Dinosaur bonebed amber from an original swamp forest soil
2 OUMNH - Oxford University Museum of Natural History
3 Museo Geominero
4 Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/Museo Aragonés de Paleontología
5 جامعة صفاقس - Université de Sfax - University of Sfax
6 UTM - Tunis El Manar University [University of Tunis El Manar] [Tunisia] = Université de Tunis El Manar [Tunisie] = جامعة تونس المنار (ar)
7 Department of Geology
8 Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología
9 Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava
10 ICTA - Institut de Ciencia i Tecnologia Ambientals
11 School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology,
12 LEHNA P3E - LEHNA - Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés [équipe P3E]
13 UV - Universitat de València = University of Valencia = Universidade de Valencia
14 Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History [New York, USA]
15 Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución [Madrid]
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Résumé
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 Ariño (Teruel, Spain) using a multidisciplinary approach. Amber is found in both a root layer with amber strictly in situ and a litter layer mainly 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. Ariño 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. This has unlocked unprecedentedly complete and reliable palaeoecological data out of two complementary windows of preservation—the bonebed and the amber—from the same site.