Charentes Amber (Fouras Peninsula, ~100.5-98 Ma)

Select specimens of Charentes amber, 5.5g in total weight (far right specimen is 2.9g, 20x19x16mm); these are the more attractive specimens of a 45.5g lot, while most are opaque with a light yellow-beige coloration; some have transparent layers alongside translucent and opaque layers, and one specimen has a marcasite inclusion near its center. This material is extremely fragile and low-fractile, crumbling quite easily. Since 2005 the original site on Fouras for this amber has since been developed, and is no longer accessible; what few exposures do remain yield very little material (this is also the case for the nearby Aix Island deposits and the Les Renardières quarry). Araucarians are believed to have been the main source of the resin production, but members of the Podocarpaceae and Cheirolepidiaceae also possibly contributed.