FOSSIL SPECIMENS FOUND IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

FOSSIL SPECIMENS FOUND IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

One of the settings in which fossils form is amber. Fossils preserved in amber are the result of the resin produced by trees trapping a living thing and preserving it at that exact moment. Resin is insoluble in water and solidifies very quickly in contact with the air. Subsequently, the process of polymerization commences (monomer molecules entering into chemical reactions give rise to three-dimensional chains), and the clear resin continues to harden over the course of millions of years. The living creature entombed in the resin thus remains unchanged from its original state millions of years ago.

Worldwide, there are more than 100 known amber beds. The oldest known ambers have been obtained from the Lebanese Mountains and date back to the Cretaceous Period (130 to 120 million years). Recent research has revealed some new amber beds going back to the Mesozoic Era. These include Jordanian amber, dating back 80 to 75 million years, New Jersey amber approximately 80 million years old, Cedar Lake ambers, again 80 to 75 million years old, French ambers around 70 million years old, and Pyrenean ambers going back 100 million years. The majority of fossils obtained from many other amber beds belong to the Eocene-Miocene periods (55 to 5 million years ago).

Most amber fossils from the Dominican Republic also belong to the Eocene-Miocene periods. In the Dominican Republic, there are two main amber beds. One is a mountain region to the North-East of the city of Santiago; the other is the mines near the town of El Valle, to the northeast of the city of Santo Domingo. Dominican amber is formed from the resin from trees belonging to the species Hymenaea. One of its most important characteristics is the wealth of the species fossilized in it. In addition to the tens of thousands of insects, small frogs, lizards and scorpions have also been fossilized in Dominican amber.

Some amber beds in the Dominican Republic

Like all other fossils, amber fossils discovered in the Dominican Republic demonstrate one very significant fact: Living things have undergone no change over millions of years, in other words, they never underwent evolution. Mosquitoes have always existed as mosquitoes, ants as ants, bees as bees, dragonflies as dragonflies and spiders as spiders. In short, all living creatures have possessed exactly the same features since the moment they first came into the world, and have remained in that same form. Living things preserved in amber millions of years ago are identical to present-day specimens. This deals a lethal blow to the theory of evolution and once again demonstrates the fact of creation.

There are more than 100 amber beds around the world. One of them lies in Norway, where Baltic ambers are found.

PLANTHOPPER Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene The 25-million-year-old planthopper pictured is identical to present-day planthoppers. These insects, which have remained unchanged despite the passage of millions of years, refute the theory of evolution.

JUMPING SPIDER Age: 25 million years old Size: 16 millimeters (0.6 in) by 10 millimeters (0.3 in) Location: The mountains near Santiago, Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene This piece of amber contains a jumping spider from the family Salticidae. These spiders take their name from the way they jump onto their prey, leaping up to 50 times their own length. In addition to the four eyes at the front of their heads, they also have four small eyes with flawless structures in immediate proximity to these, which they use to identify their prey. Just like their present-day counterparts, jumping spiders that lived millions of years ago had a complete, flawless structure. And over millions of years, no change has taken place in that structure. The 25-million-year amber illustrated is proof of that.

HORSESHOE CRAB BEETLE Age: 25 million years old Size: 11 millimeters (0.4 in) by 9 millimeters (0.3 in) Location: Mountains near Santiago, Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Horseshoe crab beetles generally live near ant nests. This 25-million-year-old fossil proves that these insects were never subjected to evolution. There is no difference between this beetle from millions of years ago and those living today.

SCELIONID WASP Age: 25 million years Size: 17 millimeters (0.6 in) by 10 millimeters (0.3 in) Location: Mountains near Santiago, Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Scelionid wasps generally live under fallen leaves. These wasps are known to parasitize a great many insect species, and especially their eggs. The scelionid wasp pictured was fossilized while flying, and is no different from present-day specimens. This 25-million-year scelionid wasp preserved in amber shows that these insects, like all other creatures, did not evolve.

ASSASSIN BUG Age: 25 million years old Size: 18 millimeters (0.7 in) long, 14 millimeters (0.5 in) across Location: Mountains near Santiago, Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene This piece of amber contains a rarely-seen specimen of an assassin bug. Assassin bugs feed in a manner known as external digestion. They release a secretion that liquifies the tissues of their prey, after which they ingest this solution. The toxin acts rapidly and renders the prey powerless within a few seconds. While some assassin bugs actively seek out their prey, others lie in wait for it. The colors on this specimen's wings have been well preserved. Modern-day assassin bugs possess all the same features as those living 25 million years ago. The fossil pictured is one of the proofs that assassin bugs never evolved, maintaining exactly the same characteristics for millions of years.

