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The marine macroflora of the ports of Le Havre and Antifer have been studied by citizen scientists since the late 1970s. In addition to analysis of the previous results, the field study was extended from 2010 to 2018. A total of 97 and 62 macroalgae were identified, respectively, including 14 NIS (non-indigenous species), the latter number being certainly an underestimate since microscopic species were not exhaustively sought and given the high number of cryptogenic species encountered. No new primary introduction of NIS for the NE Atlantic has been detected since the late 1970s. The origin of NIS and vector(s) of introduction were investigated. For all NIS, the donor region is the Indo-Pacific. Two likely vectors have been identified: maritime traffic for earlier introductions, and shellfish imports for more recent ones. The role of these ports and maritime traffic in the processes of introduction is discussed.

International audience; The Puy-Puy quarry at Tonnay-Charente (Charente-Maritime, SW France) is a sand quarry exposing a 9-m-thick series of latest Albian–earliest Cenomanian (mid-Cretaceous) age. The uppermost Albian deposits consist of lignitic clay containing fossiliferous amber. The lowermost Cenomanian sand deposits alternate with clay intercalations containing plant remains. One of these clay levels, named P1, shows an outstanding accumulation of conifer and angiosperm macrofossils including delicate reproductive structures such as flowers. Plant remains are associated with invertebrates such as insects (Odonata, Dictyoptera, Diptera), crustaceans (Mecochirus sp.), putative brachiopods (aff. Lingula sp.), and worms. A few vertebrate remains such as shark egg capsules (Palaeoxyris sp.) and a feather are present in the fossil assemblage, as well as an enigmatic specimen tentatively interpreted as a cephalochordate or a petromyzontiform. Various ichnofossils occur in abundance, such as crustacean coprolites and burrows (Ophiomorpha isp.), insect coprolites (Microcarpolithes hexagonalis), and leaves with grazing structures, galls and mines. The sediments have been deposited in a coastal, calm and brackish area.

International audience; Silicified fossils collected in ploughed fields at Gavrus (Calvados, France), mainly mollusc shells, are Bajocian in age, and come from the Oolithe ferrugineuse de Bayeux Formation. The entire formation is highly condensed and most fossils are reworked. Their silicification allowed treatment with dilute hydrochloric acid. This treatment brought to light numerous encrusting sclerobionts: Porifera (3 taxa), Bryozoa (n), Polychaeta (9), Brachiopoda (n), Bivalvia (5). The borings and bioerosional traces are described using the “categories of architectural design” as defined by Buatois et al. (2017). Among the 28 ichnotaxa described (corresponding to an ichnodisparity of 14), Planavolites wisshaki isp. nov., Kleithrichnus belemnophilus igen. nov., isp. nov. and Foggara foggara igen. nov., isp. nov. are new. Some Gastrochaenolites dijugus Kelly and Bromley, 1984 borings accommodate the shell of the presumed borer Lithophaga fabella J.-A. Eudes-Deslongchamps, 1838. A group of Nododendrina europaea (Fischer, 1875) on a belemnite rostrum provides a good instance of an ichnogenetic series. Encrusting sclerobionts and macroscopic boring and bioerosional trace-makers are dominantly suspension feeders. The ichnofacies is a peculiar Entobia-ichnofacies, found in deeper, lower-energy environments than the “classical” coastal Entobia-ichnofacies, on deep shell-grounds far from the coast, in the deep euphotic zone.; Les fossiles silicifiés recueillis dans les labours à Gavrus (Calvados, France), principalement des coquilles de mollusques, sont d’âge bajocien, Formation de l’Oolithe ferrugineuse de Bayeux. Toute la formation est fortement condensée et la plupart des fossiles sont remaniés. Leur silicification autorise un traitement à l’acide chlorhydrique dilué. Cette décalcification a révélé de nombreux sclérobiontes encroûtants : spongiaires (3 taxons), bryozoaires (n), polychètes (9), brachiopodes (n), bivalves (5). Les perforations et traces de bioérosion sont présentées en suivant les « catégories de style architectural » définies par Buatois et al. (2017). Parmi les 28 ichnotaxons décrits (correspondant à une ichnodisparité de 14), Planavolites wisshaki isp. nov., Kleithrichnus belemnophilus igen. nov., isp. nov. et Foggara foggara igen. nov., isp. nov. sont nouveaux. Dans quelques perforations Gastrochaenolites dijugus Kelly and Bromley, 1984, on retrouve la coquille du perforant présumé Lithophaga fabella J.-A. Eudes-Deslongchamps, 1838. Un groupe de Nododendrina europaea (Fischer, 1875) sur un rostre de bélemnite fournit un bon exemple d’une série ichnogénétique. Les encroûtants, perforants et producteurs de bioérosion macroscopiques sont pour la plupart des suspensivores. L’ichnofaciès est une variété de l’ichnofaciès à Entobia, dans un environnement plus profond et d’énergie plus faible que l’ichnofaciès à Entobia côtier classique, sur un fond coquillier profond, loin de la côte, dans la zone euphotique profonde.

