Cenomanian florule of Nammoura, Lebanon

The mid-Cenomanian fish beds of Nammoura, Mont-Liban district, Lebanon cont ain a diverse fauna of aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates, a few crustacea ns and moderately well-preserved plant remains of which a single species, S apindopsis anhouryi, was previously described by Dilcher & Basson (1990). W e add Il species of ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms of which Nammouria c retacea gen. et sp. nov, Nupharanthus cretacea gen. et sp. nov., Sapindopsi s libanensis sp. nov. and Nammourophyllum altingioides gen. et sp. nov. are new taxa. The florule differs markedly from both Early Cretaceous and Turo nian plant assemblages of the Middle East, thereby representing a distinct stage of the regional floristic evolution. Its phytogeographic affinities a re with contemporaneous floras of North America, Central Europe and the Cri mea. A combination of such features as xeromorphism, the prevalence of comp ound leaves, and the presence of deciduous angiosperm components and gymnos perms may indicate climatic conditions similar to those of the present day Mediterranean. (C) 2000 Academic Press.