Urgonian Type Microfossils of the Dariyan Formation, from Southwest of Iran (Northeast of Shiraz)

The Lower Cretaceous Carbonate deposits of the Dariyan Formation of the High Zagros Belt are mainly composed of thick to medium bedded limestone. These deposits contain abundant and diversified benthic foraminifera which have been recovered from carbonate rocks. A rich assemblage of microfossils with characteristic: Palorbitolina lenticularis (Blumenbach), Mesorbitolina subconcava (Leymerie), Mesorbitolina texana (Roemer), Mesorbitolina parva (Douglass) Pseudocyclammina hedbergi (Maync), Archalveolina reicheli (de Castro), Praechrysalidina infracretacea Luperto Sinni, Chofatella decipiens (Schlumberger), Debarina hahonerensis (Fourcade, Raoul et Vila), Rumanoculina ponticuli (Neagu), Rumanoloculina pseudominima (Bartenstein et Kovatcheva), Istriloculina cf. elliptica (Iovcheva) indicate paleoenviromental conditions of shallow water carbonate sedimentation and Urgonian type facies. Based on microfossils distribution and biozones identification in study sections, the age of the Dariyan Formation is assigned late Barremian-early Albian. The microfossils assemblages are regarded to be comparable with the Urgonian-type fauna known from the peri-Mediterranean Tethys in the Barremian-Albian time interval.