Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T09:32:25.460Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Earliest skeletal fossils from Precambrian–Cambrian boundary strata, Elburz Mountains, Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

B. Hamdi ,
M. D. Brasier  and
Jiang Zhiwen
B. Hamdi
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Iran, P.O. Box 13185–1494, Tehran, Iran
M. D. Brasier
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PR, U.K.
Jiang Zhiwen
Affiliation:
Yunnan Institute of Geology, Kunming, Yunnan, China
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The lithological and biotic succession across the late Precambrian to early Cambrian interval is outlined for the Dalir and Valiabad successions of the Elburz Mountains of Iran. The Lower Dolomite Member contains an assemblage of phosphatic tubes and other poorly preserved remains. The succeeding Lower Shale Member bears macroscopic chuariamorphid algae. Early skeletal fossil diversity rises through the Middle Dolomite Member, with the successive appearance of Protohertzina anabarica, Cambrotubulus decurvatus and Anabarites trisulcatus, culminating near the top of the dolomites with the appearance of Purella sp., Maikhanella multa, Tiksitheca licis and circothecids. This succession is compared with lower to upper parts of the Nemakit-Daldyn Formation of Siberia. The overlying Upper Shale Member bears phosphatic beds at its base with allathecids and an uncoiled pelagiellid (?Aldanella sp.) that suggest comparison with lower Tommotian strata and the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary phosphorite event of southern and central Asia. A rich assemblage of molluscs appears high in the Upper Shale Member, including the Latouchella korobkovi group and the Pelagiella lorenzi group. The succession is broadly homotaxial with those from the Siberian Platform and Mongolia and those platforms bordering Gondwana (India, Kazakhstan, South China).

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 126 , Issue 3 , May 1989 , pp. 283 - 289
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aharon, P., Schidlowski, M. & Singh, I. 1987. Chronostratigraphic markers in the end-Precambrian carbon isotope record of the Lesser Himalaya. Nature 327, 699–702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allenbach, P. 1966. Geologie und petrographie des Damavand und seiner Umgebung (Zentral Elburz), Iran. Mitteilungen der Geologischen Instutionen E.T.H., Universitat Zurich, new series 63, 1–114.Google Scholar
Assereto, R. 1963. The Paleozoic formations in Central Elburz (Iran). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 69, 503–43.Google Scholar
Assereto, R. 1966. Geological map of upper Djadjerud and Lar valleys (Central Elburz, Iran), scale 1:50,000, with explanatory notes. Istituto di Geologia dell&università di Milano, series G., Publication no. 232, 86pp.Google Scholar
Bengtson, S. & Fletcher, T. P. 1983. The oldest sequence of skeletal fossils in the Lower Cambrian of southeastern Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 20, 525–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brasier, M. D. 1979. The Cambrian radiation event. In The Origin of Major Invertebrate Groups (ed. House, M. R.), pp. 103–59. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Brasier, M. D. 1980. The Lower Cambrian transgression and glauconite–phosphorite facies in western Europe. Journal of the Geological Society of London 137, 695–703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brasier, M. D. 1982. Sea level changes, facies changes and the late Precambrian–Early Cambrian evolutionary explosion. Precambrian Research 17, 105–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brasier, M. D. (ed.) in press. Stratigraphy of China: The Cambrian System of China. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.Google Scholar
Brasier, M. D. & Magaritz, M.. Submitted Towards an integrated carbon isotope – small shelly fossil stratigraphy for the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary. Abstracts of the 28th International Geological Congress, Washington DCGoogle Scholar
Brasier, M. D., Perejòn, A. & De San José, M. A. 1979. Discovery of an important fossiliferous Precambrian–Cambrian sequence in Spain. Estudios Geologicos 35, 379–83.Google Scholar
Brasier, M. D. & Singh, P. 1987. Microfossils and Precambrian–Cambrian boundary stratigraphy at Maldeota, Lesser Himalaya. Geological Magazine 124, 323–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowie, J. W. 1985. Continuing work on the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary. Episodes 8, 93–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dedual, E. 1967. Zur Geologie des mittleren und unteren Karaj-Tales, Zentral Elburz (Iran). Mitteilungen der Geologischen Instutionen E.T.H., Universitat Zurich, new series 76, 1–123.Google Scholar
Fortey, R. A. & Rushton, A. W. A. 1976. Chelidonocephalus trilobite fauna from the Cambrian of Iran. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Geology) 27, 321–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaessner, M. F. 1984. The Dawn of Animal Life. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hahn, G. & Pflug, H. D. 1980. Ein neuer Medusen-Fund aus dem Jung-Prakambrium von zentral-Iran. Senckenbergiana Lethaea 60, 449–61.Google Scholar
Hasan, M. T. 1986. Proterozoic and Cambrian phosphorites – deposits: Hazara, Pakistan. In Proterozoic and Cambrian Phosphorites (ed. Cook, P. J. & Shergold, J. H.), pp. 190–201. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Huckriede, R., Kursten, M. & Venzlaff, H. 1962. Zur Geologie des Gebeites zwischen Kerman und Sagand (Iran). Beihefte zur Geologie 51, 1–197.Google Scholar
