A preliminary report on new Ediacaran fossils from Iran

Abstract

Vickers-Rich, P., Soleimani, S., Farjandi, F., Zand, M., Linnemann, U., Hofmann, M., Wilson, S., Cas, R. & Rich, T.H. November, 2017. A preliminary report on new Ediacaran fossils from Iran. Alcheringa 42, 231–244. ISSN 0311-5518.

Recent exploratory field mapping of marine sedimentary sequences in the Koushk Mine locality of the Bafq region in Central Iran, and on the northern slopes of the Elborz Mountains south of the Caspian Sea, has yielded large complex body and trace fossils of Neoproterozoic–early Cambrian age. The recovered specimens resemble the previously documented Precambrian discoidal form Persimedusites, and a the tubular morphotype Corumbella, which is a novel occurrence for Iran and otherwise only recorded before from Brazil and the western USA. Additional enigmatic traces can not yet be interpreted unequivocally, but suggest that future work may uncover more unusual Ediacaran fossils from various localities in Central Iran.

Patricia Vickers-Rich* [[email protected], [email protected]], Faculty of Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne (Hawthorn), Victoria 3122, Australia; Sara Soleimani [[email protected]], Palaeontology Department, Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Farnoosh Farjandi [[email protected]], Department of Geochemical Exploration, Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran; Mehdi Zand [[email protected]], Geology Department, Bafq Mining Company, Koushk Mine, Yazd, Iran. Ulf Linnemann [[email protected]], and Mandy Hofmann [[email protected]], Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen, Dresden, Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie, Sektion Geochronologie, Koenigsbruecker Landstrasse 159, D-01109, Dresden, Germany; Sasha Wilson [[email protected]], School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton), Victoria 3800, Australia; Raymond Cas [[email protected]], School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton), Victoria 3800, Australia; Thomas H. Rich† [[email protected]], Museum Victoria, Exhibition Gardens, PO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria, 3001 Australia. *Also affiliated with: School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton), Victoria 3800, Australia; School of Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne (Burwood), Victoria, Australia 3125; Palaeontology Department, Museum Victoria, Carlton Gardens, PO Box 666, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia. †Also affiliated with: School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Melbourne (Clayton), Victoria 3800, Australia; Faculty of Science, Swinburne University of Science and Technology, Melbourne (Hawthorn), Victoria 3122, Australia.

Key words:

• Neoproterozoic
• Yazd region
• Koushk Mine
• Corumbella
• Persimedusites

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here. https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2017.1384061

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the field team (Gh. Abdi, M. Pahlavani, M. Mohseni, A. Rezaei) and the people of Dalir and the Koushk Mine for their hospitality and accommodation. Valiollah Ranjbar (Head of Industry and Trade, Bafq) and the Iranian Embassy (Canberra) provided administrative assistance. Field equipment, logistics and site access were facilitated by the Geological Survey or Iran. PrimeSCI! (Monash University) and Swinburne University of Technology (Melbourne) supported PV-R. Robert Smith and Mary Gilroy (Federation University, Ballarat) prepared the thin-sections. Steve Morton (Monash University) provided superb photography. Doris Seegets-Villiers (University of Melbourne) proofread and formatted the manuscript; Draga Gelt (Monash University) and Sally Rogers-Davidson (Museum Victoria) assisted with figures. Helen Brand (Australian Synchrotron Facility) advised on mineralogy. Soren Jensen and Jim Gehling (South Australian Museum) provided comments and access to collections in the South Australian Museum for comparison. Alex Liu and a second reviewer, as well as Alcheringa Chief Editor Benjamin Kear significantly improved the manuscript. The International Geosciences Program of UNESCO and the Australian IGCP Committee contributed finances for IGCP Project 597, of which this expedition to Iran was a part. We thank the Australian IGCP Committee for their funding support as well as the UNESCO IGCP Board for project IGCP587.