Where: Lebanon (33.5° N, 35.6° E: paleocoordinates 9.2° N, 31.7° E)
• coordinate estimated from map
• local area-level geographic resolution
When: Early/Lower Barremian (130.0 - 125.5 Ma)
• Amber found in three intervals in the upper part of the Grès du Liban. The upper interval is above the “Banc de Mrejatt,” the middle interval is between the “Banc de Mrejatt” and a pisolitic interval below, and the lower interval is below the pisolitic beds. The "Banc de Mrejatt" includes one biostratigraphically significant benthic foraminifer: Eopalorbitolina transiens (Cherchi and Schroeder, 1999), which is a zonal marker of the Lower to Upper Barremian transition according to Schroeder et al. (2010). Accordingly the “Banc de Mrejatt” is correlated to the transgression of sequence Ba3 of Clavel et al. (2007) and ascribed a late Early Barremian age. The pisolitic interval or “calcaires à pisolithes” of Heybroek (1942), consists of lacustrine shales and marls, locally with pisolites ranging in size from a hazel nut to an orange. Charophyte remains (thalli, utricles, and gyrogonites) are commonly found in this interval (Grambast and Lorch, 1968; Granier et al., 2015). According to Martín-Closas (2015, personal communication), the charophyte association should refer to the Cruciata-Paucibracteatus biozone of Martín-Closas et al. (2009) that spans the Late Barremian–Early Aptian interval. However, due to its topographic location, this interval is older than the “Banc de Mrejatt” and should be considered at least Early Barremian in age (Maksoud et al., 2017, 2022). The entomofaunal similarity of these three intervals could imply that the age of the amber should be the same, i.e., that of the older/lower interval. Amber pieces found in the middle and upper intervals are rounded and commonly bored by martesiine pholadid bivalves.
Environment/lithology: terrestrial; amber
Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils, microfossils
Preservation: soft parts, original chitin, original carbon, amber
Collected by Aftim Acra, Fadi Acra in the 1970s; reposited in the AMNH
Collection methods: quarrying,
Primary reference: D. Grimaldi and M. S. Engel. 2006. Extralimital fossils of the "Gondwanan" family Sphaeropsocidae (Insecta: Psocodea). American Museum Novitates 3523:1-18 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham/M. Clapham]more details
Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis
PaleoDB collection 122359: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Matthew Clapham on 22.12.2011, edited by Jered Karr
Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)
Taxonomic list
Insecta | |
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Sclerogibbodes embioleia n. gen. n. sp.5
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Melqartitermes myrrheus n. gen. n. sp.6
Melqartitermes myrrheus n. gen. n. sp.6 Engel et al. 2007 termite AMNH L-Iso1 (location and collector not given)
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"Jantaropterix lebani" = Pseudojantaropterix lebani12
"Jantaropterix lebani" = Pseudojantaropterix lebani12 Vršanský and Grimaldi 2003 winged insect AMNH lebanon 84
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Sphaeropsocites lebanensis n. gen. n. sp.
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"Libanoglaris randatae" = Archaeatropos randatae2
"Libanoglaris randatae" = Archaeatropos randatae2 Azar and Nel 2004 bark louse AMNH JB 21/12 BM753, 21/7 BM698, 21/4 BM738, 21/8, 21/3 BM669A, 21/3 BM669B, 21/10 BM709, JS 108 BM35
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"Paleopsychoda jacquelinea" = Paleopsychoda jacquelinae1
"Paleopsychoda jacquelinea" = Paleopsychoda jacquelinae1 Azar et al. 1999 moth fly JG 382/1 BM 431; JS 507 F37 (19-37) F38 (0-4) F35 (24-27)
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Lebanognoriste prima n. gen. n. sp.3
Lebanognoriste prima n. gen. n. sp.3 Blagoderov and Grimaldi 2004 long beaked fungus gnat AMNH JG268/1
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Lebambromyia acrai n. gen. n. sp.8
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Chimeromyia reducta n. sp.8
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"Protoculicoides succineus" = Gerontodacus succineus4, Lebanoculicoides mesozoicus4, Protoculicoides sp.4, "Protoculicoides unus n. sp." = Archiculicoides unus4, "Protoculicoides acraorum n. sp." = Archiculicoides acraorum4, Austroconops sp.4, Austroconops fossilis4, Austroconops megaspinus n. sp.4, Austroconops gladius n. sp.4, Minyohelea sp.4, Minyohelea bacula n. sp.4, Minyohelea lebanica4, Minyohelea minuta4, Minyohelea schleei4, Archiaustroconops sp.4, Archiaustroconops ceratoformis4, Archiaustroconops szadziewskii4, Archiaustroconops hamus n. sp.4, Archiaustroconops bocaparvus n. sp.4
"Protoculicoides succineus" = Gerontodacus succineus4 Szadziewski 1996 biting midge AMNH JS 426 F15, JG 17/20/BM 371, JS 362/BM 849-1
"Protoculicoides acraorum n. sp." = Archiculicoides acraorum4 Borkent 2000 biting midge AMNH JS 84 BM 71
Austroconops sp.4 Wirth and Lee 1958 biting midge AMNH JS 57/BM 32, JG 17/55/BM186-1, JG/BM 161, JG 203/4/BM 888, JG 124/4/BM 790, JS 82/BM 48
Austroconops fossilis4 Szadziewski 1996 biting midge AMNH JS 660, JG17/20/BM 371, JG 78/10 F42, F43, F45, JS212
Austroconops megaspinus n. sp.4 Borkent 2000 biting midge AMNH JS 221/BM 300, JS466, JG 375/2/BM 463
Minyohelea sp.4 Borkent 1995 biting midge JS 362/BM 849, JG 17/55/BM 186-3, JG 387/17/F13, JS 396 F10, JG 128/1/BM 519, JS 317/BM 558, JS654, JG386/5 F1, JG 115/23/BM 294, JS129, JG 17/39/BM270, JG 319/5/BM 885, JS 197/BM282
Archiaustroconops sp.4 Szadziewski 1996 biting midge AMNH JG 79/40/BM 345, JS22/BM167, JS 431 F16, JG 17/55/BM 186-1
Archiaustroconops ceratoformis4 Szadziewski 1996 biting midge AMNH JG 17/55/BM 186-2, JG 41/1/BM 174, JG 204/13/BM 869, JG 202/8/BM 889, JS 98/BM 78
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Enoplea | |
"Heleidomermis libani n. sp." = Cretacimermis libani10
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