so named due to its glauconite content.[12] The White Wall Member overlies this, and it is made from more consolidated calcareous layers with a reduced glauconite content reaching up to 5 metres (16 ft) in thickness.[13] The uppermost unit is the Upper Quicksand Member with fine to medium-grained sands up to 4 metres (13 ft) thick with only minor concentrations of amber.[3]
Age
[edit]Different authors have given estimates of 47–40 Ma and 43–35 Ma as the age of the Prussian Formation.[2] Iakovleva et al. (2022) used dinoflagellate cysts from Primorsky quarry to date the Prussian Formation to the Priabonian.[1]
Paleogeography
[edit]The Baltic amber likely originated from the proto-Scandinavian highlands and was fluvially deposited in a coastal lagoon environment which is today the Prussian Formation as evidenced by the presence of glauconite.[14]
Paleobiology
[edit]Numerous extinct genera and species of plants and animals have been discovered and scientifically described from inclusions in the Prussian Formation.[15] Inclusions of insects make up over 98% of the animals preserved in the amber, while all other arthropods, annelids, molluscs, nematodes, protozoans contribute less than 0.5% of the animals. Vertebrates are another 0.5% of the animals included and mostly are represented by mammal fur, feathers, and reptiles.[12] Dinoflagellates are also known.[1]
Flora
[edit]| Name | Authors | Year | Family | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heinrichs et al | 2015 | Geocalycaceae | A liverwort | ||
| Heinrichs et al | 2014 | Mniaceae | A bryopsid moss |
Fauna
[edit]- Agroecomyrmex Wheeler, 1910[18]
- Aphaenogaster mersa Wheeler, 1915[18]
- Aphaenogaster oligocenica Wheeler, 1915[18]
- Aphaenogaster sommerfeldti (Mayr, 1868)[18]
- Arostropsis Yunakov & Kirejtshuk, 2011[19]
- Aspidopleura Gibson, 2009[20]
- Asymphylomyrmex Wheeler, 1915[18]
- Balticopta gusakovi Balashov & Perkovsky, 2020[21]
- Baltimartyria Skalski, 1995
- Baltocteniza Eskov & Zonstein, 2000[22]
- Brevivulva Gibson, 2009[20]
- Deinodryinus areolatus (Ponomarenko, 1975)[23]
- Deinodryinus velteni Guglielmino & Olmi, 2011[23]
- Diochus electrus Chatzimanolis & Engel, 2011[24]
- Electrinocellia (Carpenter) Engel, 1995[25]
- Electrocteniza Eskov & Zonstein, 2000[22]
- Electropodagrion Azar & Nel, 2008[26]
- Electrostephanus Brues, 1933[27]
- Elektrithone Makarkin, Wedmann, & Weiterschan, 2014[28]
- Eogeometer vadens Fischer, Michalski & Hausmann, 2019[29]
- Epiborkhausenites Skalski, 1973[30]
- Glisachaemus Szwedo, 2007[31]
- Gracillariites Kozlov, 1987
- Metanephrocerus collini Carpenter & Hull, 1939[32]
- Metanephrocerus groehni Kehlmaier & Skevington, 2014[32]
- Metanephrocerus hoffeinsorum Kehlmaier & Skevington, 2014[32]
- Electrocrania Kuznezov, 1941
- Fibla carpenteri Engel, 1995[25]
- Metapelma archetypon Gibson, 2009[20]
- Micropterix gertraudae Kurz & Kurz, 2010
- Mindarus harringtoni (Hele, 2008)
- Neanaperiallus Gibson, 2009[20]
- Palaeovespa baltica Cockerell, 1909[33]
- Palaeovespa socialis Pionar, 2005[34]
- Prolyonetia Kusnetzov, 1941
- Propupa Stworzewicz & Pokryszko, 2006[35]
- Pseudogarypus synchrotron Henderickx, 2012[36]
- Stigmellites baltica (Kozlov, 1988) (Lepidopteran leaf mines)
- Xylolaemus sakhnovi Alekseev & Lord, 2014[37]
- Succinipatopsis Poinar, 2000[38]
- Yantarogekko balticus Bauer et al., 2005
- Yantaromyrmex constricta (Mayr, 1868)[39]
- Yantaromyrmex geinitzi (Mayr, 1868)[39]
- Yantaromyrmex samlandica (Wheeler, 1915)[39]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Iakovleva, Alina I.; Aleksandrova, Galina N.; Mychko, Eduard V. (2021-12-08). "Late Eocene (Priabonian) dinoflagellate cysts from Primorsky quarry, southeast Baltic coast, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia". Palynology. 46 (2): 1–40. doi:10.1080/01916122.2021.1980743. ISSN 0191-6122.
