Plant fossil remains the Kalariz formation in the East Yurt mine, Azadshahr and its correlation with other florizones in Iran and the world

The East Yurt mine, SE Azadshahr, Golestan Province contains well preserved plant macrofossils containing nineteen species allocated to thirteen genera of various orders viz., Equisetales, Filicales, Cycadales, Bennettitales, Ginkgoales, and Coniferales. The plant macrofossils in this area are studied for the first time. Based on the occurrence of Pterophyllum bavieri, Pterophyllum nathorsti, and Baiera muensteriana a Rhaetian age is suggested for this assemblage. Since, there was no differentiation between formations in geological map, these flora confirms spreading of the Kalariz Formation in this area. The East Yurt mine flora is correlated to the plant macrofossil assemblages of Minoodasht, Narges-Chal, Zirab, Tazareh, Ashtar, Abiek, and Jajarm (Alborz Mountains), Ghadir Member of the Nayband Formation in the Parvadeh mines (Tabas Block), and Darbid-Khun (Kerman Basin). Moreover, this assemblage evidenced in Europe (Germany, Austria, Sweden, Greenland, France, Denmark), China, Turkistan, and the Central Asia. Therefore, there were close floristic relationships between North and Central-East Iran (Kerman Basin and Tabas Block) and these area were palaeogeographically closely related, probably forming a uniform paleoenvironment and palaeoclimate during the Late Triassic. Furthermore, Iran was located at the Middle Asia Province among the Euro-Sinian Region of Vakhrameev climatic belt subdivisions and the South-western Region of Dubroskina’s subdivisions during this time.