Arthropod in Amber

Grinnellia ventis a new genus of an extinct branch of the Collembola, a group of small arthropods partly responsible for the nutritious soil farmers enjoy, has been discovered by a Grinnell College professor.

The genus, discovered in Myanmar (Burma), is a relative of the more than 4,000 species of Collembola found throughout the world today.

"The Collembola is a group often ignored and mostly misunderstood," said Ken Christiansen, professor emeritus of biology at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, and a leading researcher of Collembola. "I feel certain that if Collembola were the size of cats there would be whole zoos devoted to them because they are so weird and varied. They are among the most numerous arthropods on earth's surface, with as many as a trillion in an acre of soil."

Christiansen and a colleague made the discovery of the extinct Collembola through analysis of amber samples from about 95 million years ago.

Species of living Collembola can be found from the tops of the tallest trees to the deepest soil layers that support animal life. They've been spotted on Mount Everest, in volcanic vents along Hawaii's Kilauea, near the north and south poles, on sunny warm beaches, and in dark and damp caves throughout the world.

--LiveScience Staff

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Credit: Grinnell College