Stratigraphic importance and migration trend of Miscellaneidae family in the Paleogene of Tethys basin, Sistan suture zone

Large benthic foraminifera (LBF) are important fossils with large tests and complex internal structures. In biostratigraphic studies of Paleogene large benthic foraminiferas from Alveolina, Assilina (Hottinger 1960; Drobne 1977), and Nummulites (Schaub 1981) are used for introduction of 20 shallow benthic zones in the western Tethys (Serra-Kiel et al. 1998). Large benthic foraminiferas in the eastern and western Tethys similarly described but are different with regard to taxonomy (Hottinger 1971). The Paleocene of western Neo-Tethys are dominated with coralgal reefs (e.g. Accordi et al. 1998; Turnsek and Drobne 1998; Baceta et al. 2005; Scheibner et al. 2007) although in the eastern Neo-Tethys, the large benthic foraminiferas are dominated (Wan et al. 2002; Afzal et al. 2009, 2011; Zhang et al. 2013). Based on high biodiversity of Lockhartia in the Paleocene of Ronikot Formation in India, eastern Neo-Tethys ocean is named Ranikothalia Sea (Davies 1937) or Lockhartia Sea (Hottinger 1998) that occupied southern Turkey in the west to the Tibet and Pakistan in the east and Egypt in the south (Hottinger 2007, 2014). Another important aspect of large benthic foraminifera biodiversity is that the Lockhartia genus has a distinct chronostratigraphic position in the Paleocene resemble that Alveolina, Assilina, and Nummulites in the Eocene. For example, Lockhartia retiata Sander 1962 and Lockhartia praeheimi Smout 1954 are accepted as index fossils of the shallow benthic zone 3. The objectives of this study are the determination of stratigraphic importance and migration trend of Miscellaniedae family across the Tethys ocean in the late Paleocene–early Eocene time.

For LBFs biostratigraphic investigations of the Hormak section, in field studies, 100 rock specimens are collected and 350 thin sections are prepared from them for the study of different genus and species of Miscellaniedae family. The systematic determination of this group of large benthic foraminiferas is, in the level of genus and species, are done by using a binocular microscope and then based on identified LBFs, the age of the Hormak section is suggested.

In the eastern Neo-Tethys, SBZ3 and SBZ4 are identified with increasing generic diversity and reflect the time in which LBF have experienced the new morphology (Hottinger 2001; Scheibner and Speijer 2008). In India basin (eastern Neo-Tethys) the mentioned biozones are initiated with the appearance of new taxonomic trends such as Rothalids (Kathina and Lockhartia), Miliolids (Triloculina and Quinqueloculina) Pellatispirids (Miscellanea), Alveolinids (Glomalvelina), Coskinolinids (Coskinon), Spirocyclinids (Saudia), Dictyoconids (Fallotella, Dictyoconus), Nummulitids (Ranikothalia, Assilina, and Operculina) and Lepidorbitoids (Daviesina, Orbithosiphon, and Setia) (Afzal et al. 2009) that are correlatable with a faunistic scheme in the other part of the Tethys (Hottinger 1997, 1998; Jauhri 1998; Serra-Kiel et al. 1998; Jauhri and Agarwal 2001; Jauhri et al. 2006; Green et al. 2008; Scheibner and Speijer 2008, 2009; Zamagni et al. 2008; Mathur et al. 2009; Tewari et al. 2010). Studies of different genera of Miscellaneidae in the thin sections and isolated forms led to the identification of Miscellanea miscella, Miscellanea juliettae, Miscellanites primitivus, Miscellanits minutus that accompanied with other fossils are suggested the late Paleocene–early Eocene age. In the Hormak section, SBZ3 and SBZ4 biozones are identified with Kathina, Triloculina, Idalina, Quinqueloculina, Miscellanea, glomalveolina, Ranikothalia, and Discocyclina that in respect to abundance and diversity, correlatable with eastern Neo-Tethys foraminiferal assemblage (Afzal et al. 2009).