A Lower Cretaceous <i>Lagerstätte</i> from France: a taphonomic overview of the Angeac‐Charente vertebrate assemblage

Terrestrial ecosystems from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe and bonebeds formed in swampy environments are poorly known. The Berriasian-early Valanginian Angeac-Charente site France represents an example both. Nine field campaigns have yielded thousands fossils over a hundred taxa, including 16 taxa vertebrate macroremains with numerous trample crocodile bite marks; 22 abundant microremains; >10 coprolite morphotypes plant inclusions; sauropod stegosaur tracks some preserved ‘4-D’; termite coprolites; mollusc moulds; ostracods plants, coniferous wood, cones, leaves cuticle fragments, charophytes pollen. richness, diversity preservation qualify as fossil-Lagerstätte. ‘snapshot’ into ecosystem. This is supported by REE analyses biogenic apatite sediment samples, being found single stratigraphical interval record sedimentological taphonomic ‘frozen scenes’. bonebed highly diverse, dominated ornithomimosaur taxon, contains both macro- microfossils. indicates complex formation, likely primarily influenced ecological biologic processes, but also significant physical processes. These include crocodyliform predation and/or scavenging on turtles, ornithomimosaurs fishes; probable mass mortality occurrence herd; possible social behaviour stegosaurs; limited hydraulic transport most bones intense dinoturbation.