New fossil assemblage with amber, plants and vertebrates from the lower Cenomanian near Châtellerault (Vienne, western France)

Abstract

A large number of fossil-rich beds have been located from over 30 km along the Tours-Poitiers High Speed Line (LGV) during earthworks prior to its construction, and particularly amber was collected from Scorbé-Clairvaux (locality of La Bergeonneau) to the north of Poitiers. The paper describes also amber grains from Châtellerault (locality of La Désirée) discovered during the development of sewage treatment plant along the Vienne river. Inner Cenomanian shelly sandstones and siltstones of Scorbé-Clairvaux contain rare amber pieces associated with seed plants (Frenelopsis sp., Nehvizdya sp., and angiosperm seeds) and a diversified fauna, composed of micro-remains of 27 taxa, comprising elasmobranchs (Carcharias Haimerichia amonensis Cappetta et Case, 1975, Protolama sp. and Squalicorax sp.), actinopterygians (Enchodus sp. and Pycnodontidae), reptiles including vertebrae the marine snake Simoliophis rochebrunei Sauvage,1880 , some rare solemydid plates (cf. Plastremys), teeth of three crocodilian families (Apatosauridae, Goniopholididae and Bernissartiidae) and an undetermined dinosaurian long bone fragment.

Amber, from deposit to inclusions: new data

“…In western France, several lower Cenomanian amber deposits have been discovered around the town of Chatellerault (department of Vienne) thanks to public works (roads, boreholes). In addition to amber, a whole faunistic and floristic association is revealed (Valentin et al, 2020), thus completing the data provided by the deposit of the same age of Jaunay-Clan, located in the same sector (Valentin et al, 2014;Polette et al, 2019) and containing some pieces of amber. Further west, in the department of Mayenne, a new amber deposit dated from the Cenomanian has yielded a whole rich floristic association, including spores and wood fragments preserved in amber, which confers a unique character of the discovery .…”