Archeology: Sensational discover – researchers uncover 40 million yr outdated ant in Goethe’s amber | EUROtoday

Researchers have found a fossil of an ant that’s round 40 million years outdated in a bit of amber that when belonged to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The animal was not seen to the bare eye and was recognized utilizing fashionable imaging methods, stated the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena.

“The ant belongs to the extinct species Ctenobethylus goeppertiwhich occurs very frequently in amber,” explains Bernhard Bock from the Phyletic Museum at the University of Jena. “Thanks to its good state of preservation and the extensive investigations, we were able to describe it in more detail than ever before and gain new information about the species and its relationships.”

For the first time, researchers were able to look inside such an ant and made structures in the head and chest area visible. Interactive 3D models illustrate the spectacular find.

“We completely reprocessed the specimen and, thanks to the newly acquired information, created a 3D reconstruction that can be accessed online,” says Daniel Tröger from the University of Jena. “This model will help colleagues around the world to identify and compare other fossils of this species.”

Goethe’s amber collection from the Baltic region includes around 40 pieces, it was said. Animals trapped in two of them have now been discovered – in addition to the ant, a fungus gnat and a black fly. The poet himself probably knew nothing about the million-year-old contents of the biological time capsules, because to the untrained eye the animals in the unpolished stones can hardly be recognized.

“The outcomes present the worth of such outdated collections. It is fascinating {that a} piece that comes from his hand and the time by which this science started can nonetheless enrich us a lot as we speak,” explains Bock. The pieces are stored in the Goethe National Museum in Weimar.