Dinosaur bonebed amber from an original swamp forest soil

Alvarez-Parra, S.; Perez-de la Fuente, R.; Penalver, E.; Barron, E.; Alcala, L.; Perez-Cano, J.; Martin-Closas, C.; Trabelsi, K.; Melendez, N.; Lopez Del Valle, R.; Lozano, R. P.; Peris, D.; Rodrigo, A.; Sarto i Monteys, V.; Bueno-Cebollada, C. A.; Menor-Salvan, C.; Philippe, M.; Sanchez-Garcia, A.; Pena-Kairath, C.; Arillo, A.; Espilez, E.; Mampel, L.; Delclos, X.

doi:10.1101/2021.09.14.460215

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.09.14.460215

Dinosaur bonebed amber from an original swamp forest soil

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Abstract

Dinosaur bonebeds with amber content, yet scarce, offer a superior wealth and quality of data on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. However, the preserved palaeodiversity and/or taphonomic characteristics of these exceptional localities had hitherto limited their palaeobiological potential. Here we describe the amber from the Lower Cretaceous dinosaur bonebed of Arino (Teruel, Spain) using a multidisciplinary approach. Amber is found in both a root layer with amber strictly in situ and a litter layer namely composed of aerial pieces unusually rich in bioinclusions, encompassing 11 insect orders, arachnids, and a few plant and vertebrate remains, including a feather. Additional palaeontological data - charophytes, palynomorphs, ostracods- are provided. Arino arguably represents the most prolific and palaeobiologically diverse locality in which fossiliferous amber and a dinosaur bonebed have been found in association, and the only one known where the vast majority of the palaeontological assemblage suffered no or low-grade pre-burial transport. That has enabled unlocking unprecedentedly complete and reliable palaeoecological data out of two complementary windows of preservation from the same site.

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Alvarez-Parra, S., Perez-de la Fuente, R., Penalver, E., Barron, E., Alcala, L., Perez-Cano, J., Martin-Closas, C., Trabelsi, K., Melendez, N., Lopez Del Valle, R., Lozano, R. P., Peris, D., Rodrigo, A., Sarto i Monteys, V., Bueno-Cebollada, C. A., Menor-Salvan, C., Philippe, M., Sanchez-Garcia, A., Pena-Kairath, C., Arillo, A., Espilez, E., Mampel, L., Delclos, X.. 2021-09-16. Dinosaur bonebed amber from an original swamp forest soil. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.14.460215

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