Foraminifers and stratigraphy of the Karatash Group (lower Triassic-Middle Anisian), the southeastern Pamir

First data on Middle Triassic foraminifers of the southeastern Pamir are considered. The lower-middle Anisian sediments are reliably recognized within uniform limestone succession of the Karatash Group in the Southeastern Pamir based on found foraminiferal species Meandrospira deformata Salaj, Meandrospira cheni (Ho), Pilamminella ex gr. semiplana (Kochansky-Devide et Pantic), and Endotheba badouxi (Zaninetti et Bronnimann). The lower-middle Anisian Meandrospira deformata Zone is defined and the Karatash Group is subdivided into the Khan (lower) and Yulla (upper) formations. The foraminifers found imply their migration between the western (Alps, Carpathians, Balkans) and eastern (South China platform, Malaysia, Japan) Tethys across the southeastern Pamir region. Characteristic species of the genus Meandrospira recorded in the southeastern Pamirs are described with specifying their taxonomic scope.