50 million-year-old insect really was 'frightened out of its skin': Researchers discover exoskeleton entombed in amber as it tried to escape approaching tree sap

In a moment of fright, it's often said that you'll'jump right out of your skin' – but for one ancient insect, that's just what happened. Researchers have discovered a 50-million-year-old deposit of Baltic amber containing the exoskeleton of an ancient insect, which appears to have rapidly shed its skin in order to escape the flowing sap. The specimen also contains the first mushroom ever found in Baltic amber, along with the hair of a mammal thought to have bitten it from the base of a tree. Researchers have discovered a 50-million-year-old deposit of Baltic amber containing the exoskeleton of an ancient insect, which appears to have rapidly shed its skin in order to escape the flowing sap. Amber has been used in jewellery for thousands of years.