A single specimen of conodont is described for the first time from outcrops of the Khuff Formation in central Saudi Arabia. The specimen was recovered from 22 samples that were located in the maximum flooding intervals of the Khuff Formation and specifically processed for conodont research. The sample originated from the maximum flooding interval located at the lower part of the Midhnab Member of the Khuff Formation, at Jabal al Murayrah in the Ad Darma' quadrangle. The conodont occurs in reworked lithoclastic and bioclastic calcarenites, secondary sparitized, as a single broken and corroded specimen, which belongs to the genus Mesogondolella (Jinogondolella) and is tentatively conferred to the species "Jhiogondolella " cf. altaduetisis. The conodont is associated with broken pieces of fauna including bivalves, gastropods, echinoids, brachiopods and bryozoans, as well as foraminifers and dasycladacean algae. This genus is rarely encountered in the open-marine deposits of the Tethyan platforms, where it appeared preferentially in semi-restrictive (saline) basins. A Late Capitanian age is interpreted for some species of the genus Jinogondolella in America (Texas), China and Oman, but this age interpretation is not firmly established for the Midhnab Member of the Khuff Formation. Also due to the reworked nature of the horizon that yielded this condont, the specimen is not considered to be age-indicative

A. Nicora

D. Vaslet

Y.M. Le Nindre

English

A. NICORA

D. VASLET

Y. M. LE NINDRE

AIR Universita degli studi di Milano

First record of Permian conodont from Khuff Fm, Saudi Arabia91, , ,Gulf PetroLink, BahrainFirst record of Permian conodont “Jinogondolella” cf. altaduensisfrom the Midhnab Member, Khuff Formation, Saudi ArabiaAlda Nicora, Denis Vaslet and Yves-Michel Le NindreABSTRACTA single specimen of conodont is described for the first time from outcrops of theKhuff Formation in central Saudi Arabia. The specimen was recovered from 22samples that were located in the maximum flooding intervals of the Khuff Formationand specifically processed for conodont research. The sample originated from themaximum flooding interval located at the lower part of the Midhnab Member of theKhuff Formation, at Jabal al Murayrah in the Ad Darma’ quadrangle. The conodontoccurs in reworked lithoclastic and bioclastic calcarenites, secondary sparitized, as asingle broken and corroded specimen, which belongs to the genus Mesogondolella(Jinogondolella) and is tentatively conferred to the species “Jinogondolella” cf. altaduensis.The conodont is associated with broken pieces of fauna including bivalves, gastropods,echinoids, brachiopods and bryozoans, as well as foraminifers and dasycladaceanalgae. This genus is rarely encountered in the open-marine deposits of the Tethyanplatforms, where it appeared preferentially in semi-restrictive (saline) basins. A LateCapitanian age is interpreted for some species of the genus Jinogondolella in America(Texas), China and Oman, but this age interpretation is not firmly established for theMidhnab Member of the Khuff Formation. Also due to the reworked nature of thehorizon that yielded this condont, the specimen is not considered to be age-indicative.SAMPLE LOCATION AND STRATIGRAPHIC POSITIONDuring the 1980s, while mapping the outcrops of central Saudi Arabia, a total of 36 samples werecollected from a complete section of the Khuff Formation, but none yielded conodont fauna (D. Vaslet,written communication, 2005). This field work was mostly carried out in the Ad Dawadimi quadrangle(Delfour et al., 1982) and the Ad Darma’ quadrangle (Manivit et al., 1985). More recently a second setof 22 samples were taken from the maximum flooding intervals of the Khuff Formation, and alsoprocessed for conodont research. This second effort yielded only one sample (VD 80-16) consisting ofa single broken specimen of conodont. The stratigraphic position of the sample is from the lower partof the Midhnab Member of the Khuff Formation (Vaslet et al., 2005), at the Jabal al Murayrah, Rijm adDahawi section (24°26’50”N, 45°02’48”E) in the Ad Darma’ quadrangle (Figure 1).The conodont occurs in bioclastic and intraclastic wackestone calcarenite, secondary sparitized,including peloids, large intraclasts and bioclasts. Some intraclasts contain small foraminifers. Thebiofacies is quite diverse and cosnsists of hydrozoans, punctuated and unpunctuated brachiopods,prismatic tests of