Palynological Analysis of Amber-Bearing Clay from the Lower Cretaceous of Central Lebanon

An amber-bearing lignitic layer of sandy clay from the Lower Cretaceous of Central Lebanon (Mderej-Hammana) yielded a well-preserved, moderately variegated palynoflora, which origin is mixed between land plants and marine microflora. Its detailed analysis led to fulfill its inventory, to propose a paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and to draw the paleoclimate which prevailed over the region: an estuarian area under a rather humid, temperate climate; a variety of ferns grew near the shore-side and in the inward land. A tiny piece of amber containing angiospermous pollen grains of stratigraphical interest allows a precise dating. The marine microflora, poorly diversified, includes chitinous foraminifer linings and dinoflagellate cysts, among which Early Aptian guide taxa are present; their occurrence slightly narrows the stratigraphical range indicated by some palynological taxa which are related to land plants.