Resume Les huitres de la Formation des Marnes a Pycnodonte biauriculata, Cenomanien superieur (biozone a Guerangeri), dont un echantillon significatif a ete collecte dans un chantier de terrassement de la ville du Mans (Sarthe, France) portent des episkeletobiontes (encroutants) et des endoskeletobiontes (perforants). Les premiers comprennent des bivalves, des polychetes, des foraminiferes et des bryozoaires. Les seconds sont representes par une quinzaine environ d’ichnotaxons dont les producteurs, lorsqu’ils sont connus, se repartissent entre une dizaine de taxons. Les huitres, dont certaines montrent une large surface de fixation, sont allochtones ou au moins paraautochtones. L’implantation des sclerobiontes a commence du vivant de l’huitre (Entobia isp.) et s’est poursuivie sur les valves isolees, transportees dans le milieu de depot final (Gnathichnus pentax). La signification de la coexistence des ichnocenoses a Entobia et a Gnathichnus est discutee.

Resume La collection de tortues mesozoiques du Museum du Havre est revisee, enrichie apres les destructions subies pendant la 2e guerre mondiale. Les nouvelles acquisitions, representees par deux nouveaux taxons de Plesiochelyidae respectivement du Cap de la Heve et de Bleville, du Jurassique (Kimmeridgien inferieur), sont comparees aux restes precedemment decrits de la region havraise et detruits. D’une part, Globochelus lennieri n. g., n. sp., du Kimmeridgien basal, biozone a Baylei, la plus ancienne espece de Plesiochelyidae nommee dans le Jurassique superieur, que nous dedions a Lennier en hommage a ses travaux sur la geologie et les fossiles du Havre. D’autre part, Tropidemys langii, biozone a Cymodoce, forme du Kimmeridgien europeen, la presence du genre dans la region etant douteuse auparavant. La serie stratigraphique du Havre, d’apres Lennier et les travaux recents, et la gangue calcaire des tortues sont examinees et indiquent un environnement de plateforme. L’ensemble havrais comportait d’autres tortues, detruites, qui sont reconsiderees, dont le plesiochelyide Plesiochelys dollfusii (Lennier) du Kimmeridgien inferieur, qui appartient a une espece bien distincte dans le genre, et « Palaeochelys » novemcostatus Valenciennes, du Cretace, d’un genre preemploye, qui se confirme comme etant un Chelonioidea, de meme peut-etre que « Pelobatochelys sp. ? ». La morphologie de la carapace de chaque genre de Plesiochelyidae est revisee. Des especes precedemment classees dans le genre Thalassemys sont rapportees aux Plesiochelyidae.

L'objectif de cette étude est de signaler une première observation en Manche orientale et l'introduction dans le port du Havre du spongiaire Celtodoryx ciocalyptoides (Burton, 1935), et de comparer la population havraise avec celles du Pacifique nord-ouest (première description de l'espèce) et celles implantées dans les années 1990 dans le sud de la Bretagne (France) et dans l'Oosterschelde (Pays-Bas). La petite population havraise a été observée en 2014 sur des enrochements de la berge d'un bassin de marée, entre + 1 m et − 4,8 m. Les trois populations européennes (Le Havre, Bretagne-sud et Pays-Bas) aussi bien que la population du Pacifique nord-ouest se sont toutes développées dans un environnement paralique, c'est-à-dire dans une zone de transition entre milieu marin et milieu continental. Le vecteur d'introduction est vraisemblablement le trafic maritime et ne peut pas être l'importation de naissain de l'huître Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) pour l'ostréiculture, vecteur invoqué pour les deux précédentes introductions de cette espèce en Europe, en raison de l'absence de parcs ostréicoles à proximité.

International audience; Fossil spermatozoa are extremely rare. Among the eight cases reported here, including two cases of spermatophores without visible sperm cells, six are fossils preserved in amber. All six concern examples of indirect sperm transfer by means of spermatophores or spermatodesmids. Preservation of subcellular organelles shows once again that amber is an extraordinary preservation medium.; Les spermatozoïdes fossiles sont très rares. Parmi les huit cas que nous rapportons ici, dont deux cas de spermatophores sans spermatozoïdes visibles, six sont des fossiles conservés dans l’ambre. Les six concernent un transfert indirect des spermatozoïdes par l’intermédiaire de spermatophores ou de spermatodesmes. La préservation d’organites subcellulaires montre une fois de plus que l’ambre est un milieu de conservation exceptionnel.

