Conifer Woods of the Middle Jurassic Hojedk Formation (Kerman Basin) Central Iran

Abstract

This paper documents the first record of permineralised wood from Middle Jurassic coal bearing deposits to the north of Kerman, Iran, deposited c. 170 million years before present. The coniferous woods have character combinations resembling, and thus have been assigned to, the genera Xenoxylon Gothan and Agathoxylon Hartig. Since Xenoxylon is essentially Laurasian and Agathoxylon has been recorded from the Northern Hemisphere during the Mesozoic, these woods help confirm conclusions from recent geological studies that place the Kerman Basin of Iran in southern Laurasia during the Jurassic.