bivalves, dasycladacean algae, echinoderms, and gastropods (Figure 2). Thepaleoenvironment is interpreted as an open-marine internal platform, and is placed within themaximum marine flooding interval of the whole Khuff Formation in the lower part of the MidhnabMember. According to Vaslet et al. (2005), this horizon (MFI PKm) may be correlated to the MFS P40of Sharland et al. (2001, 2004).CONODONT FAUNAThe single broken conodont specimen that was collected from the lower part of the Midhnab Member,belongs to the genus Jinogondolella (Plate 1). The specimen is quite corroded. Because of the (1) low,small cusp, transverse, formed by the fusion of the cusp and adjacent carinal denticle, (2) wide smoothfurrows, and sharp anterior end of the micro-ornament with no clear serrations, (3) wide platformwith fairly sharp anterior narrowing, short blade of moderate height, this species most closelyDownloaded from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/11/3/91/4565227/nicora.pdfby UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO useron 27 July 2020Nicora et al.92resembles “Jinogondolella” cf.altudaensis (Kozur, 1992) of latestCapitanian age (Kozur, 1992;Wardlow, 2000).  The aberranttransverse denticle, typical for J.shannoni (Wardlaw), may occur inrare pathogenic forms ofJinogondolella from J. aserrata to J.altudaensis. One of the latter species,Jinogondolella aserrata wasdiscovered in the Guadalupian partof the Khuff Formation in Oman(Angiolini et al., 1998).Stratigraphic position: The latestCapitanian (late Guadalupian) agegiven by the “Jinogondolella” genus(Kozur, 1992; Mei and Wardlaw,1994; Wardlaw, 2000) and the speciesdescribed in Oman (Angiolini et al.,1998) is subject to caution for thelower Midhnab Member of theKhuff Formation in central SaudiArabia, for several reasons:(1) The biofacies encountered inthis horizon appears to behighly reworked, smallforaminifers having beendescribed in the lithoclasts fromthin sections.(2) The stratigraphic position of thelower Midhnab Member occursat least three depositional cyclesabove the Ash Shiqqah Memberof the Khuff Formation. The AshShiqqah Member is correlated tothe Khuff-D Anhydrite in SaudiArabia (Vaslet et al., 2005), theMiddle Anhydrite of the KhuffFormation in Oman (Al-Husseini and Matthews, 2005;Osterloff et al., 2004) and the theNar Member in the Zagros inIran (Insalaco et al., 2006). Theage of the evaporitic unit isinterpreted as late Midian Stageby fusilinids (Insalaco et al.,2006).Figure 1: Location map of the Rijmad Dahawi section in JabalMurayrah of the Ad Darma’quadrangle, central Saudi Arabia(modified after Vaslet et al., 2005).3-421RijmAdDahawi532654Al Quway'iyahJabal SufahAsh Shiqqah(Unayzah)Member24 20' N24 26' N 24 07' NKhuff Formation outcrop, Saudi ArabiaDARMA'QUADRANGLE33211Duhaysan Mbr4North SouthSudairFormation1-2KhartamMemberMidhnabMemberHuqaylMember4425242322 22442423NBuraydah quadAd Dawadimi quadrangleWadi Al MulayhquadDarma'quad100km04526254745Wadi Ar Raynquad Al Faydah quad26Al HuwwahAl Quway'iyahJabal SufahSajirMidhnabArabianShieldUrayq Al MunsaraqahWadi Al Mulayh Ayn Al UwayjaJabal Umm Mus'hamJabal Umm SulaymAyn Al MinjurSafra As Sark Al FaydahUnayzah Jal KhartamBuraydah At Tarafiyah46Wadi Ar RaynJabal DuhaysanKhuff (Wadi Maghib)CentralArabian ArchRiyadhPre-Khuff Unconformity (PKU)DS PKhDS PKmDS TrSDS PKkSampleVD80-16(Figure 2)Rijm Ad DahawiDownloaded from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/11/3/91/4565227/nicora.pdfby UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO useron 27 July 2020First record of Permian conodont from Khuff Fm, Saudi Arabia93Based on small foraminifers and regional considerations, a Late Permian (Changsinghian) age wasproposed for the Midhnab Member (Vaslet et al., 2005; Vachard et al., 2005; Insalaco et al., 2006).However, the age of the conodont specimen appears to be late Capitanian. Moreover, ongoing Sr-isotope analysis on Midhnab brachiopod shells (L. Angiolini, personal communication, 2006) indicatesthat this member is late Capitanian or early Wuchiapingian. It is therefore possible that the Midhnabforaminifers (Vachard et al., 2005), which are dated as Dzhulfian-Dorashamian in age, may in fact belate Capitanian as this latter age correlates to the early Dzhulfian.Figure 2: Detailed section of the Duhaysan Member and the lower part of the Midhnab Memberin  the Rijm ad Dahawi section (Jabal Murayrah). This section shows the location