Jiang, Zhiwen 1980. The Meishucun Stage and fauna of the Jinning County, Yunnan. Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Series 1, 2, 75–92 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Khomentovsky, V. V. 1986. The Vendian System of Siberia and a standard stratigraphic scale. Geological Magazine 123, 333–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumar, G., Bhatt, D. K. & Raina, B. K. 1987. Skeletal microfauna of Meishucunian and Qiongzhusian (Precambrian–Cambrian boundary) age from the Ganga Valley, Lesser Himalaya, India. Geological Magazine 124, 167–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kushan, B. 1973. Stratigraphie und trilobitenfauna in der Mila–Formation (Mittlekambrium bis Tremadoc) in Alborz-Gebirge (N-Iran). Palaeontographica A 144, 113–65.Google Scholar
Landing, E. & Brett, C. E. 1982. Lower Cambrian of eastern Massachusetts: microfaunal sequence and the oldest known borings. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs 14, 33.Google Scholar
Luo, Huilin, Jiang, Zhiwen Wu, Xiche, Song, Xueliang& Ouyang, Lin, 1982. The Sinian–Cambrian Boundary in Eastern China. People's Publishing House, Beijing (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Luo, Huilin, Jiang, Zhiwen Wu, Xiche, Song, Xueliang, Ouyang, Lin, Xing, Yusheng, Liu, Guizhi, Zhang, Shishan,& Tao, Yonghe 1984. Sinian–Cambrian boundary stratotype section at Meishucun, Jinning, Yunnan, China. People's Publishing House, Yunnan.Google Scholar
Magaritz, M., Holser, W. T. & Kirshvink, J. L. 1985. Carbon-isotope events across the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary on the Siberian Platform. Nature 320, 258–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, S. P. 1967. Die Geologie des Gebeites Velian-Kechire (Zentral-Elburz, Iran). Mitteilungen der Geologischen Instutionen E.T.H., Universitat Zurich, new series 79, 1–127.Google Scholar
Missarzhevsky, V. V. 1982. Subdivision and correlation of the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary beds using some groups of the oldest skeletal organisms. Byulleten' Moskovskogo Obschestva Ispytatelej Prirody, Otdel Geologiya 57 (5), 52–67 (in Russian).Google Scholar
Missarzhevsky, M. M. & Mambetov, A. J. 1981. Stratigraphy and fauna of Cambrian and Precambrian boundary beds of Maly Karatau. Trudy Akademia Nauk SSSR, Moscow 326 (in Russian), 91 pp.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G. M., Myrow, P. M., Landing, E. & Anderson, M. M. 1987. A candidate stratotype for the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary, Fortune Head, Burin Peninsula, southeastern Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 24, 1277–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rozanov, A. Yu. & Sokolov, B. S. (eds) 1984. Lower Cambrian Stage Subdivision. Stratigraphy. Akademia Nauk SSSR: Iztdatelstvo "Nauka", Moscow (in Russian).Google Scholar
Sepkoski, J. J. Jr 1979. A kinetic model of Phanerozoic taxonomic diversity. II. Early Phanerozoic families and multiple equilibria. Paleobiology 5, 222–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shergold, J. H. & Brasier, M. D. 1986. Biochronology of Proterozoic and Cambrian Phosphorites. In Proterozoic and Cambrian Phosphorites (ed. Cook, P. J.& Shergold, J. H.), pp. 295–326. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Stocklin, J. 1968. Structural history and tectonics of Iran. A review. Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists 52, 1229–58.Google Scholar
Stocklin, J., Ruttner, A. & Nabavi, M. 1964. New data on the Lower Paleozoic and Precambrian of North Iran. Report of the Geological Survey of Iran 1, p. 13.Google Scholar
Voronin, Yu. L., Voronova, L. G., Grigorieva, N. V., Drosdova, N. A., Shegallo, E. A., Zhuravlev, A. Yu., Ragozina, A. L., Rozanov, A. Yu., Sayutina, T. A., Sisoev, V. A. & Fonin, V. D. 1982. The Precambrian/ Cambrian boundary in the Geosynclinal areas (the reference section of Salany-Gol, MPR). Transactions of the Joint Soviet–Mongolian palaeontological expedition no. 18. Moscow: Nauka Izdatelstvo, 150 pp. (in Russian).Google Scholar
Wolfart, R. 1981. Lower Palaeozoic rocks of the Middle East. In Lower Palaeozoic Rocks of the Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa and Antarctica (ed. Holland, C. H.), pp. 5–130. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Xing, Yusheng,, Ding, Qixiu,, Luo, Huilin, He, Tinggui& Wang, Yangeng 1984 a.The Sinian–Cambrian boundary of China. Bulletin of the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 10, 1–154 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Xing, Yusheng, Ding, Qixiu, Luo, Huilin, He, Tinggui,& Wang, Yangeng 1984 b. The Sinian–Cambrian boundary of China and its related problems. Geological Magazine 121, 155–70.Google Scholar
Xing, Yusheng, Duan, Chenghua, Liang, Yuzuo, Cao, Renguan, others 1985. Late Precambrian Palaeontology of China. Geological Memoirs, Series 2, Number 2. Beijing: Geological Publishing House (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Xing, Yusheng & Luo, Huilin. 1984. Precambrian–Cambrian boundary candidate, Meishucun, Jinning, Yunnan, China. Geological Magazine 121, 143–54.Google Scholar
Xu, Dao-Yi, Zhang, Qin-Wen, Sun, Yi-Ying & Yan, Zheng 1985. Three main mass extinctions – significant indicators of major natural divisions of geological history in the Phanerozoic. Modern Geology 9, 1–11Google Scholar