# Pabdeh Formation

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Geologic formation in Iran

Pabdeh Formation Stratigraphic range: Late Eocene to Early Oligocene, 37.7–28 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Type Formation Unit of Zagros fold and thrust belt Underlies Asmari Formation Overlies Gurpi Formation Lithology Primary Marl, limestone Other Oil shales Location Country Iran

The **Pabdeh Formation** is a [Late Eocene](/source/Eocene) to [Early Oligocene](/source/Rupelian)-aged[1][2] geological formation in [Iran](/source/Iran). It outcrops along the [Zagros Mountains](/source/Zagros_Mountains). It was deposited in a deepwater environment in the upper [bathyal zone](/source/Bathypelagic_zone) of the [Paratethys Sea](/source/Paratethys),[3] with these abyssal sediments being lifted high above sea level from the [uplift](/source/Tectonic_uplift) of the [Zagros fold and thrust belt](/source/Zagros_fold_and_thrust_belt) as part of the [Alpide orogeny](/source/Alpine_orogeny).

A high number of fossil fishes are known from this formation, the majority of which appear to have pelagic and deepwater affinities. These are mostly known from two localities near [Elam](/source/Elam) and [Istehbanat](/source/Istehbanat).[4] The age of these localities have been disputed, and have previously been considered to be Early Oligocene, but are now generally thought to be middle to late Eocene in age, most likely [Priabonian](/source/Priabonian).[5] Some fossils of migratory insects (a locust and ant alates), as well as fish and birds, are also known from presumed early Oligocene-aged strata near [Babaheidar](/source/Babaheydar).[3]

## Paleobiota

### Cartilaginous fishes

Genus Species Notes Images Xiphodolamia X. serrata A xiphodolamiid shark.[6]

### Bony fishes

Based primarily on [Arambourg](/source/Camille_Arambourg) (1967), with taxonomic changes made where necessary:[4]

Genus Species Locality Notes Images Aluvarus A. praeimperialis Elam The larva of a percomorph of uncertain affinities, once thought to be a louvar relative.[7] Arambourgthurus A. scombrurus Istehbanat A surgeonfish. One of the only known surgeonfish to inhabit a pelagic ecosystem.[8] Argyropelecus A. iranicus Babaheidar A marine hatchetfish.[9] A. zagrosensis ?Astronesthes ?A. simus Elam An apparent stareater, taxonomic affinity uncertain. Babelichthys B. olneyi Elam A bizarre crestfish.[10] Berycomorus B. firdoussi Elam A beryciform. Bregmaceros B. filamentosus Elam A codlet. Caucasiganus C. sp. Istehbanat A relative of rabbitfish.[11] Cheilinus C. longifillis Istehbanat A wrasse. Cottopsis C. gaudryi Elam An oceanic basslet.[12] Dussumieria D. elami Elam A rainbow sardine. Eosternoptyx E. discoidalis Elam A deep-sea hatchetfish.[13] Epinnula E. cancellata Elam A snake mackerel. Etrumeus E. hafizi Istehbanat A round herring. Grammatorcynus G. scomberoides Istehbanat, Elam A mackerel. Iraniplectus I. bakhtiari Babaheidar A pufferfish-like tetraodontiform.[14] Maurolicus M. morgani Elam A pearlside. ?Myroconger ?M. rouslami Elam An apparent thin eel, taxonomic affinity uncertain. Opisthonema O. persicum Elam A thread herring. Palaeorhynchus P. altivelis Istehbanat A palaeorhynchid billfish. Palimphyes (=Dipterichthys) P. nematophorus Elam A euzaphlegid.[15] P. leptosomus Paucaichthys P. elamensis Elam A pomfret.[16] Praewoodsia P. mesogeae Elam A bristlemouth. Priacanthopsis P. crassispinus Elam A bigeye. Proserrivomer P. mecquenemi Elam A sawtooth eel. Propteridium P. douvillei Elam A viviparous brotula. Pristigenys P. macropus Istehbanat A bigeye. Protolophotus P. elami Elam A crestfish. ?Psenes ?P. macrolepis Elam A driftfish, taxonomic identity uncertain. Pseudoholocentrum P. cristatum Elam A holocentrid. Rybapina R. orientalis Elam A driftfish.[17][18] Scomber S. saadii Istehbanat A mackerel. Scomberomorus S. speciosus Istehbanat A mackerel. Scopeloides S. glarisianus Elam A bristlemouth. Sphyraena S. longimana Istehbanat A barracuda. Thyrsitoides T. zarathoustrae Elam A relative of the blacksail snake mackerel. ?Urosphen ?U. iranensis Elam A urosphenid syngnathiform.

