A New Rich Amber Outcrop with Palaeobiological Inclusions in the Lower Cretaceous of Spain
Cretaceous Research 28 (2007) 791e802 www.elsevier.com/locate/CretRes A new rich amber outcrop with palaeobiological inclusions in the Lower Cretaceous of Spain Enrique Penalver~ a,*, Xavier Delclo`s b, Carmen Soriano b a Museo Geominero, Instituto Geolo´gico y Minero de Espana,~ Rı´os Rosas 23, E-28003 Madrid, Spain b Departament d’Estratigrafia, Paleontologia i Geocie`ncies marines, Fac. Geologia, Martı´ i Franque`s s/n, Universitat de Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain Received 17 April 2006; accepted in revised form 11 December 2006 Available online 1 July 2007 Abstract A new amber outcrop has been found recently in a bed of lutite within the Escucha Formation near the village of Utrillas (Teruel Province), Spain. This new fossil site, which has been named San Just, contains an exceptional quantity of amber remains associated with fossilized wood and leaves of probable araucarian origin, and is dated as EarlyeMiddle Albian (Early Cretaceous). The amber is physically and chemically similar to other Spanish Early Cretaceous ambers. Values of IRTF are also similar to other Early Cretaceous ambers, except for curve values of 800e400 cmÀ1 (in which bands are not visible) and the absence of exocyclic methylenic bands at 880 cmÀ1 and 1640 cmÀ1. The latter is also a feature of Alava amber (Penacerrada~ I and II exposures), and suggests a high degree of maturation. The San Just outcrop is the second in Teruel Province in which biological inclusions (mainly insects and chelicerates) have been found in amber. Insects are represented by hyme- nopterans (Scelionidae, Evaniidae: Cretevania, Stigmaphronidae), dipterans (Dolichopodidae: Microphorites, Ceratopogonidae), thysanopterans (Stenurothripidae), and coleopterans (Cucujidae).
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