Plant Macrofossils of the Hojedk Formation and Paleoenvironment Analysis in Sarapardeh Stratigraphic Section, North Kerman (Central Iran)

The coal seams of the Hojedk Formation have appropriate thicknesses, but the exact age of their permeable beds in the Sarapardeh stratigraphic section is indeterminate. In this study, we use the main plant groupschr('39') fossils of these beds to precise age dating. This study led to identifying 18 species belonging to 13 genera and 7 orders of plant fossils. In Sarapardeh section, coal beds include d0, d2, d3, d4, d5, d8, d9, d12. Phlebopteris angustiloba is the most abundant and well-preserved species associated with the d2 coal seam, which is the main industrial coal bed and is very thick in this section. This species is introduced from Iran with the new Middle Jurassic age for the first time. According to the index species Klukia exilis, Eboracia lobifolia, Nilssonia friziensis, Bajoician-Bathonian age is suggested for coal layers d3, d5, and d8. The floral gradient score (59) in the Sarapardeh stratigraphic section is comparable to the Kalshaneh area of Tabas (58.5), which indicates a humid and subtropical climate.