amberica west

Expensive Amber

 

$650
1. This is a velvet mite. Everything about this specimen is great. The amber is a very clear yellow, and there is even an ant thrown in to boot! The mite is in the order Acarina, family Trombidiklae. The surface of the mite is covered with very fine hairs. An easy way to identify this animal are the heavy antennae which are distinctive. Newly hatched young have only 3 pairs of legs and acquire the 4th pair after the first molt. This is the largest velvet mite that I have ever seen, it must be about 2 mm in size (that is BIG!) This piece does have its own web page.
Scanned Image!
$1,510
SOLD
2. Here is a twisted wing, Strepsiptera, in Baltic amber. They are rare in both Baltic and Dominican amber. The number of specimens from Baltic amber can be counted on one's hands and toes! They are rare and found mostly in museums (if at all). This particular specimen is in perfect shape. The Twisted Wing almost looks like he posed for us when he died. It is a remarkable piece of amber. You can see all the important characteristics of the animal There is a jumping spider off to the side, Araneida, Salticidae. Reminds me of the spider and the fly. This piece is circular and is reminiscent of a thick coin. This has it's own web page.
Scanned Image!
$1,239

3. One of the most impressive planthoppers we have ever seen. The amber is large, just over 2 inches in length and very clear. The planthopper is a bit over .25 inches and it has it's wings spread. Actually there are a number of other planthoppers in this piece, but they pall in comparison. This animals in the order Homoptera, Superfamily Fulgoroidea, Family Achilidae That is as far as I can go with any certainty. This is just one of those pieces that is just so impressive when you hold it in your hand and look at the animals. If you know your planthoppers, then this will knock you for a loop.

Scanned Image!

$1,280
4. This piece of Baltic amber contains a spider (Araneida) and a fly. Apparently in the death throws of the fly, there were 5 Nematodes that decided to "abandon ship". They apparently came out of the abdominal area and tried their best to get away from the dying fly. Needless to say, their fate was sealed 45 million years ago. They could not get out of the sticky resin and found the same death trap that the fly did. They remain there today, despite the desperate attempt to escape. This has it's own web page.
Scanned Image!
$70,000
SOLD
5. Large Lizard For this one, you must go to the web page. It is a large lizard which is VERY expensive. Before you go to the web page, you should know that the price of this beauty is $70,000! On top of that, we have a completely separate page for the description of this reptile. Go to the separate page
$2900
SOLD
6. This is a very impressive piece of copal. It was discovered from mining's in Eastern Madagascar recently. The copal from Madagascar is an entomological resin pitfall from a million years ago. Insect and plant inclusions got trapped and fossilized in the resin as it is sometimes done in amber. From this mine (Sambava) several extinct invertebrates were discovered and described, recently even a new spider species. These smooth pieces are polished in Madagascar, near the mine by experts "in the field".
Scanned Image
$820
SOLD
7. Mayfly adults enjoy a life span of no more than two days. On the transition from nymph to adult stage, they fly from the surface of the water for mating, but do not feed. They complete the mating process and die after one or two days. Mayfly eggs are laid in water, and are hatched within one or two weeks. Nymphs develop for a year or more in water, molting more than 20 times adult. There is a series of plumose gills on both sides of the abdomen, moving from time to tome to absorb oxygen from water. Mayfly nymphs, in fact, spend more time in water, and are the main theme of mayflies' lives. We usually think that the adult is the main stage of insects, but this does not apply to mayflies. Fossils of mayflies are very rarely found in amber. This is even rarer since it is in Baltic amber. This has it's own page.
Scanned Image!
$478

8. This is one chunk of amber. It weighs about 00 grams and is about 2.75 x 3 x .75 inch in size. It is a very clear piece of amber with a large object that looks like a root (I do not think it is a root.) There are some nice fossils in it, a lovely fly, Diptera, Brachycera, what might be a crane fly and a small beetle or two. It even has part of a spiders web in it. Really nice piece, a show stopper if I have ever seen one.
Scanned Image 1 and
Scanned Image 2

$3,300
SOLD

9. You won't believe this one! In Florida and other 'tropical climates' most folks have seen the common lizards that scoot around bush to bush. These Anoles have been around a long time. At least 20 million years. Here is one. The amber specimen contains that head of a lizard (I suspect an Anole sp.). I have a picture of the jaw from below. Not only does this piece have the head, but it also has the bones of the forelegs (I assume they are the humerus, radius and ulna - they could be the femur, tibia and fibula). There is still some tissue on it. You can even see the metacarpals. I can't tell you how rare this is. It just doesn't happen very often!!! Remember we have a 100% guarantee on what we sell - this is as good as they get. The specimen is not large ( see photograph). On that photograph, number 1 (humerus) is about 6 mm in length, number 2 the radius and ulna is about 4 mm in length, number 3 the head is 5 mm in length and number 4 the phalanxes are about 2 mm in length. Scanned Image!

