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Topic · Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Fossil Insects in Amber

Fossil Insects in Amber is a research topic within Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics. Science Explorer counts 9.9k research works in it since 1950. 10.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the evolutionary history of insects, particularly focusing on the phylogenetics and molecular dating of various insect orders, the discovery and analysis of amber fossils from different geological periods, and the implications of these findings on understanding the diversity and biogeography of ancient insect species. The research also delves into the taphonomy, morphological adaptations, and ecological interactions of ancient insects preserved in amber.

  • Insect Evolution
  • Amber Fossils
  • Phylogenetics
  • Hymenoptera
  • Holometabola
  • Cretaceous
  • Molecular Phylogeny
  • Paleobiota
  • Hexapoda
  • Fossil Record
Research works
9.9k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
988
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.0%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+29%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
China
23% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Fossil Insects in Amber

Which countries lead Fossil Insects in Amber research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (388 and 280 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 China 388 works
  2. 2 United States 280 works
  3. 3 Germany 218 works
  4. 4 Russia 191 works
  5. 5 Brazil 162 works
  6. 6 France 118 works
  7. 7 Japan 88 works
  8. 8 Czechia 77 works
  9. 9 United Kingdom 76 works
  10. 10 India 72 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 23.3%United States: 16.8%Germany: 13.1%Russia: 11.4%6 others listed: 35.5%23%largest
China388 · 23.3%United States280 · 16.8%Germany218 · 13.1%Russia191 · 11.4%6 others listed592 · 35.5%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Fossil Insects in Amber research?

By volume in 2022-now, Russian Academy of Sciences publishes the most Fossil Insects in Amber research, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 123 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 102 works
  3. 3 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 57 works
  4. 4 Leibniz AssociationGermany 42 works
  5. 5 Smithsonian InstitutionUnited States 41 works
  6. 6 Naturalis Biodiversity CenterNetherlands 33 works
  7. 7 Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde StuttgartGermany 29 works
  8. 8 National Academy of Sciences of UkraineUkraine 27 works
  9. 9 Natural History MuseumUnited Kingdom 23 works
  10. 10 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenGermany 22 works

Who are the leading researchers in Fossil Insects in Amber?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Fossil Insects in Amber include Kevin J. Gaston, Arndt von Haeseler and Fredrik Ronquist.

  1. 1 Kevin J. Gaston United Kingdom 123k citations
  2. 2 Arndt von Haeseler Austria 113k citations
  3. 3 Fredrik Ronquist Sweden 107k citations
  4. 4 David R. Smith United States 107k citations
  5. 5 Alexandros Stamatakis Germany 102k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Fossil Insects in Amber?

The most cited paper in Fossil Insects in Amber is "Phylogenomics resolves the timing and pattern of insect evolution" (Bernhard Y. Misof et al., 2014), with 2,883 citations. Next come "Evolution of the Insects" (2,368) and "Insect Mitochondrial Genomics: Implications for Evolution and Phylogeny" (1,510).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Phylogenomics resolves the timing and pattern of insect evolution Bernhard Y. Misof et al. · Science 101 authors 6 Nov 2014 2,883
2 Evolution of the Insects David A. Grimaldi, Michael S. Engel 2005 2,368
3 Insect Mitochondrial Genomics: Implications for Evolution and Phylogeny Stephen L. Cameron · Annual Review of Entomology ReviewOpen access 25 Oct 2013 1,510
4 Age constraint on Burmese amber based on U–Pb dating of zircons Guanghai Shi, David A. Grimaldi, George E. Harlow et al. · Cretaceous Research 6 Apr 2012 1,478
5 A Total-Evidence Approach to Dating with Fossils, Applied to the Early Radiation of the Hymenoptera Fredrik Ronquist, Seraina Klopfstein, Lars Vilhelmsen et al. · Systematic Biology Open access 22 Jun 2012 983
All 98 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Fossil Insects in Amber research done?

The largest centres of Fossil Insects in Amber research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Paris (France), Moscow (Russia) and Nanjing (China).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 126 works
  2. 2 ParisFrance 84 works
  3. 3 MoscowRussia 72 works
  4. 4 NanjingChina 56 works
  5. 5 Washington D.C.United States 46 works
  6. 6 Saint PetersburgRussia 41 works
  7. 7 MunichGermany 36 works
  8. 8 PragueCzechia 35 works
  9. 9 LeidenNetherlands 34 works
  10. 10 São PauloBrazil 32 works
See Fossil Insects in Amber on the map

Where is the best place to study Fossil Insects in Amber?

Among universities, judged by research, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, University of Copenhagen and China Agricultural University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 13.93%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →University of Copenh…Ludwig-Maximilians-U…Christian-Albrechts-…China Agricultural U…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenGermany 97.621.6%11.7×22 +109.6%
2University of CopenhagenDenmark 66.530.1%4.4×9 +97.0%
3China Agricultural UniversityChina 64.310.8%18.2×22 +22.0%
4Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu KielGermany 63.021.1%13.2×9 +88.2%
5Sorbonne UniversitéFrance 61.89.0%11.1×16 +33.0%
6Université Paris Sciences et LettresFrance 60.810.4%17.2×14 +30.7%
7Charles UniversityCzechia 59.610.5%12.6×13 +100.6%
8University of MonsBelgium 58.64.6%46.9×19 +312.5%
9Universidade Federal do ParanáBrazil 55.111.5%15.3×17 +17.8%
10Capital Normal UniversityChina 45.59.7%54.9×16 -13.0%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Fossil Insects in Amber, country by country

Is Fossil Insects in Amber research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 29% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Fossil Insects in Amber.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Fossil Insects in Amber as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0073% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%Fossil Insects in Amber0.014% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Fossil Insects in Amber over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Fossil Insects in Amber9.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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