LATE DEVONIAN CONODONTS FROM THE HOJEDK SECTION, KERMAN PROVINCE, SOUTHEASTERN IRAN

Conodonts (34 species and subspecies) from the Hojedk section north of Kerman span the late Givetian to early Famennian. The new data suggest that Devonian biostromes in central and eastern Iran were deposited on differing levels, and that the currently accepted ranges of Icriodus excavatus, Polygnathus subincompletus and P. mosquensis are late Givetian - late Frasnian, early to late Frasnian, and middle to late Frasnian. Polygnathus ashourii n. sp. is proposed.

FAMENNIAN CONODONTS FROM KAL-E-SARDAR SECTION, EASTERN TABAS, CENTRAL IRAN

Sixty-three conodont species and subspecies from the Kal-e-Sardar section indicate that the strata span early to late Famennian. Contrary to most of the sections measured in the Shishtu Formation, the icriodid-polygnathid biofacies is restricted to the lower part of Kal-e-Sardar Famennian succession. Palmatolepid and bispathodid-dominated  biofacies in the middle and upper part of section represent a deep shelf to mid-continental slope marine environment. The currently accepted ranges of P. tichonovitchi, P. tenellus and P. inconcinnus are early Famennian, late Frasnian-early Famennian, and early to middle Famennian, respectively, together with middle to late Famennian for P. nodoundatus. Two new species, Polygnathus sardarensis and P. yazdii, are proposed.

Miocene Argonautidae (Octopoda) from the Persian Gulf area and their palaeogeographic distribution

Cephalopod specimens assigned to the Argonautidae (Obinautilus pulchra Kobayashi, 1954 and an unknown taxon) from two localities of the Mishan Formation in Gohreh and Khorgu sections, Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, are reported for the first time from the Persian Gulf area. The co-existing foraminifera confirm the middle Miocene age of the strata. Based on micropalaeontological data, the previous Oligocene age of Obinautilus pulchra is extended to the middle Miocene. The palaeobiogeographic distribution of the reported Argonautidae shows that the presence of these faunas is limited to the West Pacific, Indo-Pacific and the East Pacific. The present-day distribution of the Argonautidae is similar to the ancient one and seems to be inherited from their ancestors

Stratigraphy and palaeoceanography of late Pleistocene molluscs from the northern coast of the Persian Gulf

We report an extraordinary discovery of marine Pleistocene strata from the north of the Persian Gulf. The Dayyer section contains a rich molluscan fauna including 26 bivalve species, Sr87/Sr86 data showing that the succession is not older than 153 ka (late Pleistocene). These strata are time-equivalents of the Bakhtiari Formation, but have a very different fossil content and facies. Comparing the Dayyer molluscan community to the present-day fauna of the Persian Gulf shows that many fossil species are absent in the recent waters. The palaeoceanographic distribution of the identified bivalves shows the presence of many of them in the Plio-Pleistocene strata of the Mediterranean Basin. This may point to a temporary connection between the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Basin during the late Pleistocene and the extinction of many bivalves in the past 153 k

UPPER DEVONIAN CONODONT BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF SHAMS ABAD SECTION, KERMAN PROVINCE, IRAN

The study of the conodont fauna from the Upper Devonian Shams Abad section provides new data on the stratigraphy of the Bahram Formation in the Kerman province, in southeastern Iran. The fauna includes twenty-four species, mainly belonging to genera Polygnathus and Icriodus, and gives evidence of a late Frasnian to middle Famennian age, in contrast to previous interpretation of the same unit. The shallow water conodont biofacies confirms an inner shelf to foreshore shallow marine depositional environment.

GIVETIAN–FRASNIAN BOUNDARY CONODONTS FROM KERMAN PROVINCE, CENTRAL IRAN

The Middle - Late Devonian boundary is investigated based on twenty-two conodont species and subspecies from three sections in the north and west of Kerman, southeastern central Iran. Upper Givetian - lower Frasnian carbonates of the basal part of the Bahram Formation transgressively overlie the sandstone beds of the top of (?) Early - Middle Devonian Padeha Formation. These massive skeletal limestones encompass the G-F boundary. The base of Frasnian is identified by the appearance of early forms of Ancyrodella rotundiloba . It helps to compare our biozones to those of global stratotype in southern France. A new species, Polygnathus hojedki n. sp. is described here. New range is suggested for P. praepolitus 

A new species of Galene de Haan, 1833 (Galenidae: Brachyura) from the middle Miocene of Zagros Mountains, Iran

Khosravi, Erfan, Sari, Alireza, Mirziee-Ataabadi, Majid, Gholamalian, Hossein, Hyžný, Matúš (2022): A new species of Galene de Haan, 1833 (Galenidae: Brachyura) from the middle Miocene of Zagros Mountains, Iran. Zootaxa 5124 (2): 139-154, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5124.2.