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Abstract
A relatively unexplored Upper Cretaceous (early Campanian) amber-bearing lignite deposit in Goldsboro, North Carolina has yielded a diverse assemblage of arthropods. Preliminary cataloging of approximately 175 biological inclusions obtained from the site include microscopic and macroscopic representatives from two subphyla of arthropoda (Chelicerata and Hexapoda) and at least 9 orders of insects (Blattodea, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Psocoptera, Thysanoptera, and Archaeognatha). In addition to animal inclusions, the Goldsboro amber often contains abundant plant matter, fungal mycelia, enhydros, and air bubbles. The inclusions depicted by micrographs in this poster presentation have not been formally classified and systematically described. Only an extinct ant genus Baikurus (Krynicki, 2013) and a new species of phantom midge, Neuseptychoptera carolinensis, (Szadziewski, et al., 2018) from this site have been described by others. Cretaceous amber sites in North America, yielding abundant biological inclusions are rare, so even the systematic description and classification of this material would be noteworthy even without developing more specific applications to creationist modeling. The primary purpose of this presentation is to visually document the diversity of inclusions being found in North Carolina amber and to recruit other creationists with the expertise needed to properly evaluate and develop potential research goals for this material. The amber and biological inclusions being reported here belong to the personal and expanding collection of the author.