### Birds

Genus Species Locality Notes Images Diomedeoides (=Frigidafrons) D. babaheydariensis Babaheidar A diomedeoidid seabird.[19]

### Arthropods

#### Crustaceans

Based on Garassino, Bahrami, Yazdi & Vega (2014):[20]

Genus Species Locality Notes Images Eogordonella E. iranianiensis Babaheidar A solenocerid shrimp. Eopabdehus E. babaheydariensis A penaeid shrimp. Parsacus P. eocenicus A slipper lobster.

#### Insecta

Genus Species Locality Notes Images Acrididae indet. Babaheidar A short-horned grasshopper of uncertain affinities, potentially in a migratory locust-like phase.[3] Formicidae indet. A potentially myrmicine ant of uncertain affinities, migratory alates.[3]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Joudaki, M.; Baghbani, D. (2018-09-01). ["Biostratigraphy of Oligocene and Lower Miocene deposits, Anneh Anticline, Folded Zagros, SW of Iran"](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13146-017-0362-5). *Carbonates and Evaporites*. **33** (3): 509–515. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s13146-017-0362-5](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs13146-017-0362-5). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1878-5212](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1878-5212).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Joudaki, Mohamad; Asnavandi, Hamed; Panah, Fatemeh Mahmoodi; Baghbani, Darioush (2020-03-12). ["The regional facies analysis and depositional environments of the Oligocene and Lower Miocene deposits; Zagros Basin, SW of Iran"](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13146-020-00575-8). *Carbonates and Evaporites*. **35** (2): 39. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s13146-020-00575-8](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs13146-020-00575-8). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1878-5212](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1878-5212).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:1_3-3) Mirzaie Ataabadi, Majid; Bahrami, Ali; Yazdi, Mehdi; Nel, André (2019-05-28). ["A locust witness of a trans-oceanic Oligocene migration between Arabia and Iran (Orthoptera: Acrididae)"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2017.1378651). *Historical Biology*. **31** (5): 574–580. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/08912963.2017.1378651](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F08912963.2017.1378651). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0891-2963](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0891-2963).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_4-1) Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (France); naturelle (France), Muséum national d'histoire (1966). [*Notes et mémoires sur le Moyen-Orient*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/281269). Vol. t.8 (1966). Paris: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Bannikov, A. F.; Erebakan, I. G. (2023-10-01). ["On the Evolution of Some Groups of Marine Bony Fishes in the Cenozoic of the Tethys and Paratethys"](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030123050015). *Paleontological Journal*. **57** (5): 475–490. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1134/S0031030123050015](https://doi.org/10.1134%2FS0031030123050015). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1555-6174](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1555-6174).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Adnet, S.; Hosseinzadeh, R.; Antunes, M. T.; Balbino, A. C.; Kozlov, V. A.; Cappetta, H. (2009-10-01). ["Review of the enigmatic Eocene shark genus Xiphodolamia (Chondrichthyes, Lamniformes) and description of a new species recovered from Angola, Iran and Jordan"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1464343X09000752). *Journal of African Earth Sciences*. **55** (3): 197–204. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2009.04.005](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jafrearsci.2009.04.005). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1464-343X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1464-343X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Bannikov, Alexandre F.; Tyler, James C. (1995). ["Phylogenetic Revision of the Fish Families Luvaridae and Kushlukiidae (Acanthuroidei), with a New Genus and Two New Species of Eocene Luvarids"](https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/19149). *Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology* (81): 1–45. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5479/si.00810266.81.1](https://doi.org/10.5479%2Fsi.00810266.81.1). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[10088/19149](https://hdl.handle.net/10088%2F19149).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Carnevale, Giorgio; Tyler, James C. (2018). ["The caudal skeleton of Arambourgthurus scombrurus (Arambourg, 1967), a Paleogene oceanic surgeonfish"](http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.2988/17-00023). *Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington*. **131** (1): 101–110. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2988/17-00023](https://doi.org/10.2988%2F17-00023). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0006-324X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0006-324X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:03_9-0)** Ridolfi, Lorenzo (2025). ["The deep-sea hatchetfish Argyropelecus (Sternoptychidae) in the Eocene of Iran: description and phylogenetic relationships of two new species from the Pabdeh Formation"](https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/29039). *Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia*. **131** (3): 603–629.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:02_10-0)** Davesne, Donald (2017-06-28). ["A fossil unicorn crestfish (Teleostei, Lampridiformes, Lophotidae) from the Eocene of Iran"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5493034). *PeerJ*. **5** e3381. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.7717/peerj.3381](https://doi.org/10.7717%2Fpeerj.3381). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2167-8359](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2167-8359). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [5493034](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5493034). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [28674642](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28674642).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Bannikov, Alexandre F.; Tyler, James C.; Sorbini, Chiara (2010). ["Two new taxa of Eocene rabbitfishes (Perciformes, Siganidae) from the North Caucasus (Russia), with redescription of Acanthopygaeus agassizi (Eastman) from Monte Bolca (Italy) and a phylogenetic analysis of the family"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266087721). *Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona*. **34**: 3–21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Prokofiev, A. M. (2007-09-01). ["The osteology of Bathysphyraenops symplex and the diagnosis of the Howellidae (Perciformes: Percoidei) family"](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0032945207080036). *Journal of Ichthyology*. **47** (8): 566–578. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1134/S0032945207080036](https://doi.org/10.1134%2FS0032945207080036). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1555-6425](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1555-6425).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Afsari, S. (2014). "A new deep-sea hatchetfish (Teleostei: Stomiiformes: Sternoptychidae) from the Eocene of Ilam, Zagros Basin, Iran". *Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana*. **53** (1): 27–37. [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [211198956](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:211198956).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Tyler, J.C.; Mirzaie, M.; Nazemi, A. (2006). New genus and species of basal tetraodontoid puffer fish from the Oligocene of Iran, related to the Zignoichthyidae (Tetraodontiformes). Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona Geologia Paleontologia Preistoria, 30, 49-58

