Oise amber

In the late 1990s, an amber deposit was discovered by French entomologist near Creil at Le Quesnoy, close to the Oise river in France. The sediments containing the amber were found at the bottom of quarries used for sand and gravel extraction. The Oise amber deposit had more than 20,000 arthropod inclusions to date. In 2000, pollen was extracted for the first time from Oise amber. == Geology ==

The amber originates from the Argiles d'lignite du Soissonnais, which forms part of the stratigraphy of the Paris Basin. The strata form channels cutting into the underlying marine deposited Late Paleocene (Thanetian) aged greensand. The main lithologies of the beds are lenticular bedded bodies consisting of clay rich sand. These are divided into two subfacies, the first of which contains pyrite-rich lignite, as well as amber, the other contains proportionally less lignite, as well as remains of terrestrial vertebrates. The deposit also contains the remains of many coprolites. == Description ==

Oise amber tends to be a very clear yellow, and pieces of Oise amber are usually a few centimetres long. In every flow of Oise amber, there is usually at least one inclusion. == Diversity ==

The amber shows a high diversity of invertebrate fauna. The most diverse group of insects are Coleoptera (beetles) and Psocoptera, representing 21% each of collected insect specimens as of 2009, followed by Hymenoptera at 16%, Diptera (flies) at 12% and Hemiptera at 10%. However, Oise amber as of 2010 has fewer described species than Baltic, Dominican or New Jersey ambers. == References ==