Late Devonian (Frasnian–Famennian) palynomorphs from the Padeha and Bahram Formations of Shahzadeh Mohammad section, northwest of Kerman, Iran

Abstract

A diverse and well-preserved microphytoplankton assemblage is reported from a measured section of Frasnian–Famennian (Upper Devonian) Padeha and Bahram Formations in Shahzadeh Mohammad area, northwestern Kerman, southeast Iran. The palynoflora assemblage contains 17 genera and 23 species of acritarchs, chitinozoa, scolecodont and rich miospore taxa. 57 species (25 genera) of miospores were identified and 5 assemblage biozones were defined from the Shahzadeh Mohammad section. The miospore composition is similar to neighboring localities in Southern and Northern Iran, but it shows significant similarities with palynoflora from more distant localities, e.g. Saudi Arabia, Western Australia or Algeria. This implies a close relationship between the Iranian platform and other areas of the Northern Gondwana and southern Laurentia Domain during the late Devonian. The investigated section was deposited in a shallow marine environment with tropical conditions during the Frasnian-Famennian period.