Bernsteinforschung

Palaeontology & Historical Geology

Palaeozoology I – Amber Research


The Senckenberg Research Institute and Nature Museum has been active in palaeontological research for more than 150 years. There has been a Bernstein (Amber) Collection for over 100 years but little research has been done on this collection.

The amber research group which was founded in 2010  focuses on two research fields. 1) The systematic identification and description of the diversity of the flora, fauna and microorganims from different amber deposits. This work is mainly focusing on ecologically and biogeographically meaningful taxa. 2) Actualistic experiments comparing modern with fossil fauna are carried out for a better understanding of taphonomic processes and biases. This is highly relevant in order to establish statements about evolution of paleodiversity in tropical realms, faunal relationships and reconstructions of former ecosystems.
As a consequence of these focuses the research group is contributing to the research areas Biodiversity and Systematics as well as Biodiversity and Earth System Dynamics.
 

Palaeoentomology meeting 2023

3-5 November 2023 at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Organized by Mónica M. Solórzano Kraemer, Carolin Haug and Sonja Wedmann
Link: Abstractbook

 

Interactive infographic for didactic purposes about the conservation of amber and its inclusions

 

 

 

 

 

Palaeoentomology meeting 2019 25–27 October 2019 at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Organized by Mónica M. Solórzano Kraemer and Sonja Wedmann   Link: Abstractbook

News

Vongy. An Adventure Among Scientists

The comic adventure story is about the scientific work on our trip to Madagascar amid Hymenaea verrucosa – a species of trees that produces resin – while we collected insects, spiders, and resin. Our team,  Dr. Mónica M. Solórzano Kraemer (Head of section Amber Research), Dr. Xavier Delclòs, Dr. Enrique Peñalver und Dr. Ana Rodrigo wanted to describe to the children and adults of Madagascar the reasons why we made the trip to their country. At the same time, we sought to communicate the scientific value of insects, spiders, and resin and the significance of preserving biodiversity