CANADIAN AMBER — A PALEONTOLOGICAL TREASURE-CHEST

Abstract

Amber of Cretaceous Age from Canada is an exceptionally fine source of well-preserved fossils of a wide variety of insects and related animals. Since these fossils can yield much information about the forms of, and conditions for, life in the Cretaceous Period some 75 million years ago, they represent a highly interesting and valuable scientific resource.The history, relative abundance, nature, biological origin, and significance of Canadian amber is reviewed and related to similar aspects of European or Baltic amber. Reported occurrences of amber in Canada (about 50) are assembled and some 350 arthropod inclusions discovered in the amber collections made thus far are tabulated, with respect to their origins, classification, and present location. The article contains one map, two tables, and 16 figures.