BRACHIOPODS FROM THE LOWER RED FORMATION (LOWER OLIGOCENE) OF THE ISFAHAN PROVINCE CENTRAL IRAN

The study presents the first record of Early Oligocene brachiopods from the Lower Red Formation of the Isfahan Province, Central Iran. The assemblage comprises six brachiopod taxa, belonging to five genera, Novocrania Lee and Brunton, Thecidellina Thomson, Argyrotheca Dall, Joania alvarez, Brunton and Long, and Platidia Costa. Two species are described as new, Thecidellina persica sp. nov. and Argyrotheca ramshehensis sp. nov. The discovery of Thecidellina in Iran is the first confirmed occurrence of this genus in Oligocene deposits, filling the gap between known Eocene and Miocene occurrences. At the species level, the brachiopods investigated here show no affinity to those from the Lower Miocene Qom Formation.