Resume Les Calcaires a Baculites (Maastrichtien superieur) de Picauville et Cauquigny (Manche) ont livre plus de 70 perforations composees d’une chambre hemispherique a irreguliere, frequemment pourvue d’un plancher horizontal parfois lite et d’ou partent un nombre restreint de conduits fins et rectilignes, majoritairement verticaux, vers le haut ou vers le bas, plus rarement horizontaux ou obliques. Cette trace fossile est decrite en detail et nommee Unellichnus calciforans igen. nov. isp. nov. La perforation a ete faite apres la lithification precoce du sediment, un sable calcaire a bryozoaires. L’auteur de la perforation n’a pas ete identifie : les eponges perforantes semblent ne pas pouvoir etre a l’origine de cette trace fossile, incompatible avec leur morphologie fonctionnelle.

International audience; We describe and name Loxolenichnus stellatocinctus Breton and Wisshak igen. et isp. nov., a bioerosion trace fossil on an Upper Cenomanian oyster from Le Mans (France). This trace is attributed here to a parasitic gastropod. The characteristics of this ichnospecies are a combination of one or several, vertical or oblique, complete penetrations, and an asymmetrical attachment etching (fixichnion) with a diagnostic set of stellate grooves increasingly distinct towards the margin of the trace. By including two former Oichnus ichnospecies, Loxolenichnus halo comb. nov. and Loxolenichnus taddei comb. nov., Oichnus, is now constrained to pure predation traces (praedichnia). The numerous oysters collected from the Marnes à Pycnodonte biauriculata Formation show associated epibionts and encrusters as well as borers and scrapers. Encrusters comprise 24 taxa while bioerosion trace fossils comprise 17 ichnotaxa ranging from very rare (< 0.1%) to quite abundant (81%). The taphonomic history leading to an ex-situ condensation of these oysters is complex. Both the Gnathichnus and Entobia ichnofacies are represented on the shellgrounds, presumably alternatingly.

"The amber from Totolapa (Chiapas, Mexico) is thought to have been secreted by Hymenea sp. during Early to Middle Miocene time, and then reworked during Pleistocene ash flow events. Most of this amber is preserved within pyroclastic sediments. Peripheral layers of amber pieces from Totolapa yield a wealthy microflora including 1) one morpho-species of filamentous bacterium, 2) a sheathed bacterium Melanothrix mexicana gen. sp. nov., 3) five morpho-species of Actinobacteria (actinomycetes), Scopaeopsis verticillata gen. sp. nov., Thermomonosporopsis chiapasensis sp. nov., and three left in open nomenclature, and 4) diverse fungal mycelia. Melanothrix mexicana, Thermomonosporopsis chiapasensis, Actinobacteria gen. A sp. A and fungi were early colonizers of the fluid bark exudates of resin, and they grew either superficially or centripetally, as observed in modern resinicolous biota."

A coleoid gladius (Mollusca, Cephalopoda), well preserved in a phosphate nodule, is described from the lower Albian of Normandy (France). The lateral parts of the gladius are considered as the remains of a primary conus. This fossil is part of a gladius of modern type. It is thought to be included in an evolutionary trend leading to the Recent genera, of narrowing of the gladius associated with greater streamlining of the body. The coleoid gladii are almost unknown from the Cretaceous. This coleoid gladius from the Albian of Normandy differs from any known Mesozoic gladius, and thus is named Normanoteuthis inopinata, new genus, new species, within the family Plesioteuthidae. [French] Un rostre de coleoide (Mollusque, Cephalopode), bien preserve dans un nodule phosphate de l’Albien inferieur de Normandie (France), est decrit. Les parties laterales du rostre sont considerees comme les restes d’un cone primaire. Ce fossile est une partie d’un rostre de type moderne. Il est interprete comme faisant partie d’une tendance evolutive menant aux genres actuels, avec raccourcissement du rostre et plus grand fuselage du corps. Les rostres de coleoides sont presque inconnus au Cretace. Ce specimen de l’Albien de Normandie differe de tous ceux connus au Mesozoique, et est baptise Normanoteuthis inopinata, nouveau genre et nouvelle espece de la famille des Plesioteuthidae.

