Stratigraphy and palaeoceanography of late Pleistocene molluscs from the northern coast of the Persian Gulf

Abstract

We report an extraordinary discovery of marine Pleistocene strata from the north of the Persian Gulf. The Dayyer section contains a rich molluscan fauna including 26 bivalve species, Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ data showing that the succession is not older than 153 ka (late Pleistocene). These strata are time-equivalents of the Bakhtiari Formation, but have a very different fossil content and facies. Comparing the Dayyer molluscan community to the present-day fauna of the Persian Gulf shows that many fossil species are absent in the recent waters. The palaeoceanographic distribution of the identified bivalves shows the presence of many of them in the Plio-Pleistocene strata of the Mediterranean Basin. This may point to a temporary connection between the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Basin during the late Pleistocene and the extinction of many bivalves in the past 153 ka