Permian Corals of Ali-Bashi Mountains, Julfa, Northwest of Iran

To study of Permian corals at the northwest of Iran, Ali-Bashi stratigraphic section was selected and sampled. After microscopic studies of several longitudinal, transverse, and serial sections were obtained from more than 180 coral fossils, 12 species belonging to 6 genera of rogues and tabula corals were determined. The Permian succession of the Julfa area is the dominion of two types of coral fauna. Waagenophyllidae fauna that is the territory of the colonial coral forms comprises typically Tethyan indicators such as Ipciphyllum and Waagenophyllum with the age of Middle?- Late Permian. Cyathaxonia fauna, Late Permian in age, include terminal phylogenetic representatives of the rugose corals, mostly composed of solitary one Pentaphyllum. This genus is persistent till the vicinity of the extinction horizon at the near end Permian in the Ali Bashi Formation topmost horizon. Also, the last standing tabula coral before the Late Permian extinction in the Julfa region is the genus Protomichelinia. The Permian coral fauna of the NW Iran finely corresponds to those of the Abadeh region in Central Iran and Transcaucasus. The Waagenophyllidae forms are the same as South China fauna, whereas the Cyathaxonia ones reveal a high endemism in the Late Permian of NW Iran.