of the sampleVD 80-16 in bioclastic and intraclastic calcarenites at the lower part of the Midhnab Member ofthe Khuff Formation.Sponge spiculeConodontForaminiferBryozoanBrachiopodGastropodBivalveEchinodermBactritidDagycladaceau algaeDolarenite, calcareniteDolomite, limestoneSparitized dolomite, limestoneClayey dolomite, limestoneLower part ofMidhnab MemberDuhaysan Member(5.5 m)Upper part ofHuqaylMemberYellowish clayey limestonePlaty bluish to yellowish clayey limestonesYellowish clayey limestoneBioclastic and intraclastic sparitized calcarenitesBluish pelloidal bioclastic dolomiteBluish clayey dolomiteBluish pelloidal and bioclastic dolarenitesTextureMudstoneWackestone/PackstoneGypsiferous clayey dolomiteErosional boundaryErosional boundarySample VD80-161 mDownloaded from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/11/3/91/4565227/nicora.pdfby UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO useron 27 July 2020Nicora et al.94The discovery of the first specimen of condont in the Khuff Formation of central Saudi Arabia providesa clue to the biofacies characterization of this Late Permian south Tethyan platform. Its stratigraphicposition within the maximum flooding interval, although highly reworked, of the Khuff Formationis encouraging for looking for more conodont fauna, and possibly establishing a conodont stratigraphicscale for the late Middle and Late Permian of the Arabia Peninsula in the future.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis study is based on geological field data and samples acquired and collected in the 1980s and in2002. The authors wish to express their thanks to L. Angiolini for her help in improving the manuscriptand to GeoArabia for assisting with the editing and design of the manuscript.200 μm(c)(a) (d)(b)200 μm100 μm200 μm(e)200 μmPlate 1Plate 1: Conodont specimen from the Midhnab Member of the Khuff Formation.1.a: “Jinogondolella” altudaensis (Kozur, 1992), lateral view, sample VD 80-16.1.b: “Jinogondolella” altudaensis (Kozur, 1992), upper view, sample VD 80-16.1.c: “Jinogondolella” altudaensis (Kozur, 1992), lower view, sample VD 80-16.1.d: “Jinogondolella” altudaensis (Kozur, 1992), magnification of the posterior end, sample VD 80-16.1.e: “Jinogondolella” altudaensis (Kozur, 1992), oblique/lower view, sample VD 80-16.Downloaded from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/11/3/91/4565227/nicora.pdfby UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO useron 27 July 2020First record of Permian conodont from Khuff Fm, Saudi Arabia95REFERENCESAl-Husseini, M.I. and R.K Matthews, 2005. Tectono-Stratigraphic Note: time calibration of lateCarboniferous, Permian and Early Triassic Arabian stratigraphy to orbital-forcing predictions.GeoArabia, v. 10, no. 2, p 189-192.Angiolini, L., A. Nicora, J. Roger, J. Broutin, J.A. Baud, H. Bucher, J. Marcoux, J.-P. Platel, D. Vachardand H. Al Hashmi 1998. Permian brachiopods from the Khuff Formation (southeastern Oman).Rivista Italiana di Paleontologica e Statigrafica, v. 104, p. 329-340.Delfour, J., R. Dhellemmes, P. Elsass, D. Vaslet, J.M. Brosse, Y.-M. Le Nindre and O. Dottin 1982.Geologic map of the Ad Dawadimi quadrangle, sheet 24G, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (withexplanatory notes). Saudi Arabian Deputy Ministry for Mineral Resources, Geoscience Map GM60,Scale 1:250,000.Insalaco, E., A. Virgone, B. Courme, J. Gaillot, M. Kamali, A. Moallemi, M. Lotfpour and S. Monibi2006. Upper Dalan Member and Kangan Formation between the Zagros Mountains and offshoreFars, Iran: depositional system, biostratigraphy and stratigraphic architecture. GeoArabia, v. 11,no. 2, p. 75-176.Kozur H. 1992. Dzhulfian and Early Changxingian (Late Permian) Tethyan Conodonts from the GlassMountains, West Texas. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie und  Paläontologie,Abhandlungen, v. 187, p. 99-114.Manivit, J., C. Pellaton, D. Vaslet, Y.