New Jurassic amber outcrops from Lebabon

Abstract

International audienceReports of amber of occurrence predating the Lower Cretaceous are extremely rare. During the past two decades, records of discoveries of amber sites have increased considerably worldwide, consequently to the alertness by the scientific community of the importance and conservational pristine quality of the amber. Lebanon is weil known to contain abundant Lower Cretaceous amber outcrops (more than 400 localities). A number of these outcrops yielded the oldest amber containing intensive biological inclusions. We report herein the discovery of nineteen outcrops of amber from the Late Jurassic in Lebanon. Sorne of these outcrops gave large centimetric sized amber pieces. These new amber sites are ail located in the Northern part of Mount Lebanon in volcano-Iateritic Late Jurassic deposits (Kimmeridgian age, circa -150 Million Years). The amber is found in lens of lignite mixed with laterites and pyrite that occupy pits in a volcano-basaltic complex sail. The characterization of these Late Jurassic ambers is performed by studying their chemical constitution via FTIR (Fourier Transform InfraRed) spectroscopy. Though the new Jurassic amber yielded to date no more than some fungal inclusions, but the discovery of such material is very significant and promising especially in the reconstruction of the paleoenvironment. It also opens great prospects to reveal hopefully some Late Jurassic fossil arthropods