A new Oligocene-lower most Miocene succession from the Gawran Gorge, NE Sagirma Anticline, Qaradagh, Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region, NE Iraq.

The rock units in the Gawran Gorge, Sagirma Mountains (from the High Folded Zone), near the Sulaimaniyah city, in the Kurdistan Region, NE Iraq, were investigated in order to describe and biostratigraphically date the sedimentary succession. Twenty-seven species of larger benthic foraminifera were identified belonging to 16 genera. Several other fossil groups were also recognized, including echinoid, bryozoan, bivalve, gastropods and coral remains. Two biozones were recognized--the Praerhapydionina delicata-Austrotrillina asmariensis/Peneroplis evolutus Assemblage Zone and the P. delicata/Austrotrillina howchini Interval Zone, which indicate a late Oligocene-lowermost Miocene age for the succession. This section was correlated to the surrounding successions having a similar age in the High Folded Zone of Iraq, and to sediments in other countries, so as to indicate the wider distribution of the lithostratigraphic unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]