PSEUDOSCORPION Age: 25 million years old Size: 17 millimeters (0.6 in) long, 11 millimeters (0.4 in) across Location: Mountains near Santiago, Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Pseudoscorpions are actually arachnids that resemble scorpions, but lack the scorpion's long tail and sting, using their pincers to capture their prey. Pseudoscorpions can be found under fallen leaves, or beneath earth and rocks. Some 2,000 different pseudoscorpion species are known to exist. There is no difference between pseudoscorpions that lived 25 million years ago and specimens alive today. This lack of any anatomical difference proves that these arachnids did not evolve.

WINGED ANT Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Winged ants have two long wings 5 to 8 millimeters (1.9 to 3.1 in) in length. They build their nests close to sources of food and water. These ants have remained unchanged for millions of years. The fossil ant in 25-million-year-old amber shows that these insects have been remained the same for millions of years, in other words, they did not undergo evolution.

FIRE BEETLE, MILLEPEDE, AND A SPIDER Age: 25 million years old Size: 15 millimeters (0.5 in) by 13 millimeters (0.5 in) Location: Mountains near Santiago, Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene This insect belongs to the family Pyrochroidae and is generally known as the fire beetle or flame-colored beetle. Its edged antennae can be seen very distinctly in this specimen. This chunk of amber also contains a fossil millipede and a spider. Fire beetles, millipedes and spiders have all remained unchanged for millions of years, showing that living things did not evolve from one another in stages, but were created at once, together with all their characteristics.

PARASITIC WASP AND HUMPBACKED FLY Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene This 25-million-year-old parasitic wasp and humpbacked fly fossil are proof that, like all other living things, these species did not evolve. These insects have been the same for millions of years, and have never changed.	STINGLESS BEE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene This stingless bee fossilized in amber are identical to modern-day specimens.

WINGED ANTS, GALL GNAT Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Winged ants and gall gnats, which have survived unchanged for 25 million years, demolish the claims of the theory of evolution.	SPIDER AND SPIDER WEB Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Like all other life forms, spiders have survived for hundreds of millions of years without changing their structure. The spider and spider web here preserved in amber are 25 million years old. Identical to specimens alive today, they tell us that they were created, and did not evolve.

BARKBEETLE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Barkbeetles of 25 million years ago were the same as those today. These insects, which have been the same for millions of years, are one example showing that living things did not evolve, but were created.

BARKLOUSE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene We have countless fossil specimens belonging to thousands of insect species, all of which fossils show that they have had the same characteristics since they first came into being and never evolved. One of these fossils is a 25-million-year-old amber chunk showing that barklice have been the same for millions of years.

HORSESHOE CRAB BEETLE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene All fossil records refute the Darwinists who maintain that living things gradually descended from one another. But fossils show that living things appeared suddenly and with all their complete and flawless structures, and that they never changed for as long as they existed. This clear evidence of God's creation can never be explained by evolutionists. One of the specimens that evolutionists cannot account for is a horseshoe crab beetle fossilized in amber, 25 million years old. The horseshoe crab beetles deny evolution.

WINGED ANT Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene This amber contains a winged ant fossil. There is no difference between winged ants alive today and those that lived millions of years ago—one of the proofs that like other living things, winged ants did not evolve.

SPIDER Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Spiders today possess all the features possessed by those that lived millions of years ago. A 25-million-year- old spider fossilized in amber is one of the proofs of this.

WORKER ANT Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Ants are one of the most numerous species on Earth. Fossil records have revealed that ants have been the same for millions of years, and have never undergone any changes—in other words, they never evolved. The 25-million-year-old worker ant fossil pictured confirms this fact.	WINGED ANT Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene There is no difference between 25-million-year-old winged ants and specimens alive today. Winged ants that have remained the same despite the passage of millions of years are some of the proofs that evolution never happened.

CADDISFLY, DARK-WINGED FUNGUS GNATS Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Pictured are a caddis fly and fungus gnats in amber. These living things have survived for millions of years without the slightest change in their structures. The fact that these insects never changed is a sign that they never evolved.	WINGED TERMITE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene The 25-million-year-old amber in the picture contains a winged termite fossil. These creatures have possessed the same flawless systems for millions of years, and not the slightest change has taken place in their structures.

TRUE BUG Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Insects of the genus Hemiptera, of which there are more than 48,000 species, appear suddenly in the fossil record and survived unchanged for millions of years. Like all other insect species, these insects refute evolution.	SPIDER AND SPIDER WEB Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene A fossilized spider and its web can be seen in this amber. The 25-million-year-old spider and web are identical to modern-day spiders and webs, which completely invalidates the theory of evolution.