Two new species of decapod crustaceans from the Albian of the Paris Basin. Two new species of decapod crustaceans, Glyphea franzini n. sp. (Glypheidae), and Callianassa agae n. sp. (Callianassidae), from the Albian Gault facies of the Paris Basin, are described herein. These two species were previously described and figured by Breton (2010) in the CD-Rom of a popularization collective book entitled Stratotype Albien. Nevertheless, in respect to the article 8.6 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature concerning the works produced after 1999 by a method that does not employ printing on paper, these two names are not available. Indeed, the CD-Rom does not contain a statement that copies have been deposited at least in five major publicly accessible libraries which should be identified by name in the work itself.

International audience; The mid-Cretaceous amber of France contains thousands of protist-like inclusions similar in shape to some ciliates, flagellates and amoebae. The sheer abundance of these inclusions and their size variation within a single amber piece are not concordant with true fossil protists. French amber is coniferous in origin, which generally does not preserve well protists without cell walls. Thus, it would be surprising if French Cretaceous amber had preserved millions of protists. Here, we present a survey of the protist-like inclusions from French amber and attempt to elucidate their origins. Diverse Cretaceous ambers (from Spain, Germany and Lebanon), also derived from conifer resins, contain thousands of protist-like inclusions. In contrast, Tertiary ambers and modern resins are poor in protist-like fossils. This suggests these inclusions originated from early Cretaceous plant resins, probably secreted with the resin by trees that did not survive after the Cretaceous (such as the Cheirolepidiaceae). A review of the recent literature on amber microfossils indicates several protist-like inclusions that are unlikely to have a biological origin have already been described as real fossil protists. This is problematic in that it will bias our understanding of protist evolution.

Panulirus destombesi n. sp. (Crustacea, Decapoda, Palinuridae) from the Albian (Lower Cretaceous) of Wissant (Pas-de-Calais, France). One single decapod palinurid lobster from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) is reported from Wissant (Pas-de-Calais, France). The studied specimen has been ascribed to the infraorder Achelata Scholtz & Richter, 1995, and named Panulirus destombesi n. sp. (Palinuridae Latreille, 1802). It is the first report of the Recent genus Panulirus White, 1847 in the fossil record, enlarging our knowledge of Lower Cretaceous palinurids.

Breton G. 2009. — Description of Priscinachus elongatus n. gen., n. sp., and Priscinachidae n. fam. for the earliest spider crab (Crustacea, Decapoda, Majoidea), from the French Cretaceous (Cenomanian). Geodiversitas 31 (3) : 509-523.

Late Albian amber from Charente-Maritime (southwestern France) contains the first known marine diatoms preserved in a fossil resin. Approximately 70 inclusions were assignable to the genera Basilicostephanus, Coscinodiscus, Hemiaulus, Melosira, Paralia, Skeletonema, Stephanopyxis, Trochosira, ?Aulacoseira, and to the order Rhizosoleniales. Some of them are represented by several species. This diatom assemblage is mainly composed of colonial planktonic genera, which are typical for coastal shallow waters. The newly found amber inclusions extend the fossil record of four genera and one order from the Late Cretaceous and support certain molecular phylogenetic assumptions regarding the diversifi cation of marine diatoms in the Early Cretaceous. The unusual introduction of diatom shells from the beach or sea by wind, spray, or high tide onto the resin fl ows was possible because the amber forest grew close to the seashore.

International audience; Prokaryotes were the first organisms to colonize Earth, but little evidence of their existence has been found in the fossil record. Recent studies of amber, a fossil resin from gymnosperms or angiosperms, have revealed a number of rarely fossilized microorganisms. Several amber-bearing localities of Mid-Cretaceous age in southwestern France (Charentes and Aude regions) led to the discovery of a rich and diverse biota of resin-preserved microorganisms. These amber microcoenoses are dominated by sheathed prokaryotic filaments similar to those of the cyanobacterium Palaeocolteronema cenomanensis Breton and Tostain (2005) and to those of the bacterium Leptotrichites resinatus Schmidt 2005. These sheathed filaments appear as peripheral cortexes around some pieces of amber from the Charentes outcrops and as peripheral dark areas on amber from the Aude locality. Macroscopic and microscopic features, as well as measurements of phycocyanin concentrations from the filaments, made it possible to identify two different taxa. The sheathed filaments from Charentes correspond to P. cenomanensis. They were growing in freshwater ponds when amber trapped them. Those of the Aude outcrop represent L. resinatus. The latter were probably trapped in less humid environments than were P. cenomanensis filaments.

