Английская Википедия:Beverly the Bug
Шаблон:Short description Beverly the Bug is the first and only known opal with an insect inclusion. It contains "the exoskeleton of a nymphal insect belonging to the order Hemiptera and either the family Tettigarctidae or the Cicadidae".[1]
It was found on Java in 2015.[2] Gemologist Brian T. Berger purchased the gem in 2018 and named it Beverly the Bug.[3] He submitted it to the Gemological Institute of America, which authenticated it as an "unaltered, untampered precious opal, with a genuine insect inclusion."[4][5]
Though such inclusions are relatively common in amber, some opal-enclosed fossils have been discovered before[2][6] among silica-containing rocks near geysers, but this is the first that appears to have been formed via the erosion of volcanic rocks.[3] This raises the possibility that, if there was life on Mars (which had volcanic activity in its past), it too might be preserved the same way.[1][3]
It has been displayed in the Perot Museum in Dallas, the Tellus Museum in Atlanta, and the Alfie Norville Museum in Arizona.
References
External links
- Berger's account of his discover in the January 18, 2019, issue of Entomology Today
