Abstract

Eight rock samples from Well Tel‑Hajar No. 1 (Sinjar area, northwestern Iraq) were analyzed for planktic foraminifera. The ~8 m succession belongs to the uppermost Shiranish Formation, with a ~2 m tongue of the Hartha Formation intercalated. The Shiranish Formation consists mainly of fossiliferous foraminiferal limestones and yields one planktic foraminiferal biozone, Kassabiana falsocalcarata, comprising 37 species from nine genera. These assemblages indicate a Late Cretaceous (latest Maastrichtian) age and deposition in a deep‑marine setting. In contrast, the Hartha Formation contains large benthic foraminifera typical of shallow‑marine environments.