Early eocene amber from the Pesciara di Bolca (Lessini mountains, northern Italy)

The occurrence of amber from the world-famous fossil-lagerstätte of Pesciara di Bolca (Verona province) is here reported for the first time. This amber has been carefully analysed by means of infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTG), and elemental chemical analysis. Then, the amber from Bolca has been compared with other ambers of similar age. Among them, a sample from the Cava Rossi quarry (Monte di Malo, Vicenza province) shows striking similarities in all the physical–chemical characters. The fossil content of the amber levels of the Pesciara and Cava Rossi was examined with respect to the palynomorphs and larger foraminiferans. This permitted to ascertain that the two amber levels are substantially isochronous, within the resolution power of the larger foraminiferan biozones. According to the shallow benthic biozonation, the age is in both cases SBZ 11, or Middle Cuisian (Early Eocene). Moreover, the fossil assemblages allowed to reconstruct the palaeoenvironments, stressing they were in both case on a shallow carbonate platform, relatively close to the shoreline. The Pesciara palaeoenvironment was very close to the continental areas and with peculiar conditions allowing the exceptional preservation of the fishes. Instead, the Cava Rossi palaeoenvironment was more distal and open to marine influxes.