- ^ a b Moser, Marina; Burks, Roger A.; Ulmer, Jonah M.; Heraty, John M.; Kamp, Thomas van de; Krogmann, Lars (2021-05-25). "Taxonomic description and phylogenetic placement of two new species of Spalangiopelta (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae: Ceinae) from Eocene Baltic amber". PeerJ. 9 e10939. doi:10.7717/peerj.10939. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8162234. PMID 34113480.
- ^ a b c d G.s, Kharin; N.p, Lukashina (2002). "ACCUMULATION CONDITIONS AND CORRELATION OF THE UPPER EOCENE AMBER-BEARING PRUSSIAN FORMATION, KALININGRAD REGION". Geology Science.ru. ISSN 0869-5938.
- ^ Schüler, C. J. (2020). Along the amber route: St. Petersburg to Venice. Inverness, Scotland: Sandstone Press. ISBN 978-1-912240-91-3.
- ^ "Amber. Monopoly which does not exist". Rough-Polished. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ Friedrich, Karin (2011). Brandenburg-Prussia, 1466–1806: The Rise of a Composite State. Studies in European History. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 19-20. ISBN 9780230356962.
- ^ "Baltic Amber Extraction". Amber Artisans. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ Małka, Anna; Jegliński, Wojciech; Relisko-Rybak, Justyna (2016-12-01). "Prussian geological maps of Northern Poland in the archives of the Polish Geological Institute and their current application in geology". Polish Cartographical Review. 48 (4): 185–196. doi:10.1515/pcr-2016-0017. ISSN 2450-6966.
- ^ Engel, Michael S. (2001). <0001:amotba>2.0.co;2 "A MONOGRAPH OF THE BALTIC AMBER BEES AND EVOLUTION OF THE APOIDEA (HYMENOPTERA)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 259: 1–192. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2001)259<0001:amotba>2.0.co;2. ISSN 0003-0090.
- ^ Wheeler, William Morton (1914). The ants of the Baltic amber / by William Morton Wheeler. Leipzig: B.G. Teubner.
- ^ "Tertiary Amber". Life in Amber. Stanford University Press. 1992-08-01. pp. 16–50. ISBN 978-1-5036-2354-5. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
- ^ a b Weitschat, W.; Wichard, W. (2010). "Chapter 6: Baltic amber". In Penney, D. (ed.). Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits. Siri Scientific Press. pp. 80–115. ISBN 978-0-9558636-4-6.
- ^ Aleksandrova, G. N.; Zaporozhets, N. I. (2008). "Palynological characteristics of Upper Cretaceous and Paleogene deposits on the west of the Sambian Peninsula (Kaliningrad region), Part 1". Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation. 16 (3): 295–316. doi:10.1134/s0869593808030052. ISSN 0869-5938.
- ^ Wolfe, Alexander P.; Tappert, Ralf; Muehlenbachs, Karlis; Boudreau, Marc; McKellar, Ryan C.; Basinger, James F.; Garrett, Amber (2009). "A new proposal concerning the botanical origin of Baltic amber". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 276 (1672): 3403–3412. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0806. ISSN 0962-8452.
- ^ Weitschat, W.; Wichard, W. (2002). Atlas of Plants and Animals in Baltic Amber. Pfeil. ISBN 978-3931516949.
- ^ Heinrichs, J; Schmidt, AR; Schäfer-Verwimp, A; Gröhn, C; Renner, MAM (2015). "The leafy liverwort Notoscyphus balticus sp. nov. (Jungermanniales) in Eocene Baltic amber". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 217: 39–44. Bibcode:2015RPaPa.217...39H. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.02.006.
- ^ Heinrichs, J; Hedenäs, L; Schäfer-Verwimp, A; Feldberg, K; Schmidt, AR (2014). "An in situ preserved moss community in Eocene Baltic amber". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 210: 113–118. Bibcode:2014RPaPa.210..113H. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2014.08.005.
- ^ a b c d e Wheeler, W. M. (1914). "The Ants of the Baltic Amber". Schriften der Physikalisch-Ökonomischen Gesellschaft zu Königsberg. 55 (4): 56–59.
- ^ Yunakov, N.N.; Kirejtshuk, A.G. (2011). "New genus and species of broad-nosed weevils from Baltic amber and notes on fossils of the subfamily Entiminae (Coleoptera, Curculionidae)". ZooKeys (160): 73–96. doi:10.3897/zookeys.160.2108. PMC 3253632. PMID 22303121.
- ^ a b c d Gibson, G. A. P. (2009). "Description of three New Genera and four New Species of Neanastatinae (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae) from Baltic Amber, with Discussion of their Relationships to Extant Taxa". ZooKeys (20): 175–214. doi:10.3897/zookeys.20.161. Archived from the original on 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ Balashov I.A. & Perkovsky E.E. 2020. An Eocene land snail Balticopta gusakovi gen.n., sp.n. (Stylommatophora: Gastrocoptidae) from Baltic amber // Invertebrate Zoology. Vol.17. No.1: 18–24.
