Lithostratigraphy and Microbiostratigraphy of Gadvan and Darian Formations in South Semirom, East of Zagros Basin, South-Central Iran

Abstract

This research focuses on the lithostratigraphy and microbiostratigraphy implications of the Gadvan and Darian Formations in a part of Zagros sedimentary basin. The Gadvan and Darian Formations in the study area with a thickness of 520 meters consist of gray to green marls and shales, dark-grey limestones and Orbitolina limestone with Late Barremian-Aptian age. According to the lithostratigraphic investigations, the Gadvan and Darian Formations in the study area are subdivided into eleven units. The upper boundary of the Darian Formation with the Kazhdomi Formation and the lower boundary of Gadvan Formation with the Fahliyan Formation are in the form of disconformity. Micropaleontological study of the Gadvan and Dariyan Formations has led to the recognition 20 families, 45 genera, 35 species of benthic foraminifera, 2 genera of pelagic foraminifera and 8 genera and species of the calcareous algae. In this research, three biozones have been recognized by distribution of the larger benthic foraminifera in the Gadvan and Dariyan Formations of the South Semirom, including: 1) Palorbitolina lenticularis-Choffatella decipiens Concurrent Range Zone (middle Late Barremian to early Early Aptian); 2) Praeorbitolina cormyi-Orbitolina (Mesorbitolina) lotzei Assemblage Zone (late Early Aptian); 3): Orbitolina (Mesorbitolina) texanae-Orbitolina (Mesorbitolina) parva Assemblage Zone (Middle to Late Aptian). Based on the identified foraminifera, the age of the Gadvan and Darian Formations in the study area is assigned to Late Barremian to Aptian.

Developing Best Practice in Micropalaeontology: Examples From the Mid-Cretaceous of the Zagros Mountains

“…An updated regionally applicable LBF biozonation for the Zagros and Arabian Plate is long-overdue and it is good to see steps underway to rectify this (e.g., Schroeder et al, 2010;Hughes, 2018). The zonations of Ameen and Gharib (2014) (Figure 3) (see also Al-Mamory & Al-Dulaimi, 2020) and Hamedanian et al (2017) are a step in the right direction of establishing regionally applicable zones on the basis of key LBF (especially orbitolinids) in the mid-Cretaceous stratigraphy of the Zagros, although the precise age calibration of some zones requires further research and the identification of the species mentioned is often unsubstantiated because of undiagnostic illustrations.…”