Amber-bearing Bed in a Shallow Marine Setting, an Example from the Lower Cretaceous Miyako Group, Northeastern Japan.

A previously unknown amber-bearing bed in the Lower Cretaceous Miyako Group, northeastern Japan, was deposited within a sequence that contains abundant marine macrofossils and wave-generated sedimentary structures that suggest deposition in an open shallow marine environment. How the amber was transported from its terrestrial origin to the marine environment is unclear, but sedimentary gravity flow is a strong candidate. Our observations suggest that the occurrence of amber clasts in sediments deposited in open and closed shallow marine environments is not uncommon. Thus, in addition to terrestrial sediments, sediments of marine origin have potential as targets for amber exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]