Resume De nouveaux fossiles d’asterides (pieces infero- et superomarginales) ont ete decouverts au cours de la derniere decennie dans le Cenomanien et le Turonien inferieur de Charente-Maritime (SO France). Ce materiel inedit permet premierement, de preciser le statut specifique de taxons imparfaitement identifies en Charentes, tels que Hadranderaster simplex, Cymbaster dolmeni et Pycinaster humilis, precedemment publies comme Hadranderaster sp., ? Nymphaster cf. dolmeni et P. cf. humilis ; deuxiemement, d’identifier la presence dans le Cretace moyen de Charente-Maritime de taxons connus jusqu’a present uniquement en Allemagne et en Europe du Nord, tels que Metopaster thoracifer ; troisiemement, de decrire six nouveaux taxons (Metopaster elongatus, M. medius, Parametopaster villieri, Fredaster guyaderi, Caletaser romani dominae, C. romani romani). Enfin, l’abondant materiel disponible permet d’identifier des intermediaires morphologiques entre la forme cenomanienne Calliderma moreaui et son descendant turonien C. viaudi.

Resume Ce travail compare la bioaccumulation par piegeage des microorganismes dans l’ambre cenomanien d’Ecommoy (Sarthe, France) et l’ambre sparnacien des Corbieres (Aude, France). Dans les deux cas, un feutrage (cyanobacteries ou actinomycetes) est piege a la peripherie du morceau d’ambre. De nombreux autres microorganismes (bacteries, filaments myceliens, protistes, spores…) sont pieges. L’enrobage dans la resine a eu lieu, pour la majorite des inclusions, sous une faible tranche d’eau en milieu dulcicole (Corbieres) ou paralique (Ecommoy).

International audience; The systematic placement and content of the family Mecochiridae are briefly reviewed. Meyeria houdardi(Van Straelen, 1936) (Gault facies, Albian, East of the Paris Basin and Pays de Bray) is revisited anddescribed in detail. Previously unknown rostrum, hepatic furrow, endopleurites, posterior abdominalsomites and caudal fan are described. A ? Meyeria sp. (lowermost Cenomanian, Charente-Maritime) isdescribed. Both species were seemingly burrowers, deposit and suspension feeders and lived on sheltered,quiet, clayey sedimentary bottom, in marine domain.; La position et le contenu systématique de la famille des Mecochiridae sont brièvement revus. Meyeria hou-dardi (Van Straelen, 1936) des argiles de faciès Gault de l’Albien de l’est du bassin de Paris et du Pays de Brayest décrit de manière détaillée. Les structures suivantes, jusque-là inconnues, sont décrites : rostre, sillonhépatique, endopleurites, somites abdominaux postérieurs et éventail caudal. Un ? Meyeria sp. du Céno-manien basal de Charente-Maritime est décrit. Ces deux espèces étaient vraisemblablement fouisseuses,déposivores et suspensivores, et vivaient sur des fonds sédimentaires abrités, calmes, à sédimentationargileuse, en domaine marin.

A new fauna of crustacean decapods has been discovered on the occasion of the digging of two large wells in Kimmeridgian marls and limestones at Bure (Lorraine, France). Among the stratigraphically well repaired identified fossils Thalassinoidea are abundant with the species Etallonia isochela (Woodward, 1876). Other fossils are represented by a Paguridae (Palaeopagurus sp.) and two Erymidae: Eryma cf. babeaui (Etallon, 1861) and E. ventrosa (Von Meyer, 1835) this last one has provided fragments of carapace and fragments of chelipeds. Propodes of E. isochela sometime display remains of coloration patterns that indicate a low oxygen level of depositional and diagenetic environments.

Resume L’ambre cenomanien d’Ecommoy (Sarthe) est etudie pour la premiere fois sous l’angle des inclusions organiques microscopiques. Un feutrage de cyanobacteries Palaeocolteronema cenomanensis gen. nov., sp. nov., retrouve dans des ambres de gisements paraliques de l’Albien terminal de Charente-Maritime, constitue le caractere floristique cardinal de cet ambre. Le reste de la taphocenose comprend des inclusions ovales de toutes tailles, des euglenes, des diatomees, des amibes nues, des bacteries, des algues cf. Siphonales (?), un filament cf. Trentepohlia sp. et des incertae sedis . L’ambre cenomanien d’Ecommoy est un ambre de litiere, forme en milieu terrestre-dulcicole (ou occasionnellement saumâtre), dans un marais en arriere du littoral. Pour citer cet article : G. Breton, F. Tostain, C. R. Palevol 4 (2005) .

The Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus is recorded for the first time in two European localities, Le Havre in France and the former estuary “Oosterschelde” in the Netherlands. While breeding populations occur in the former, only two male specimens were found in the latter. In both places, this alien species was mixed with the common shore crab Carcinus maenas.

