Amber, plant and vertebrate fossils from the Lower Cenomanian paralic facies of Aix Island (Charente-Maritime, SW France)

Lower Cenomanian paralic facies outcrop widely on Aix Island (CharenteMaritime, France). Since the beginning of the 19th century, there has been repeated mentions of abundant fossil wood and amber from this locality, with particular focus on the wood when amber remained poorly studied. New investigations beginning 8 years ago have led to the discovery of additional fossil material, including vertebrate remains and the first fossil amber inclusions. This paper provides a sedimentological, stratigraphical and palaeontological description of the local Lower Cenomanian section, and the fossil assemblages are discussed in a wider palaeoenvironmental context.