Abstract
Four sections of mainly Middle Devonian (Givetian) shallow-marine rocks at the northern margin of Gondwana (Central Iran) were investigated with a special focus on the Bahram Formation, as the stratigraphic range of the Bahram Formation is uncertain and still under discussion. Generally, the Bahram Formation is discontinuously underlain by the Lower Devonian Padeha Formation and disconformably overlain by the Permian Jamal Formation. Conodont communities from the four sections in the Soh area (Najhaf and Neqeleh sections) and the Natanz area (Varcamar and North Tar sections) were investigated. The most widely applied conodont standard zonation of the Upper Givetian contain taxa characteristic of deeper shelf facies whereas conodont fauna of the investigated sections mainly show affinities to shallow-marine environments. Shallow-water conodont associations corresponding to the expansus Zone and subterminus Zone are described from Central Iran for the first time, whereas the vast majority of icriodontid and polygnathid faunas were reported from shallow-marine carbonates around Laurussia (e.g. North America, and Europe). Thirty-six species and subspecies were assigned to five genera (Ancyrodella, Bipennatus, Icriodus, Polygnathus and Pandorinellina). The sedimentological record is characterised by remarkable lateral facies changes, but in the upper part of the Givetian, a general transgressive trend is obvious due to the dominance of limestones and small biostromes.
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Acknowledgements
This study was undertaken at the University of Isfahan in cooperation with the Department of Paleontology, Stratigraphy and Sedimentology, Geological Institute, Sofia and the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Frankfurt. The first author (A.B..) acknowledges Project 910713 ''North Tar section'', conducted by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology, University of Isfahan, for financial support. The authors are also grateful to the University of Isfahan for financial and technical support. We would also like to thank K. Narkiewicz (Warsaw) and Jose Ignacio Valenzuela Rios (Burjassot) for their critical and helpful comments which improved the paper. Finally, we would like to thank S. Carmichael (Appalachian State University, Boone, NC) for linguistic support. Funding for the German author was provided by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG grant Ko 1622/16-1).
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Bahrami, A., Königshof, P., Boncheva, I. et al. Middle Devonian (Givetian) conodonts from the northern margin of Gondwana (Soh and Natanz regions, north-west Isfahan, Central Iran): biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental implications. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 95, 555–577 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-015-0205-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-015-0205-0