are well documented,
only 2 days ago we made a post about them, this is similar, but so much rarer, an insect encased in opal,
Opal is a
mineraloid made of silica and water, and would have taken a very long time to
form, so how did this happen? from the article,
'Further research is being conducted on the
specimen currently. The initial theory is that this encasement may mean the
opal itself is opalized amber. Theoretically speaking, the insect likely was
trapped in tree sap or resin which, over time and under the right circumstances,
was preserved as amber with the insect encasement. This is a process many of us
are familiar with. However, a second, much rarer process of opalization can
also occur. And so, in this case, as conditions changed for the amber specimen,
it is possible the amber opalized, preserving the inclusion. Amazingly, the
silica surrounding the insect also structurally changed to produce the play of
color.'
Berger purchased the opal in Indonesia; it was
originally found on the island of Java, you can read more about the opal at Entomology
Today, photograph and story by Brian Berger, I wonder how long it
will take before the fake ones hit the market?
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