A new type of primitive baleen whale (Cetacea; Mysticeti) from Kyushu, Japan

Abstract An important and relatively complete fossil mysticete cetacean specimen was collected from the Oligocene age Ashiya Group in Kyushu, Japan. The specimen includes a complete skull, with the anterior part of the vertebral column, several ribs, and the left pectoral limb. It provides significant information about the early evolution of cetotheres and transitional steps from the Archaeoceti to Mysticeti. Several features of the specimen, such as the anterior position of the nasal opening and large mandibular foramen, are primitive, but others are derived, such as the wide maxilla, broad supraorbital process of the frontal, occipital shield overhanging the temporal fossae, and the flat articulation of the distal end of the humerus. This animal, therefore, has a mixture of primitive and derived characters. It represents a stage of evolution in mysticetes that has been previously unrecognized.     

A new fossil kentriodontid dolphin (Cetacea; Kentriodontidae) from the Middle Miocene Takinoue Formation, Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract Kentriodon hobetsu , a new species, is described from a partial skull from the Middle Miocene Takinoue Formation, in Hokkaido, Japan. The holotype skull includes the base of the rostrum and a fairly well preserved braincase. The new species is distinguished clearly from previously described species of Kentriodon Kellogg, 1927, by the shape of the anterior margin of the pterygoid sinus fossa, the large premaxilla, rounded facial margin, and lesser development of rugosities and processes. This new record of Kentriodon , the first named kentriodontid dolphin from the western North Pacific, extends the geographic range of the genus significantly.     

Classification and distribution of Oligocene Aetiocetidae (Mammalia; Cetacea; Mysticeti) from western North America and Japan

Abstract Fossil whales in the very rare, primitive, extinct cetacean family Aetiocetidae are small, relict, toothed mysticetes that persisted into Late Oligocene time after more highly derived baleen-bearing mysticetes had already evolved. No known aetiocetid could be ancestral to baleen-bearing mysticetes, but aetiocetid morphology is in many ways intermediate between archaeocetes and baleen-bearing mysticetes, demonstrating the probable transitional steps passed through in the evolution of baleen-bearing mysticetes. Their discovery indicates that mysticetes evolved from Archaeocetes, and supports theories of the monophyly of Cetacea. Late Oligocene aetiocetids have been found on both sides of the North Pacific Ocean: on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada; in Oregon and Washington, USA; in Baja California Sur, México; and the islands of Kyushu and Hokkaido, Japan. The most primitive North American aetiocetid, Chonecetus sookensis Russell, 1968, is from the early Late Oligocene Hesquiat Formation on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. A more derived, Late Oligocene species, Chonecetus goedertorum Barnes and Furusawa, new species, from the Late Oligocene Pysht Formation, Olympic Peninsula, Washington, has the primitive placental mammalian tooth count of 11/11. The type genus of the family, Aetiocetus Emlong, 1966, has as its type species, A. cotylalveus Emlong, 1966, known only from the Late Oligocene Yaquina Formation on the coast of Oregon. It has 11 upper teeth on each side of the rostrum. A more derived species, Aetiocetus weltoni Barnes and Kimura, new species, from a higher stratigraphic level in the Yaquina Formation, has a more posteriorly positioned cranial vertex and a tooth count of 11/12. We describe four new species of aetiocetids in three genera from the Late Oligocene Morawan Formation near Ashoro, Hokkaido, Japan. The most primitive, Ashorocetus eguchii Barnes and Kimura, new genus and species, has a primitive stage of cranial telescoping, and is closely related to Chonecetus Russell, 1968. Another, Morawanocetus yabukii Kimura and Barnes, new genus and species, in some ways intermediate between Chonecetus and Aetiocetus, has a suite of unique derived characters, including a much foreshortened brain case. The third, Aetiocetus tomitai Kimura and Barnes, new species, is the most primitive species of Aetiocetus yet discovered. The fourth, Aetiocetus polydentatus Sawamura, new species, the most derived species of Aetiocetus known, has a highly telescoped cranium, homodonty, polydonty and a dental count of 13–14/14–15. The fossil record now indicates considerable diversity in the family, with several different contemporaneous lineages in three new subfamilies: Chonecetinae, Morawanocetinae and Aetiocetinae. Aetiocetids are not known outside the North Pacific. Many Recent mysticetes are essentially cosmopolitan, and aetiocetids might have also been relatively widely dispersed. We suspect that with time their remains will be found around other ocean basins also. If so, then they may be potentially useful in trans-oceanic geological correlations.     

Miocene fossil pinnipeds of the genera Prototaria and Neotherium (Carnivora; Otariidae; Imagotariinae) in the North Pacific Ocean: Evolution, relationships and distribution

