Lebanese amber, Bouarij, Caza Zhahleh (LU TAR collection) (Cretaceous of Lebanon)

Where: Lebanon (33.8° N, 35.8° E: paleocoordinates 9.3° N, 32.0° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• outcrop-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.

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; lithified amber

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Preservation: soft parts, original chitin, amber

Collection methods: Repository: Natural History Museum of the Lebanese University, Faculty of Sciences II, Fanar, Lebanon

Primary reference: D. Azar, A. Nel, M. S. Engel, R. Garrouste, and A. Matocq. 2011. A new family of Coreoidea from the Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber (Hemiptera: Pentatomomorpha). Polish Journal of Entomology 80:627-644 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 123416: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Matthew Clapham on 21.01.2012

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Insecta
 Hemiptera - Yuripopovinidae
Yuripopovina magnifica n. gen. n. sp.
Yuripopovina magnifica n. gen. n. sp. Azar et al. 2011 true bug
Azar TAR 173
 Neuroptera - Rhachiberothidae
Raptorapax terribilissima n. gen. n. sp.9
Raptorapax terribilissima n. gen. n. sp.9 Petrulevičius et al. 2010 thorny lacewing
Azar TAR 110A
 Neuroptera -
Tyruschrysa melqart n. gen. n. sp.8
Tyruschrysa melqart n. gen. n. sp.8 Pérez-de la Fuente et al. 2018 lacewing
Azar TAR-96
 Coleoptera -
Oropsis marinae n. gen. n. sp.7
Oropsis marinae n. gen. n. sp.7 Legalov and Kirejtshuk 2016 beetle
Azar Tar-171A
 Coleoptera - Throscidae
Rhomboaspis laticollis n. gen. n. sp.6
Rhomboaspis laticollis n. gen. n. sp.6 Kovalev and Kirejtshuk 2013 beetle
Azar TAR 165C
 Coleoptera - Hybosoridae
Libanochrus calvus n. gen. n. sp.4
Libanochrus calvus n. gen. n. sp.4 Kirejtshuk et al. 2011 scavenger scarab beetle
Azar TAR 39
 Coleoptera - Sphindidae
Libanopsis straminea n. sp.5 Kirejtshuk 2015 cryptic slime mold beetle
Azar TAR-101A
 Alienoptera - Umenocoleidae
Cratovitisma cortexi11 Sendi 2018 winged insect
TAR27B
 Blattodea - Liberiblattinidae
Miniblattina libera n. gen. n. sp.10
Miniblattina libera n. gen. n. sp.10 Sendi 2021 cockroach
TAR32
 Blattodea - Blattulidae
Pravdupovediac maaloufi n. sp.11 Sendi et al. 2023 cockroach
TAR27DE
 Blattodea - Mesoblattinidae
Nymphoblatta azari11 Vršanský and Grimaldi 2004 cockroach
Azar TAR27A
 Diptera - Ceratopogonidae
Archiaustroconops hamus3 Borkent 2000 biting midge
Azar TAR-159
Archiaustroconops ceratoformis3 Szadziewski 1996 biting midge
Azar TAR-13, 101
Archiaustroconops hammanensis3 Choufani et al. 2015 biting midge
Azar TAR-7
"Protoculicoides punctus" = Gerontodacus punctus3 Borkent 2000 biting midge
Azar TAR-102B
 Diptera - Cecidomyiidae
Cretadicerura salimi n. gen. n. sp.2
Cretadicerura salimi n. gen. n. sp.2 Azar and Nel 2020 gall midge
Azar TAR 10
 Diptera - Rhagionidae
Lebanoleptis huangi n. gen. n. sp.1
Lebanoleptis huangi n. gen. n. sp.1 Angelini et al. 2016 snipe fly
Azar TAR 105A