WINGED ANTS Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Winged ants, which have remained the same for 25 million years, are among those fossil specimens that show that the theory of evolution is invalid. Evolutionists have no consistent scientific way to account for living things that have not altered for millions of years.

WINGED TERMITE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Insect species that have undergone no changes for millions of years represent a major impasse for the theory of evolution. Species that always appear with the same structures in the fossil record are among the proofs that living things never underwent evolution. The winged termite in the amber pictured is 25 million years old, and is no different than its counterparts living today.

GRASSHOPPER Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Specimens of fossilized grasshoppers are identical to those living today. The fact that grasshoppers that lived 25 million years ago were identical to present-day specimens shows that evolution never happened.

SCELIONID WASP, LEAFHOPPER Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene A scelionid wasp and a leafhopper fossilized in 25-million-year-old amber. Scelionid wasps and leafhoppers that have remained unchanged for millions of years refute evolution.

PINHOLE BORER BEETLE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Evolutionists cannot point to even a single fossil indicating that beetles evolved, though tens of thousands of fossils show that they did not. Like other living things, insects appeared suddenly with all their characteristics and remained unchanged for hundreds of millions of years. One of the discoveries that proves this is this 25-million-year-old pinhole borer beetle fossilized in amber.

PARASITIC WASP, SPRINGTAIL Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene The theory of evolution has suffered a major defeat in the face of fossil discoveries. One example is the parasitic wasp and springtail in the 25-million-year-old amber pictured. No different to specimens alive today, these ancient arthropods point to the fact of creation.	PTEROMALID WASP Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Pteromalid wasps have remained unchanged for millions of years—in other words, they never evolved. This indisputable scientific fact is revealed by the fossil record. One example is the wasp fossil in the 25-million-year-old amber, pictured.

ROVE BEETLE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Rove beetles are part of the order Coleoptera. Alongside the rove beetle, another small beetle has been fossilized in the amber. Rove beetles, which have remained the same for 25 million years, refute evolutionists' claims.	WINGED ANT Age: 25 million years old Size: Amber: 13 millimeters (0.5 in) long , 7 millimeters (0.2 in) across Location: Near Santiago, Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Male winged ants, or drones, are sent out from the colonies in order to mate with queens. There is no difference between this 25-million-year-old winged ant fossilized in the amber and present-day winged ants.

WINGED ANT, GALL GNAT Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene The gall gnat is a species of fly smaller than a mosquito. The gall gnat fossilized here is 25 million years old. There is also a fossil winged ant alongside it. Winged ants and gnats that have remained unchanged for millions of years are among the proofs that evolution never happened.

CRANEFLY Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene There is no difference between today's craneflies and those that lived 25 million years ago. The fossil in the amber, pictured, is one indication of this.	HUMPBACKED FLY Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Humpbacked flies are a very small species that resembles fruit flies. All the fossil specimens discovered show that humpbacked flies have always existed in their current form. This humpbacked fly in 25-million-year-old amber once again confirms this fact.

BITING MIDGE Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene There is no difference between today's biting midges and this fossilized biting midge that lived millions of years ago.	DARK-WINGED FUNGUS GNAT Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene This dark-winged fungus gnat is 25 million years old, defying the claims of evolutionists.

SPIDER WEB, MINUTE BLACK SCAVENGER FLY Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene One finding that shows that insects have remained unchanged over millions of years is this 25-million-year-old fossil scavenger fly. A spiderweb was fossilized at the same moment as the insect. Like spiders that lived millions of years ago, their webs too have exactly the same structures.

SPRINGTAIL Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene There is no difference between springtails that lived 25 million years ago and those alive today.

HUMPBACKED FLY Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene Just as fish have always been fish, reptiles have always been reptiles and birds have always been birds, insects have always existed as insects. Humpbacked flies that have remained the same for 25 million years emphasize this fact once again.

EARWIG, WORKER ANT Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene In this amber, a worker ant has been fossilized alongside the earwig. Earwig is the general name given to insects of the order Dermaptera. Some 1,800 species from 10 different families have been identified. The most striking feature in all the fossilized specimens is that, as with other living things, there has been no change in their structure. Earwigs have remained unchanged for millions of years, and constitute one of the proofs that invalidate evolution.

PLANTHOPPER NYMPH Age: 25 million years old Location: Dominican Republic Period: Oligocene As with planthopper adults, planthopper nymphs have also possessed exactly the same characteristics for millions of years. The 25-million-year-old fossil specimen pictured shows that present-day larvae are identical to those that lived in the past.