Gondwana's Amber Unearths Cretaceous Secrets

An exceptional discovery in Ecuador's Amazon forest region has unearthed amber containing a treasure trove of well-preserved insect fossils, offering insights into a 112-million-year-old world teeming with life during the Cretaceous Period.

This amber, fossilized tree resin containing insects like wasps, midges, and flies, provides a glimpse into a prehistoric ecosystem in South America. Researchers discovered this significant deposit near Archidona in Ecuador, marking the continent's largest Cretaceous amber find.

The findings also illuminate an ecologically transformative era as flowering plants, or angiosperms, began to dominate the Earth's floral landscape, replacing the previously prevalent gymnosperms.

(With inputs from agencies.)