Specimen of Copal - natural - young Amber Copal - Height: 111 mm - Width: 61 mm- 96 g - (1)

Madagascar Copal – Fossil Resin with insect inclusions — Example of translucent copal from Madagascar, polished to highlight its natural transparency and rich presence of organic inclusions. The surface, smooth and elongated, emphasizes the warm color ranging from honey yellow to intense gold, crossed by veins and internal flows typical of ancient resin outflows. Inside the specimen are clearly visible several well-preserved insect inclusions, including: Diptera (midgets and mosquitoes), with their bodies and wings recognizable; Hymenoptera (likely ants and small parasitic wasps); Lepidoptera (small noctuid moths, with wings exceptionally preserved). These inclusions offer a unique glimpse of the biodiversity that inhabited Madagascar’s forests in ancient times, allowing both aesthetic and scientific observations. Malagasy copal is a fossil resin of relatively young age compared to amber. Studies indicate an age ranging from a few hundred thousand to about 2 million years, placing it between Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. It is considered the intermediate stage between fresh resin and true amber. Malagasy copal comes from surface deposits in the northwestern regions of the island, formed from the resinations of trees in the legume family (Hymenaea verrucosa), the same that also gave rise to Caribbean amber. This specimen, with its combination of transparency, bright color and multiple insect inclusions, represents a piece of great naturalistic and collecting interest, ideal for museums, scientific collections and cabinets of curiosities."