Stratigraphy and age revision of the Pirispiki Formation, Kurdistan Region, Northern Iraq

Palynomorphs and detrital zircon U-Pb dating have provided important new age constraints for the Pirispiki Formation that crops out in the Northern Thrust Zone, Kurdistan, northern Iraq. Fauna and flora have not been previously been reported from the Pirispiki Formation at outcrop in Iraq. Spores and acritarchs recovered from the Chia Zinnar section during this study indicate a Late Devonian age for the Pirispiki Formation and a continental environment of deposition. This is supported by U-Pb dating of detrital zircon, which indicates that deposition was no earlier than Fammenian/Frasnian in the Chia-Zinnar and Nazdur sections and Givetian in the Ora section.