-M. Le Nindre, J.M. Brosse, J.P. Breton and J. Fourniguet 1985b.Geologic map of the Darma quadrangle, sheet 24H, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (with explanatorynotes). Saudi Arabian Deputy Ministry for Mineral Resources, Geoscience Map, GM101, Scale1:250,000.Mei, S. and B.R. Wardlaw 1994. Jinogondolella: a new Genus of Permian gondolellids. Abstract,International Symposium on Permian Stratigraphy, Environments and Resources, withInternational Meetings of Pangea Project GSGP, IGCP 306 and 359, p. 20-21.Osterloff, P.L., A. Al-Harthy, R. Penney, P. Spaak, F. Al-Zadjali, N.S. Jones, R.W.O.B Knox, M.H.Stephenson, G. Oliver and M.I. Al-Husseini 2004b. Depositional sequence of the Gharif and Khuffformations, subsurface Interior Oman. GeoArabia Special Publication 3, Gulf PetroLink, Bahrain,p. 83-147.Sharland, R., R. Archer, D.M. Casey, R.B. Davies, S.H. Hall, A.P. Heward, A.D. Horbury and M.D.Simmons 2001. Arabian Plate Sequence Stratigraphy. GeoArabia Special Publication 2, 371 p.Sharland, P.R., D.M. Casey, R.B. Davies, M.D. Simmons and O.E. Sutcliffe 2004. Arabian Plate SequenceStratigraphy. GeoArabia, v. 9, no. 1, p. 199-214.Vachard, D., J. Gaillot, D. Vaslet and Y.-M. Le Nindre 2005. Foraminifers and algae from the KhuffFormation (late Middle Permian-Early Triassic) of central Saudi Arabia. GeoArabia, v. 10, no. 4,p. 137-186.Vaslet, D., Y.-M. Le Nindre, D. Vachard, J. Broutin, S. Crasquin-Soleau, M. Berthelin, J. Gaillot, M.Halawani and M. Al-Husseini 2005. The Permian-Triassic Khuff Formation of central Saudi Arabia.GeoArabia, v. 10, no. 2, p. 77-134.Wardlaw, B.R. 2000. Guadalupian Conodont Biostratigraphy of the Glass and Del Norte Mountains.The Guadalupian Symposium, Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Science, v. 32, p.37-87.ABOUT THE AUTHORSAlda Nicora is a Professor with the Department of Earth Science at the Universityof Milano since 1983. She has studied various aspects of stratigraphy andmicropalaeontology, chiefly concerning conodont and foraminifer taxonomy andbiostratigraphy. Alda teaches Geography and Stratigraphy for Natural Sciences atthe University and is a member of several international working groups onconodonts. In recent years, she has focused on taxonomic and biostratigraphic studiescarried out on conodonts of Permian and Triassic age sampled in successions fromNorthern Italy, Greece, Turkey, Oman, Himalaya (India and Nepal), Karakorum(Pakistan) and Nevada.         alda.nicora@unimi.itDownloaded from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/11/3/91/4565227/nicora.pdfby UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO useron 27 July 2020Nicora et al.96Denis Vaslet is Head of the Geology and Geoinformation Division at the Bureau deRecherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM), the French Geological Survey. He has 30years of experience in the geology of the Middle East. From 1977 to 1979 Denis wasinvolved in geological mapping and phosphate prospecting in Iran for the GeologicalSurvey of Iran and the National Iranian Oil Company. From 1979 to 1991, he wasresponsible for the Cover Rocks mapping program in Saudi Arabia for the Saudi ArabianDeputy Ministry for Mineral Resources. Denis has been involved in the completelithostratigraphic revision of the Phanerozoic rocks of central Saudi Arabia, for which hereceived his Doctorate of Sciences from the University of Paris in 1987. He is currentlyin charge of geological and geophysical mapping both in France and overseas, and for theproduction and distribution of digital geological information at BRGM. Denis remains involved in severalresearch projects in the sedimentary geology and stratigraphy fields within the Arabian Peninsula.     d.vaslet@brgm.frYves-Michel Le Nindre has more than 10 years of experience in the geological mappingof the Phanerozoic rocks of Saudi Arabia. He received his Doctorate of Sciences from theUniversity of Paris in 1987. Yves-Michel's dissertation was on the sedimentation andgeodynamics of Central Arabia from the Permian to the Cretaceous. He is currentlyworking with the Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières on sedimentary basinanalysis and modelling, particularly in hydrogeology, and is also involved in present-day littoral modelling.    ym.lenindre@brgm.frManuscript received March 16, 2005Revised April 27, 2005Accepted March 1, 2006Press version proofread by authors March 13, 2006Downloaded from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/11/3/91/4565227/nicora.pdfby UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO useron 27 July 2020

First record of Permian conodont "Jinogondolella" cf. altaduensis from the Midhnab Member, Khuff Formation, Saudi Arabia

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First record of Permian conodont "Jinogondolella" cf. altaduensis from the Midhnab Member, Khuff Formation, Saudi Arabia

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