Mammal Bones Found In Amber

Scientists have found what they say are the first well-identified mammal bones to be discovered in amber.

Amber is fossilized tree resin that can contain traces of ancient creatures if it flowed over them before hardening.

The discovery, from the Dominican Republic, contains six vertebrae and portions of several ribs from a small shrew-like, insect-eating creature, Ross MacPhee and David Grimaldi of the American Museum of Natural History in New York reported in today’s issue of the journal Nature.