Foraminifera and their associations of a possibly Rhaetian section of the Nayband Formation in central Iran, northeast of Esfahan

The following paper describes the foraminiferal fauna and associated faunal assemblages of the bedded and reef carbonates of the Upper Triassic (most probably Rhaetian) Nayband Formation, which are exposed in a section south of the small town of Bagher-Abad, northeast of Esfahan. Foraminifers are extremely rare in sponge- or coral-dominated bioconstructions and in the bedded carbonates of the Nayband Formation in central Iran. Some carbonate beds are composed of bioclastic wackstone/packstone. These are exposed in the solenoporacean horizon at the uppermost part of the section. Here, the aulotortid- and trocholinid-type foraminifers are relatively abundant. The following foraminiferal taxa with different abundances were found within the carbonates of the investigated section: Trocholina umbo Frentzen, T. turris Frentzen, T. gracilis Blau, Aulotortus tumidus (Kristan-Tollmann), Aulotortus tenuis (Kristan), Aulotortus friedli (Kristan-Tollmann), Coronipora etrusca (Pirini), Semiinvoluta clari Kristan, Turrispirillina ? licia variabilis Blau, Galeanella ? laticarinata Al-Shaibani, Carter and Zaninetti, Ophthalmidium sp., Agathammina sp., “ Sigmoilina ” schaeferae Zaninetti, Planiinvoluta carinata Leischner, Planiinvoluta sp., Nubecularia sp., Endothyra sp., Paeolituonella sp. and some sessile agglutinated and nodosariid types. All mentioned taxa are very rare, except the involutinid and trocholinid types. The following species are described as new: Trocholina blaui nov. sp., Spirilina ? iranica nov. sp., and Coronipora serraforma nov. sp. Trocholina blaui is usually attached to solenoporacean thalli. Four foraminiferal associations, which are named after the occurrence of the abundant species, were distinguished as Aulotortus tumidus association, Aulotortus friedli association, Trocholina umbo association, and Trocholina blaui association. Aulotortid types and Trocholina umbo were found within the bioclastic wackstone/packstone carbonates. Trocholina blaui is abundant in solenoporacean framestones. The foraminiferal association of investigated carbonates contains a mixed fauna, known from Upper Triassic–Liassic in the Tethyan realm. Carbonates of the whole investigated section are dated—due to occurrence of the genus Aulotortus, with species A . tumidus (Kristan-Tollmann), A. tenuis (Kristan), and A. friedli (Kristan-Tollmann)—as Upper Triassic (most probably Rhaetian). The “typical” foraminifers occurring in the reef biotopes in the northwestern Tethys are e