International audience; The presence of Mnemiopsis leidyi A. Agassiz, 1865 along the French coasts of the Eastern English Channel and the North Sea (EEC-NS) was established via morphological observation and molecular evidence. The earliest records were from surveys carried out in autumn 2005 in Le Havre harbour (Bay of Seine, EEC) and coincided with the historical introduction of the species in other Northern European waters. Since 2009, the species has also been frequently observed along the French coast of the North Sea. Results indicate M. leidyi has established a self-sustaining population in the Bay of Seine, which may act as a source population for northern European harbours via commercial shipping.

Heterochronic processes are obvious in the most common family of Mesozoic asteroids, the Goniasteridae, whether studied from entire fossils or, as is more frequently the case, from isolated ossicles. When phylogeny is poorly known, comparison between species leads to such unsatisfactory interpretations as ‘A is more paedomorphic than B’ or ‘C, compared with other species, has many peramorphic characters’. When the phylogeny is known, heterochronic trends appear amongst the lineages. The peramorphocline Metopaster parkinsoni - M. loirensis-M. trichilae-M. chilipora-M. hypertelicus is studied here from the Cenomanian to the Upper Campanian of France. Different morphological characters evolved at different speeds. Among each polymorphous population, some morphotypes foreshadowed the next step. Juveniles of one species look like the adults of one of the ascendants. The cline developed irrespective of the substrate, and proceeded together with a migration from the Anglo-Paris Basin to the Aquitanian Basin. Metopaster hunteri, during the Coniacian, and Metopaster meudonensis, during the Upper Campanian, both evolved from Metopaster parkinsoni by neoteny, and provide a good example of reiterated and canalized morphological evolution. Some non-heterochronic canalizations are described.

International audience; L'ambre du Mas d'Azil (Ariège, France), utilisé par les Magdaléniens de la grotte du Mas d'Azil, a étérecueilli dans des niveaux argileux riches en Cupressinoxylon Göppert, de la formation campanienne des Grèsde Labarre, vaste système deltaïque de comblement du sillon sous-pyrénéen. Les morceaux sont de petitetaille et ont une morphologie comparable aux exsudat des troncs de résineux actuels. Les inclusions recenséessont les suivantes. Actinomycètes : Cardonia stellata nov. gen., nov. sp., superficiel et abondant, avec deschaînes de conidies et des aleuriospores isolées ; Nocardiopsis ? sp. D peu abondant ; actinomycète de type" Salignac ", abondant, dont les filaments forment des vrilles, prélude à une fragmentation du mycélium généralisée. Autres bactéries : Leptotrichites resinatus Schmidt (Schmidt et Schäfer, 2005), peu fréquent,plus variable que dans le matériel déjà connu ; cf. Sphaerotilus sp. très abondant, mais distinct du matérielfossile cénomanien décrit comme Sphaerotilus. Eucaryotes : un filament mycélien, un groupe de spores,grains de pollen ou kystes. Inclusions inorganiques : bulles, pseudoprotistes de type B et C ?, petits cristauxtransparents cubiques. Il semble que la majorité des procaryotes recensés soient des résinicoles, ayantcolonisé l'exudat de résine, l'inoculation se faisant soit par contact avec le substrat, soit par dispersionanémophile de spores. Cette " voie taphonomique " semble ici plus généralisée que le piégeage

International audience; The discovery of new amber outcrops in France in the last fifteen years and the reinvestigation of outcrops that had been forgotten provide new sources of palaeontological data. One of these forgotten localities is the Cenomanian outcrop of Fourtou in the Aude department, Southern France. Mentioned in old manuscripts since 1700, perhaps known and used since the Palaeolithic, the Cenomanian amber of Aude is still poorly studied. Here we present a synthesis of the data obtained on this amber, focusing on the outcrop of Fourtou that provided the largest quantity of amber in the area. Systematic and taphonomy of Fourtou amber inclusions are described and discussed in order to propose a hypothesis about the environment in which Cenomanian Fourtou amber was produced.

Afraster scalariformis n.gen. et sp., from the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian) of Angola, southwest Africa, is assigned to the Pedicellasterinae, a subfamily of the Asteriidae. An associated foraminiferal fauna is dominated by planktic species; also present are lagenids that are indicative of a shelf setting. The subfamily Pedicellasterinae is peculiar in that only two rows of podia are present, rather than the four typical of the family. Intimate association ofAfraster with oysters suggests the predatory habits typical of modern asteriids; general arm and disk arrangement also suggest such a behavior.Afraster is the first recorded fossil asteroid from Angola.

