Chapter 1 - Preliminary investigations on the Zard Formation at its type locality (North Khorasan Province, Iran)

Abstract

This chapter presents a revision of the Zard Formation in its type area, i.e., in the North Khorasan Province (Iran), including at its type locality. It comprises a description of the sedimentological and micropaleontological criteria that permit it to be distinguished from the Mozduran Formation (below) and the Tirgan Formation (above). At its type locality, its lower boundary is a heavily bored surface. Actually, both contacts with the framing formations correspond to transgressive surfaces, which imply that this lithostratigraphic unit is an Unconformity-Bounded Unit. With respect to biostratigraphy, this formation contains a few second-order markers: Holosporella sugdeni, Kopetdagaria sphaerica, and Torinosuella peneropliformis, which are also found in the unit above, i.e., in the Tirgan Formation. Because the latter contains markers that first appear in the Barremian: Bakalovaella elitzae, Pseudoactinoporella iranica, and Balkhania balkhanica, but also Montseciella arabica, the total range of which spans the Upper Barremian, the Zard Formation (i.e., the Zardian regional stage) should partly covers the Hauterivian to Barremian interval. Finally, although it cannot be definitely excluded that the lowermost part of the Zard Formation could be Valanginian in age, this option still requires proper documentation.