Context and genesis of the Lebanese amberiferous palaeoenvironments at the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition

Abstract

The Lebanese amber is still the oldest for Gondwanaland and its fauna is relatively well studied; as to date about 180 taxa have been described from this material. Nevertheless, the formation of the different Lebanese amberiferous outcrops is not yet clearly understood. We propose a new hypothesis and interpretation for the formation of amber deposits in the Late Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous Lebanese sediments. We thus evoke the evolution of the stratigraphy and the geodynamical context that lead to the amber deposition. Indeed, tectonic complexity of what is now a part of the Middle East area existed since the Precambrian times and is still modeling its geology. We redefine as well Lebanon during the formation of its amber deposits, but we do not conclude on the real age of this amber.