Discerning species among the foraminiferal “Rotalia skourensis” morphotypes of the Middle East

Abstract

In the Upper Cretaceous of the Middle East, rotaliid Foraminifera have conventionally been attributed to Rotalia skourensis Pfender (= Rotorbinella skourensis), a key element of biozones #30 and #31 as commonly recognized in the Iranian Zagros. However, R. skourensis is a Paleocene species and is morphologically distinct from the rotaliid specimens present in the Upper Cretaceous of theMiddle East. Through detailed sampling of the Ilam Formation (Turonian?–Campanian) in the Zagros basin, two new species previously classified as R. skourensis have been described. Rotorbinella pachypila n. sp. andOrbitokathina parva n. sp. contribute to our understanding of the diversity of rotaliids during the Late Cretaceous of the Arabian Plate and highlight biogeographic connections with the western Tethys carbonate platform domains.