Resume Spaan, Sondaar & Hartman (1994) etablissent qu'au sein d'organismes appartenant a une meme lignee, peuventcoexister des structures pionnieres evoluant sur le modele des equilibres ponctues et des structures d'ajustement evoluant de maniere graduelle. Nous decrivons d'autres cas de fonctionnement simultane des deux modeles dans un clade, proposons une breve reflexion sur l'adaptation, la selection et les facteurs internes et concluons sur la grande diversite des causes, des rythmes et des mecanismes de l'evolution qui rendent les phenomenes evolutifs impredictibles.

Wells being dug at Bure, France, in strata of Kimmeridgian age have uncovered a diverse fauna of reptant decapods.

The specific name of the crab Hebertides jurassica Guinot, De Angeli & Garassino, 2007, reflects the belief that the single known specimen is of Jurassic age and hence would represent a very early heterotreme eubrachyuran. The specimen was collected from a quarry at Ranville in Calvados, France, where Bathonian limestones of the Calcaire de Langrune Formation outcrop. However, bryozoans in the matrix of the specimen are of undoubted Cenozoic, probably Miocene, in age. Good preservation of both crab and bryozoans in the same matrix allows the assumption that they are contemporaneous, necessitating re-dating of H. jurassica as probably Miocene in age. It seems likely that the piece of matrix was discarded in the Ranville quarry by a fossil collector who had previously visited a Cenozoic locality elsewhere. Despite the revised dating, the genus Hebertides and species H. jurassica are distinct from related Corystidae and the names can be retained.

Resume Les asterides des Calcaires lithographiques kimmeridgiens de Cerin (Ain) sont rares, mais bein conserves. Trois especes, dont une nouvelle, appartiennent aux familles des Goniasteridae et des Astropectinidae. Elles ne sont connues que de ce seul gisement. L'examen des conditions taphonomiques conduit a penser que les specimens preserves ne sont pas autochtones.

International audience; The crab fauna from the lower Cenomanian of Normandy and Sarthe is rich and diverse. Species rarely observed and two new necrocarcinids are described. Necrocarcinus inornatus sp. nov. is distinguished by its very weakly developed tuberculation, and Paranecrocarcinus pusillus sp. nov. has an ornament that differs from any other species of the genus. A comparison between the lower Cenomanian crab faunas of Pétreval (Normandy) and Wilmington (Devon) shows that the faunas are similar, all species restricted to one of the areas being rare or very rare species. Species from the Cenomanian of Pétreval, in common with those from Devon, show a remarkable agreement in specific characters, and, when an estimation is possible, in intraspecific variability.

International audience; Over the past decade, the mid-Cretaceous amber deposits of Charentes (SW France) have been intensively studied. The fossils investigated were not only limited to arthropods preserved in amber, but also included microorganisms, plant debris and vertebrate remains. This plethora of analyses provided important data about the ecology of the overall system, including sources of litter input into the soil and of the above-ground ecology. More precisely, they showed that most of the microfossils were those of soil organisms or organisms that participated in the ecology of the forest soil. This new discovery provided the opportunity to study the ecology of the soil as preserved in the 100 million years old Charentes amber. Indeed, the trophic links of the fossil forest soil have been reconstructed on the basis of the fossil assemblage discovered in amber outcrops and overlayed on a model ecological forest soil food web. We relied on existing phylogenetic information to discuss the absence of certain taxonomic groups in the fossilized specimens. Our synthesis shows that although the organisms of this ancient forest of Charentes were different from those of modern soils, the soil food web was organized functionally the same as modern soils. It also demonstrated that trophic links of the soil community were already diverse, including various means of predation, parasitism and organic matter decomposition. The most obvious differences are the absence of evidence for symbiotic root nitrogen fixation and mycorrhizae.

Resume Des restes d'Asterides (plaques infero- et superomarginales) ont ete trouves dans les sediments du Cenomanien deCharente-Maritime (Sud-Ouest de la France). Ils appartiennent a 17 taxons, dont la nouvelle espece Calliderma moreaui nov. sp., et correspondent a 5 familles differentes: Goniasteridae, Pycinasteridae, Stauranderasteridae, Sphaerasteridae et Astropectinidae. Leur description est suivie d'une breve analyse de leurs repartitions stratigraphique et paleobiogeographique.

