Larger Benthic Foraminifera from the Paleocene Sediments in the Chehel-Kaman Formation, North-Eastern Iran

Batool Rivandi^1*, Seyed Mohammad Ali Moosavizadeh²

¹Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
²Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/ojg.2015.54020                

Abstract

This study is the micropaleontological investigation of the Chehel-Kaman Formation of Paleocene age from Kopet-Dagh basin, NE of Iran. Thirty three species of diagnostic benthic foraminifers belonging to genera Miscellanea,Operculina, Lockhartia, Rotalia, Akbarina, Pseudocuvillerina, Smoutina,Davisina, Idalina, Valvulina, Laffitteina, and Ranikothalia are recorded based on detailed petrographic analysis. The rocks are entirely shallow marine in rigin with biotic assemblages confirming Chehel-Kaman Limestone of the Paleocene age. The analyses of benthic foraminifers suggest that the deposition of the Paleogene sequence occurs in warm and shallow marine environments. In this paper Ranikothalia sindensis partial zone was reported in association withMiscellanea miscella, M. juliettae and M. yvettae.

Keywords

Chehel-Kaman, Kopet-Dagh, Foraminifera, Paleocene, Ranikothalia sindensis Partial Zone

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Allen, M.B., Vincent, S.J., Alsop, G.I., Ismail-Zadeh, A. and Fleckerd, R. (2003) Late Cenozoic Deformation in the South Caspian Region: Effects of a Rigid Basement Block within a Collision Zone. Tectonophysics, 366, 223-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0040-1951(03)00098-2
[2]	Afshar-Harb, A. (1979) The Stratigraphy Tectonics and Petroleum Geology of the Kopet-Dagh Region, Northeast Iran. Ph.D Thesis, University of London, London, 316.
[3]	Buryakovsky, L.A., Chilinger, G.V. and Aminzadeh, F. (2001) Petroleum Geology of the South Caspian Basin. Gulf Professional Publishing, Houston, 442 p.
[4]	Alavi, M. (1997) Tectonostratigraphy Synthesis and Structural Style of the Alborz Mountain System in Northern Iran. Journal of Geodynamics, 21, 1-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0264-3707(95)00009-7
[5]	Garzanti, E. and Gaetani, M. (2002) Unroofing History of Late Paleozoic Magmatic Arcs within the “Turan Plate” (Tuarkyr, Turkmenistan). Sedimentary Geology, 151, 67-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(01)00231-7
[6]	Kalantari, A. (1987) Biofacies Relationship of the Kopet-Dagh Region: Tehran, National Iranian Oil Company Exploration and Production Group, Tehran, 1 Sheet.
[7]	Mahboubi, A., Moussavi-Harami, R., Lasemi, Y. and Brenner, R.L. (2001) Sequence Stratigraphy and Sea Level History of the Upper Paleocene, Strata in the Kopet-Dagh Basin, Northeastern Iran. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 85, 839-859.
[8]	Dickinson, J.A.D. (1966) Carbonate Identification and Genesis as Revealed by Staining. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 36, 491-505.
[9]	Scheibner, C., Speijer, R.P. and Marzouk, A.M. (2005) Turnover of Larger Foraminiferal during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum and Paleoclimatic Control on the Evolution of Platform Ecosystems. Geology, 33, 493-496. http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/G21237.1
[10]	Scheibner, C. and Speijer, R.P. (2008) Decline of Coral Reefs during Late Paleocene to Early Eocene Global Warming. eEarth, 3, 19-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/ee-3-19-2008
[11]	Orue-Etxebarria, X., Pujalte, V., Bernaola, G., Apellaniz, E., Baceta, J.I., Payros, A., Nu?ez-Betelu, K., Serra-Kiel, J. and Tosquella, J. (2001) Did the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum Affect the Evolution of Larger Foraminifers? Evidence from Calcareous Plankton of the Campo Section (Pyrenees, Spain). Marine Micropaleontology, 41, 45-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0377-8398(00)00052-9
[12]	Seraa-Kiel, J., Hottinger, L., Caus, E., Drobne, K., Ferrandez, C., Jauhri, A.K., et al. (1998) Large Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy of Tethyan Paleocene and Eocene. Bulletin de la Societégéologique de France, 168, 281-299.