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Monsch, Kenneth A.; Bannikov, Alexandre F. (2011). ["New taxonomic synopses and revision of the scombroid fishes (Scombroidei, Perciformes), including billfishes, from the Cenozoic of territories of the former USSR"](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/earth-and-environmental-science-transactions-of-royal-society-of-edinburgh/article/abs/new-taxonomic-synopses-and-revision-of-the-scombroid-fishes-scombroidei-perciformes-including-billfishes-from-the-cenozoic-of-territories-of-the-former-ussr/37C191646AD6ECED0B473DE94B6971EC). *Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh*. **102** (4): 253–300. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S1755691011010085](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS1755691011010085). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1755-6910](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1755-6910).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Přikryl, Tomáš; Bannikov, Alexandre F. (2014). ["A new species of the Oligocene pomfret fish *Paucaichthys* (Perciformes; Bramidae) from Iran"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262925988_A_new_species_of_the_Oligocene_pomfret_fish_Paucaichthys_Perciformes_Bramidae_from_Iran). *N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Abh*. **272** (3): 325–330.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Bannikov, Alexandre F. (1993). ["FOSSIL STROMATEOID FISHES OF THE FAMILIES NOMEIDAE AND ARIOMMIDAE (PERCIFORMES)"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268211561). *Paleontological Journal*. **27** (4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Bannikov, A. F. (2018-11-01). ["A New Genus and Species of Stromateoid Fishes (Perciformes, Stromateoidei) from the Lower Oligocene of the Northern Caucasus"](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0031030118060035). *Paleontological Journal*. **52** (6): 631–638. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1134/S0031030118060035](https://doi.org/10.1134%2FS0031030118060035). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1555-6174](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1555-6174).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Peters, Dieter Stefan; Hamedani, Ali (2000-05-01). ["Frigidafons babaheydariensis n. sp., ein Sturmvogel aus dem Oligozän des Irans (Aves: Procellariidae)"](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03043661). *Senckenbergiana Lethaea* (in German). **80** (1): 29–37. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/BF03043661](https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF03043661). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0037-2110](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0037-2110).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NJGPA27412_20-0)** Alessandro Garassino; Ali Bahrami; Medhi Yazdi; Francisco J. Vega (2014). "Report on decapod crustaceans from the Eocene of Zagros Basin, Iran". *Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen*. **274** (1): 43–54. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1127/njgpa/2014/0442](https://doi.org/10.1127%2Fnjgpa%2F2014%2F0442).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pabdeh Formation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pabdeh_Formation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pabdeh_Formation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.