$389
10. Pseudoscorpion, an ant and a leaf. Pseudo scorpions are in the order Pseudoscorpionida that have fang-like chelicerae and short pedipalps. In scorpions, the pedipalps have been modified into pincers. Typically pseudo scorpions are very small. This pseudoscorpion is full with both pinchers raised as in battle. Included in the specimen is also a curled leaf and a worker ant, Hymenoptera. This is a good piece at a great price.
Scanned Image!
$121
11. A very interesting piece of amber that shows some surface stress planes. These can easily be buffed out. But the big thing here are 7 mites! So seldom do you see even one, much less 7. the amber is a nice yellow and very clear. This is a rare piece.
Scanned Image!
$388
SOLD
12. Beetle fest. This contains a scad of Platypodidae beetles, Coleoptera, Platypodidae. A scad might be defined as a dozen or so (just an FYI.) The amber is very clear and the beetles are well distributed throughout the piece. There is even a weevil near the ambrosia beetles, Curculionoidea.
Scanned Image!
$730

13. This is a planthopper nymph - a perfect one in perfect amber, Homoptera, Fulgoroidea. Besides the perfect nature of this piece, look closely at the posterior end. This nymph has a brush tail. It is thought that these waxy filaments serve as an escape device - similar to how tarantulas rub the hairs off their backs to allow the fine hairs to get into the skin or eyes of a predator. You do not see these filaments on planthoppers very often.
Scanned Image!

$599
SOLD

14. This one is different. The piece of amber is small - oh, but the contents. There are are 2 black scavenger flies, Diptera, Scatoposidae, genus Rhagolclimina that died 24 million years ago, mating. Yes, this is a couple that has been locked in a copulatory position for millions of years. Wow, think about that. Could you image making this into a pendant and then telling someone what is in it? This is a very rare piece (if you haven't guessed by now.)
Scanned Image!

$910

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15. I just love it when a piece of amber tells a story. This one tells the story of a very hungary animal. The animal that the pseudoscorpion has is the larvae of coleopteran (Scirtidae). This is a very unusual situation to find unfolding inside Baltic amber. Pseudoscorpions are not very common in amber, much less when they are actually doing something. This has it's own web page.
Scanned Image!

$14,300
16. Seldom will anyone ever see a lizard in amber. They are so rare that a miner or collector would have to be very lucky to see a real lizard in amber. This is a real lizard. This is a lizard that died 25 million years ago. You can see skin, part of the vertebrae, the hip assembly and the bones of the legs including the phalanxes. This is a small lizard, probably a baby not to far out of its shell. You can even count the toes on the foot! In some places the skin is gone and there is just an impression in the resin (amber). But in some places the skin looks so fresh and strong that you wonder if this guy will start moving.
Scanned Image!
$387
17. Centipede, Class Chilopodia. This is one of those very rare centipedes. Millipedes are more common in amber, but centipedes are very rare. Here is one half a centipede. As you can see, it is very beautiful. Scanned Image!
$295
18. You are in for some fun. First, this has a large, wings spread Hemiptera, Fulgoridea - a great planthopper. Also there is another planthopper, much smaller and immature and finally there is what appears to be what we call an " inch worm." I suspect that this is not really an inch worm, but possibly a larvae of some sort - but it does look like one! Great piece, lots of fun.
Scanned Image!
$399
19. There is a zoo here. Possibly 12 to 15 fungus gnats, Diptera, Mycetophilidae, midges, female ant, Hymenoptera, Formicidae and finally to cap this place off is a bristletail, Thysanura. The bristletails are very rare in Dominican amber. The amber is large and very impressive. There is a strange 2 hairs or legs from a large bug - cannot tell.
Scanned Image!
$100,000

20. We have saved the best for "almost" last. Here is a queen ant - not only that but she is mating with a drone. This isn't even seen nowadays, much less caught in the act 24 million years ago in amber and discovered! This has its own page for the story behind this one.
Scanned Image!

$16,000

21. This is one of the animals that you will sometimes find in books. Often it is the same picture that is used from book to book or article to article. They are so rare in Dominican amber that you will just not see that many pictures of them. The whip scorpion is one of the rarest of all finds. Tail-less whip scorpions or amblypigids are very efficient predators. They remain hidden under leaves, bark and other debris for most of the day. They come out at night to feed. Their chelicerae are modified into strong, spine-armored grasping organs that the hapless arthropods would find nearly inescapable. Their front pair of legs, in contrast, are long and slender, obviously modified for sensory functions. Lacking any type of tail appendage, these formidable creatures are not frequently encountered. The females carry their eggs in a sac attached to the undersurface of the abdomen by a few silken threads.

Amblypygi..........Genus Phrynus species resinae............... Schawaller 1979
The size is about 1 inch x .5 inches x .5 inches


Scanned Image!

