NANJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have discovered a new amber biota which formed 72 million years ago in central Myanmar, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The amber is transparent or semi-transparent, in colors of red and yellow. The researchers collected 5 kg of raw amber stones containing Cretaceous insect fossils.

The Tilin amber biota represents the latest known diverse insect species from the Mesozoic era.

Records of insect fossils dating back 80 million years to 56 million years ago are extremely sparse. The Tilin amber biota provides a rare insight into the late Cretaceous forest ecosystem, as well as shows the changes of the tropical biota from the mid to late Cretaceous period.

The ant fossils inside the Tilin amber can support further research of the insect's evolution and also provide information regarding the tropics that cultivated such diverse ants.