The amber, excavated from Pine Island Bay in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, provides a unique snapshot of life in prehistoric Antarctica.

Until recently, a gap existed in the world map of amber discoveries: the Antarctic continent. But that gap has finally been closed, thanks to a team led by Dr. Johann P. Klages from the Alfred Wegener Institute,

A team led by the Alfred Wegener Institute and TU Bergakademie Freiberg has discovered amber in Antarctica, offering unprecedented insight into ancient polar forests. The amber reveals evidence of resin-producing trees.

Scientists in Germany and the UK have now discovered amber there for the first time – the fossilized 'blood' of ancient coniferous trees that once grew on Earth's southernmost continent between 83 and 92 million years ago.

Today, Antarctica is a huge frozen continent, though it was once temperate enough to be covered in swampy forests. Now, a team of scientists has discovered fossilized tree resin—amber—on the continent for the first time.