$699
22. A large chunk of amber with a few dozen platypodid beetles (ambrosia beetles), Coleoptera, Platypodidae. Along with the beetles there area few ants, Hymnoptera, Formicidae and a couple of gnats - even some other animals. This is about 4 x 1.25 x 3 inches and 151 grams in weight. So you can see that this would serve as a nice weight on one's desk.
Scanned Image!
$189
23. Large chunk of Dominican amber that has numerous surface stress cracks. These are only on the very surface, not deep in the amber. They are easy to buff out. Now hang on with what is here - about 25 mites scattered throughout the amber. I have never seen this many mites in one place. I do have one smaller piece that has seven mites (see number 11) , but this has 25!!!!
Scanned Image!
$675
24. You will probably never see a dusty wing fly for sale again, Neuroptera. Here is one. The wings are covered with a fine whitish powder. The bases (coxae) of each pair of legs is fused beneath the abdomen. These are fragile and seldom found animals. While this does have a few other animals inside, it is really the dusty wing that makes this so special.
Scanned Image!
$3,929
25.
At first I thought these were ants, but close inspection indicates that they are wasps. To my best knowledge, there is only one other pair of mating wasps found in Dominican amber. This is the second. When you look closely you will see that one of the pair is wingless. In one family of wasps (Bethylidae) the female is wingless. This is so good, it has a web page all to itself.
Scanned Image!
$1,150
SOLD

26. I love doing this page, these pieces are so rare that this is just fun. This one has a webspinner in it. It is a male webspinner (Embioptera) in perfect condition. The primary feature of webspinners is their snakelike heads with short stout forelegs. At the end of the abdomen there are 2 short tails (cerci), usually asymmetrical in males. When disturbed, wespinners often feign death but on occasion can move very rapidly, usually running backwards. Webspinners are VERY rare in amber.
Scanned Image!

$1980
27. Parts are parts. Here ar various parts from a lizard in Colombian copal. Discovered last year this lizard left much of it's remains in the sticky resin a long time ago. My guess from looking at the feet, this was a small gecko lizard. One side has a very well preserved tail. the other side various parts of the lizard such as skin, a few parts of the feet, part of the skull of the animal and more. It is a rather cool piece at a great price. There also spiders, caddis flies ( a dozen to 2 dozen), a beetle and a lot of sharp looking debris including part of a leaf and petiole. This is an exceptionally fine specimen. You will have a great time studying it - it is just plain good fun.
Scanned Image!
$298
28. Flies, and gnats and wasps, oh my! This large piece has it all. Just about any gnat or fly you want, it is in here. Very busy inside, you will always see something new. This weighs 62 grams and would be a nice addition of anyone's collection. It is about 3 x 1 x 1.5 inches.
Scanned Image!

$1550
SOLD
29. Mammalian hair in amber. This is a piece of Baltic amber with a tuft of real mammalian hair. Hard to believe, but true. So special, this piece has its own page.
$1950
30. I must admit, this one is just plain cool. It is the arm of a small lizard. It reminds me of a phantom arm reaching out of the mist in the Dominican Republic to grab something important. My 'informed' guess is that this was not a gecko. I suspect the lizard was eaten by some other larger animal 24 million years ago and this part of the arm 'fell away' as part of the feeding frenzy that occured. I am couriuos as to what lizard this came from. It is a fun piece, one that screams for stories to be written about.
Scanned Image!
$1840
31. You know what is good about this page? You will find things here that are never offered for sale anywhere else. While each piece is always unqiue by itself, these are the real special ones. Here is a snail. It is a land snail that lived in the jungle on sides of trees and leaves. Snails in amber are very rare. For some reason, they are able to avoid the sticky resins in the first place. This one probably fellof and landed in the resin. The snail is a spiral snail that seems to be omplete. A very special and unique piece of amber.
Scanned Image!

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Please feel free to visit out sister store that specializes in DNA products. From neckties to jewelry, to DNA models and DNA stuffed toys! The DNA Store has things you only dreamed about. You will enjoy your visit - it is a very unique store.

Also there is a unique site for exclusive and specialized Dominican amber at the Amber Mine.

Postage for amber will usually cost $4.95 (USD) per order, anywhere in the world. There may be exceptions to this. We will get your sample to you as soon as possible (usually mailed the same day or at worst, the next day). U.S. orders go out by Priority Mail, overseas as Air Mail. Books are normally mailed "Media Mail", unless they are light, in which case they are mailed first class. Overseas books are air mail unless the weight is prohibitive, in which case you will have the option of surface (ship) or paying a bit extra for air mail. All prices are in U.S. dollars. If you are overseas and want something other than normal air mail - contact us when you make the purchase. For any questions, please contact us at sales@ambericawest.com.

Our emails are sent immediately, so if you don't receive it, it is likely caught in a spam filter. You will receive another email when your order ships which will contain the shipping information.

You can pay 3 ways, either by credit card (located on each page as the 'buy now' button), a personal check, or purchase order.

Finally, if you feel more comfortable, feel free to call us at 719-488-2654 (this is in the United States). This number works as a fax if you would like to fax your request or purchase order.

 

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sales@ambericawest.com
 

 

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