Amber- and plant-bearing deposits from the Cenomanian of Neau (Mayenne, France)

A new Cenomanian amber- and plant-bearing deposit has been discovered at Neau, in the Mayenne department (France). The Cenomanian fossiliferous lignites are located in karst filling in a substratum of Cambrian limestones. The amber corresponds mainly to tiny millimetric grains, devoid of arthropod inclusions, but rich in microorganisms, especially the sheated bacteria Leptotrichites resinatus, and containing pollen grains (Classopollis) and wood fibers (Araucariacae or Cheirolepidiaceae). The lignites provide abundant conifer and ginkgoale cuticle fragments (Frenelopsis, Eretmophyllum) and a lot of palynomorphs (e.g. Gleicheniidites senonicus, Cyathidites, Deltoidospora, Appendicisporites and Cicatricosisporites). The chemical signature of the amber suggests it was produced by conifers of the extinct family Cheirolepidiaceae. According to the palynological assemblage, the age of the lignites is upper lower Cenomanian or lower mid Cenomanian. The deposit environment corresponded to the upstream portion of a mangrove or the most inner part of a lagoon.