Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

1 Geological Building, National Iranian South Oil Company, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

Agha Jari Formation (Miocene-Pliocene, 788 m) comprises alternations of sandstone, siltstone, and marl in red to brown color layers in the east Gotvand, north Khuzestan province, southwest Iran. Numerous vertebrate footprints have been found in the middle part of the Formation, which includes footprints of wetland small bird (Aviadactyla media, Gruipeda dominguensis), artiodactyls (Lamaichnum alfi, Lamaichnum isp., Pecoripeda satyri, Pecoripeda isp.), canids (Canipeda isp.) and large reptiles (Hatcherichnus sanjuanensis). Frequency of artiodactyl imprints are more than the other footprints. These footprints proof the living of camels and crocodiles in the Zagros basin for the first time. The ichnotaxa diversity of the footprints in the studied section is more than the other reports of Agha Jari Formation in Iran and its stratigraphic equivalent in the adjacent countries.

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Main Subjects

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