Cenomanian and Turonian depositional patterns of the western Paris Basin are interpreted in terms of sequence stratigraphy. A system tract analysis of the epicontinental “Normandie Basin”, with pelagic chalks, and of the “Maine Platform” covered by clastics, provides evidence for relative changes in coastal onlap; various minor uncomformities are related to these changes of sea level. The four global cycles (UZA or ZC-2.2/2.5) of Haq et al. (1987, 1988) are recognised while an additional one is proposed for the Geslinianum Zone. In addition, periodic rhythmic cycles are commonly registered within the chalk, expressed by the repitition of various facies enhanced both by biosedimentary processes and diagenetic alteration. These elementary climatic cycles allow accurate lithostratigraphic correlations. During this period when the sea level peaked on the tectonically passive border of the Armorican block, the Paris Basin appears to record a detailed set of events which can be correlated with those in the Atlantic, Boreal and Tethyan provinces.

International audience; The investigation of microorganisms preserved in amber from Charente- Maritime (southwestern France) provides new insights into the mid-Cretaceous amber forest ecology. Amber from the localities of Archingeay-Les Nouillers and Cadeuil is unique due to the plethora of microinclusions and macroinclusions as well as the preservation of litter organisms. Soil microorganisms such as actinomycetes, sheathed prokaryotes, carnivorous fungi (Ascomycota), algae, testate amoebae and nematodes indicate that the resin solidifi ed in terrestrial or limnetic- terrestrial microhabitats on the forest fl oor. Furthermore, arboreal and even marine micro organisms are preserved in the amber. This micro-assemblage suggests that the amber forest was located close to the sea shore or was at least temporarily under marine infl uence.

International audience; One of the best ways to obtain data about the ecology of past forests is to study amber fossils. Meso- and macroinclusions in amber have been intensively studied for a long time, however microinclusions have been largely neglected despite their high potential of fossilization in amber. Because of their abundance in recent forest ecosystems, many microorganisms are prone to be trapped in tree resin and thus fossilized in amber. According to their tiny size, from a statistical point of view we should find more microfossils in amber than arthropods. From this observation, investigations of microorganisms in the mid-Cretaceous amber of SW France have been performed. Studies of this material since 1999 already allowed the discovery of a rich arthropod fauna. From first investigations rich microfauna and microflora were also found: they were mainly composed ofcyanobacteria and actinomycetes but also included green algae, protists, nematodes. The most spectacular was the discovery of a rich diatom flora composed of both freshwater and marine taxa. More detailed studies of these inclusions revealed that a non-quantifiable part of these microorganisms was only contaminants and biased our estimation of the microcoenosis of mid-Cretaceous amber forests of SW France. This paper details the different types of amber contamination by modern microorganisms (particularly modern diatoms) highlighted during the study. A simple and accessible decontamination protocol, inexpensive enough to be used routinely in the laboratory, has been developed accordingly. This protocol comprises three main steps: (1) ultrasonic cleaning, (2) oxidation byH2O2 to eliminate organic contaminants, and (3)HFacid attack to dissolve inorganic contaminants such as siliceous skeletons. SEM observations controlled for the efficiency of our protocol. The contamination of samples is one of the most important sources of error in science, particularly in microbiology and paleomicrobiology. Mid-Cretaceous ambers found in Charentes (SW France), due to their outcropping conditions, are excellent tools for the investigation of such phenomenon of sample contamination and showed how this problem could bias paleoecological interpretation from erroneous amber preserved microcoenosis. We suggest that this protocol should be applied as a preliminary step when studying microorganisms embedded in amber to avoid erroneous scientific results.

International audience; Amber usually contains inclusions of terrestrial and rarely limnetic organisms that were embedded in the places were they lived in the amber forests. Therefore, it has been supposed that amber could not have preserved marine organisms. Here we report the first known amber-preserved marine microfossils. Diverse marine diatoms as well as radiolarians, sponge spicules, a foraminifer, and a larval spine of a sea urchin were found in Late Albian and Early Cenomanian amber samples of southwestern France. The highly fossiliferous resin samples solidified ca. 100 million years ago on the floor of coastal mixed forests dominated by conifers. The amber forests of southwestern France grew directly along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and were influenced by the nearby sea: shells and remnants of marine organisms were probably introduced by wind, spray or high tide from the beach or the sea onto the resin flows.

A 50 m2 excavation in arbitrary horizontal layers has revealed dinosaur “nests”; in the Upper Maastrichtian continental deposits (Rognacian) at Rennes‐le‐Château (Aude) containing more than 100 eggs, 98% of which had hatched. These dinosaurs laid their eggs on the ground in herbaceous vegetation: either in clusters of 3–8; or in rows of 3–4, aggregated in circular super‐groups of 1.3 m‐1.7 m radius that contain up to 14 eggs. This mode of egg‐laying, described for the first time, is attributed to Hypselosaurus priscus. The females crouched on their hind legs, feet in the center of the circle, and laid their eggs while turning around. At least three successive episodes of egg‐laying, separated by deposition and erosion, are recorded at this site.