Abstract

Numerous vertebrate footprints have been found in the Konar Takhteh area (north Bushehr, north Persian Gulf) in the Agha Jari Formation. Mammal footprints are attributed to artiodactyls and have been assigned to Pecoripeda gazella. Avian footprints have been assigned to Koreanaornis hamanensis, and Persiavipes gulfi ichnogen. nov. and ichnosp. nov. Koreanaornis hamanensis has small tetradactyl footprints with slender digit imprints. Persiavipes gulfi has tetradactyl, semipalmate footprints, with distinctive, short interdigital webbing in the three anterior digits. Its backward rim is round, and the digit I imprint is well developed. In addition to the Konar Takhteh tracksite, there are other six tracksites in the Persian Gulf area, from Paleogene and Neogene deposits in Iran, Iraq, Oman, and UAE. These footprints have been attributed to large proboscideans, medium to small artiodactyls and very large to small shore birds. The ichnodiversity from northern regions of the Persian Gulf is higher than from the southern parts. In the same way, the ichnodiversity increases from the interior realm of the Arabian Peninsula to Central Iran, because there are no data about Cenozoic vertebrate ichnites in interior parts of Arabian Peninsula. Ichnodiversity in Central Iran, however, includes 24 ichnotaxa, and it may show higher biodiversity in the central Iranian Plateau relative to adjacent areas.