- ^ a b Eskov, K. Y.; Zonstein, S. L. (2000). "The First Ctenizoid Mygalomorph Spiders from Eocene Baltic Amber (Araneida: Mygalomorphae: Ctenizidae)". Paleontological Journal. 34 (3): S268–S274. Part 1; part 2, PDF.
- ^ a b Guglielmino, A.; Olmi, M. (2011). "Revision of fossil species of Deinodryinus, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae)". ZooKeys (130): 495–504. doi:10.3897/zookeys.130.1326. PMC 3260777. PMID 22259295.
- ^ Chatzimanolis, S.; Engel, M. S. (2011). "A new species of Diochus from Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Diochini)" (PDF). ZooKeys (138): 65–73. doi:10.3897/zookeys.138.1896. PMC 3208521. PMID 22144854.
- ^ a b Engel, M. S. (1995). "A New Fossil Snake-Fly Species from Baltic Amber (Raphidioptera: Inocelliidae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 102 (3–4): 187–193. doi:10.1155/1995/23626. hdl:1808/16479.
- ^ Azar, D.; Nel, A. (2008). "First Baltic amber megapodagrionid damselfly (Odonata: Zygoptera)". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. New Series. 44 (4): 451–457. doi:10.1080/00379271.2008.10697580. – via Taylor & Francis (subscription required)
- ^ Engel, M.S.; Ortega-Blanco, J. (2008). "The fossil crown wasp Electrostephanus petiolatus Brues in Baltic Amber (Hymenoptera, Stephanidae): designation of a neotype, revised classification, and a key to amber Stephanidae". ZooKeys (4): 55–64. doi:10.3897/zookeys.4.49. hdl:2445/36428.
- ^ Makarkin, VN; Wedmann, S; Weiterschan, T (2014). "First record of the family Ithonidae (Neuroptera) from Baltic amber". Zootaxa. 3796 (2): 385–393. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3796.2.10. PMID 24870683.
- ^ Fischer, Thilo C.; Michalski, Artur; Hausmann, Axel (2019). "Geometrid caterpillar in Eocene Baltic amber (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)". Scientific Reports. 9 (1) 17201. Bibcode:2019NatSR...917201F. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-53734-w. PMC 6868187. PMID 31748672.
- ^ Skalski, A. W. (1973). "Studies on the Lepidoptera from Fossil Resins. Part II. Epiborkhausenites obscurotrimaculatus gen. et sp. nov. (Oecophoridae) and a Tineid-Moth Discovered in the Baltic Amber" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 18 (1): 153–160.
- ^ Szwedo, J. (2007). "Glisachaemus jonasdamzeni gen. et sp. nov. of Cixiidae from the Eocene Baltic amber (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha)" (PDF). Alavesia. 1: 109–116. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
- ^ a b c Kehlmaier, C; Dierick, M; Skevington, JH (2014). "Micro-CT studies of amber inclusions reveal internal genitalic features of big-headed flies, enabling a systematic placement of Metanephrocerus Aczel, 1948 (Insecta: Diptera: Pipunculidae)". Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny. 72 (1): 23–36. doi:10.3897/asp.72.e31784.
- ^ Cockerell, T. D. A. (1906). "Fossil Hymenoptera from Florissant, Colorado". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 50 (2).
- ^ Poinar, G. (2005). "Fossil Trigonalidae and Vespidae (Hymenoptera) in Baltic Amber". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 107 (1): 55–63.
- ^ Stworzewicz, E.; Pokryszko, B. M. (2006). "Eocene Terrestrial Snails (Gastropoda) from Baltic Amber" (PDF). Annales Zoologici. 56 (1): 215–224.
- ^ Henderickx, H.; Tafforeau, P.; Soriano, C (2012). "Phase-contrast synchrotron microtomography reveals the morphology of a partially visible new Pseudogarypus in Baltic amber (Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudogarypidae)". Palaeontologia Electronica. 15 (2, 17A, 11p): 1–11.
- ^ Alekseev, VI; Lord, NP (2014). "A new species of Xylolaemus (Coleoptera: Zopheridae: Colydiinae) from Baltic amber". Baltic Journal of Coleopterology. 14 (1): 97–102. ISSN 1407-8619.
- ^ Poinar, G. Jr. (2000). "Fossil Onychophorans from Dominican and Baltic Amber: Tertiapatus dominicanus n.g., n.sp. (Tertiapatidae n.fam.) and Succinipatopsis balticus n.g., n.sp. (Succinipatopsidae n.fam.) with a Proposed Classification of the Subphylum Onychophora". Invertebrate Biology. 119 (1): 104–9. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7410.2000.tb00178.x.
- ^ a b c Dlussky, GM; Dubovikoff, DA (2013). "Yantaromyrmex gen. n. – a new ant genus (Hymenoptera Formicidae) from Late Eocene ambers of Europe" (PDF). Caucasian Entomological Bulletin. 9 (2): 305–314. doi:10.23885/1814-3326-2013-9-2-305-314.