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Issue: Vol. 7 No. 6: December 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-12-20
DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.6.12
Page range: 770-777
Abstract views: 47
PDF downloaded: 9

A new amber outcrop from the Late Cretaceous of Xingning Basin, South China

State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Faculty of Sciences II, Natural Sciences Department, Lebanese University, Fanar - El-Matn, PO Box 90656 Jdeideh, Lebanon
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Xingning amber Cretaceous Yetang Formation biota

Abstract

Mesozoic amber-bearing deposits provide invaluable insights into palaeoecosystems and the evolutionary history of life. Here we report newly discovered amber from the Yetang Formation in the Xingning Basin, eastern Guangdong Province, dated to the early Late Cretaceous (late Cenomanian–Coniacian). The amber pieces are millimetric in size and predominantly exhibit a yellow-brownish hue. Biostratigraphic evidence suggests that the Xingning amber predates the recently discovered Guangzhou amber from the Dalangshan Formation. The Xingning amber is found alongside abundant fossils of gymnosperms and angiosperms, as well as diverse animal fossils, including insects, conchostracans, ostracods, bivalves, and dinosaurs, within a lacustrine setting. Together, these fossils form part of the Late Cretaceous Xingning Biota.

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