Nautiloids of the Permian-Triassic Khuff Formation, central Saudi Arabia

Nautiloids are described for the first time from the outcrops of the lower part of the Midhnab Member and the lower part of the Khartam Member of the Khuff Formation in central Saudi Arabia. The nautiloids from the lower Midhnab Member, including Tirolonautilus gr. hoernesi, were found at two localities, and are associated with conical shaped cephalopodes (bactritids), bivalves, brachiopods, foraminifers, algae and ostracods. The nautiloids were recovered from the most marine horizon of the Khuff Formation. The nautiloid fauna confirms the Late Permian (Changhsingian) age assigned to the Midhnab Member based on the foraminiferal assemblage. In the lower part of the Khartam Member, a single specimen of Tirolonautilus feltgeni n. sp. is described here. It occurs in association with other cephalopods (bactritids), bivalves, foraminifers, and ostracods. The specimen confirms the Late Permian age (late Changhsingian) assigned to the Lower Khartam Member based on foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages. This marine fauna is located within the latest Permian maximum flooding event of central Saudi Arabia. The Khuff Formation nautiloids are compared to other fauna in the Peri-Tethys, particularly the southern Alps, where similar forms are described. Their similarity confirms a Late Permian marine exchange between the Arabian platform and the Western Tethyan realm.