Amber

Amber is fossilized tree resin.

History
Amber is created when tree resin, or sap, hardens into a solid. The oldest known amber comes from the Carboniferous period, but it only became abundant during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. Oftentimes, amber manages to trap organisms before it hardens, which makes it a unique form of fossilization that preserves not just certain parts of an organism, but usually the entire organism itself.

Although amber was first studied in Ancient Greece (which led to the science of electrostatics), amber is most important today for its significance in paleontology. Large numbers of amber are recovered from places like the Dominican Republic, Russia, Lebanon and Myanmar. Amber from Myanmar in particular is special due to the sheer amount of organisms it preserves. Thousands of invertebrates are known from this deposit alone, but there are also a good number of vertebrates, including frogs, lizards, birds, and at least one non-avian dinosaur - Dana's species.

Abilities
Amber can preserve entire organisms before it hardens. This is of special significance to scientists, as it not only preserves bones, but also several soft tissues such as musculature and integument - including color - which are unknown for the great majority of fossil taxa. Such a preservation is so fine that DNA can be extracted from the fossils and used to clone new individuals.

Amber also has the ability to bring life to inanimate objects. It can also be fashioned into magical jewelry that can turn their holders into superheroes. Superhero forms can be activated by saying a thematic transformation phrase; for example, Artist's is "Paint on!"

Trivia

 * The idea of cloning non-avian dinosaurs from amber originates from the 1993 movie Jurassic Park.
 * The scientists in that movie cloned dinosaurs from preserved blood in mosquitoes, then filled in the genetic gaps with the DNA of frogs. Because frogs are not the closest the living relatives of dinosaurs (which are crocodiles and birds), using their DNA will result in unrealistic-looking dinosaurs.
 * This is one of the reasons why User:Atlantis536 based the cloned dinosaur on the feathered dinosaur tail found in amber; it is theoretically easier to clone it than say, a Pteranodon known only from fossil bones.