Spores and pollen from the Middle and Upper Gharif members (Permian) of Oman

The late Early to Mid Permian palynomorph biozones OSPZ5 and OSPZ6 for the Arabian Peninsula sporadically contain diverse and well-preserved pollen and spore assemblages. These are described here for the first time, concentrating on taxa used in the recognition of biozones. Some of these forms were previously assigned to informal morphotypes. The new spore species Indotriradites ater, Indotriradites mundus, Kendosporites robustus, and the new pollen species Kingiacolpites subsaccatus and Tiwariasporis? granulatus are described and illustrated. These distinctive palynomorphs may be useful in future biostratigraphic studies. For example, the first uphole occurrences of Indotriradites mundus and Tiwariasporis? granulatus are close to the base of OSPZ6. Indotriradites ater and Kingiacolpites subsaccatus have relatively narrow ranges within OSPZ5. Hamiapollenites dettmannae and Hamiapollenites karrooensis are common in the lower part of OSPZ5.