Abstract Fossil otariid pinnipeds of the extinct genera Prototaria Takeyama and Ozawa, 1984, and Neotherium Kellogg, 1931, known from Middle Miocene deposits bordering the North Pacific Ocean, are small, primitive pinnipeds in the subfamily Imagotariinae. They have a small supraorbital process of the frontal or have lost it entirely, a three-rooted first molar, small paroccipital process, and ear morphology indicating that they belong in the subfamily Imagotariinae. Their unique derived characters include extreme intertemporal constriction and highly modified cheek teeth, the premolars having become molarized by the addition of protocones and lingual cingula. Prototaria Takeyama and Ozawa, 1984, the most primitive known imagotariine genus, contains two species, P. primigena Takeyama and Ozawa, 1984, and P. planicephala Kohno, 1994, both of early Middle Miocene age from Japan. Prototaria has a few derived characters, including a large antorbital process, narrow intertemporal region, and large orbit, but its primitive characters apparently were inherited from enaliarctine ancestors. The long enigmatic Neotherium mirum Kellogg, 1931, of Middle Miocene age from California, USA, is related to Prototaria, but differs by having an elongate skull, very slender zygomatic arch, ventrally exposed median lacerate foramen, and smaller but more molarized premolars. A more primitive new genus and species, Proneotherium repenningi Barnes, related to N. mirum, is from the early Middle Miocene Astoria Formation, coastal Oregon, USA. It shares some derived characters with Prototaria, and shares many other important derived characters with N. mirum. Imagotariines probably arose from some species of Early Miocene enaliarctines, became diverse in Middle and Late Miocene time, and are only known from the North Pacific realm. Although they might include the ancestors of true walruses of the subfamily Odobeninae, no known imagotariines appear to have been adapted for mollusk feeding as are the highly evolved modern walruses. Instead, imagotariines appear to have retained a primitive piscivorous diet, as did the fur seals and sea lions of the subfamily Otariinae.     

Miocene pinnipeds of the otariid subfamily Allodesminae in the North Pacific Ocean: Systematics and relationships

Abstract Fossil pinnipeds in the extinct otariid subfamily Allodesminae are large, relatively highly evolved marine carnivores that became abundant and diverse in Middle Miocene time and were restricted to the North Pacific Ocean. Their record extends from early Middle Miocene through Late Miocene, with records from California, Oregon, Washington, Baja California and Japan. Allodesmines are characterized by extreme sexual dimorphism, a large orbit, retracted orbital margin of the zygomatic arch, a deeply mortised jugal-squamosal junction, wide palate, bulbous cheek tooth crowns, nearly flat tympanic bulla with wrinkled ventral surface, a large tympanohyal fossa, large ear ossicles and deep mandible. Eleven allodesmine species are known (eight of which are named), in at least four genera, and most belong to the typical genus Allodesmus Kellogg, 1922. The earliest and most generalized allodesmine known is from the early Middle Miocene (ca 16 Ma) Astoria Formation in coastal Oregon. The last known records are from Late Miocene rocks (ca 10 Ma) in California and Washington. New taxa proposed here are: the genus Brachyallodesmus Barnes and Hirota, to contain Allodesmus packardi Barnes, 1972; the genus Megagomphos Hirota and Barnes, to contain Allodesmus sinanoensis (Nagao, 1941); the species Allodesmus sadoensis Hirota, (Middle Miocene, Japan); the species Allodesmus megallos Hirota (Middle Miocene, Japan); and the species Allodesmus gracilis Barnes (Middle Miocene, California). Additionally, the genus Atopotarus Downs, 1956, and the species Allodesmus kelloggi Mitchell, 1966, are resurrected. Allodesmines were apparently a rapidly evolving group, and most appear to have been adapted to roles later filled by otariine, dusignathine and imagotariine otariids, and the Phocidae (true seals). They became extinct in Late Miocene time and left no living descendants. Although some of their characters evolved convergently with various living species of the pinniped family Phocidae, Allodesminae are an otariid group and not part of the evolutionary history of Phocidae.     

Early to Middle Miocene rotational tectonics of the Ou Backbone Range,northeast Japan

It is well known that a counterclockwise rotation occurred in the Miocene in northeast Japan. However, the detailed timing and mechanism of the rotation has been debated. Moreover, there has been no research about the relationship between rotational tectonics and the evolution of sedimentary basins. We carried out paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses in Nishiwaga Town, Iwate Prefecture, northeast Japan, where the stratigraphy and sedimentary basin formation have previously been clarified. We found that there was a counterclockwise rotational movement of about 45° at about 15 Ma. From our results and previous studies on the tectonics and sedimentary basin development, we are able to ascertain the following tectonic history and sedimentary basin evolution in this area: (i) before the rotational movement, sandstone and mudstone were deposited in a tranquil environment with no volcanic activity coupled with slow tectonic subsidence; (ii) between 16.4–15.1 Ma and 14 Ma, a counterclockwise rotation occurred with rapid tectonic subsidence and continuous explosive volcanism; (iii) at about 14 Ma, the counterclockwise rotation ended and there was a reduction in both subsidence and volcanism. This result shows the impact that rotational tectonics can have on sedimentary basin formation.     

Summary of the fossil record of pinnipeds of Japan, and comparisons with that from the eastern North Pacific

Abstract The fossil pinniped record of the North Pacific Ocean includes both Phocidae and Otariidae ( sensu lato ), extends from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pleistocene, is taxonomically diverse, and is constantly becoming more complete owing to additional important discoveries. The earliest and most diverse fossil pinnipeds in the North Pacific are otariids, the phocids not appearing until the latest Pliocene. The theoretical center of otariid pinniped evolutionary history has been considered by some to be in the eastern North Pacific. New materials from the western North Pacific, however, including representatives of the subfamilies Enaliarctinae, Imagotariinae, Odobeninae and Otariinae, indicate that pinniped evolutionary patterns were basin-wide phenomena, and that a more complete record undoubtedly would reveal numerous trans-Pacific distributions. This would be expected considering the distributions of living species. The paucity of fossil Phocidae and their absence from pre-Pliocene deposits are consistent with theories that the family primarily evolved outside the North Pacific.     

Small half-graben inferred from a Miocene syn-rift succession in the Kinbusan area,eastern Tottori Prefecture,Japan

Understanding the Miocene tectonics of the southwest Japan Arc is key to elucidating the history of the opening of the Japan Sea, and important advances have been made in the last 10 years, such as clarification of the timing of arc rotation. Syn-rift successions occur in the eastern San'in basins, but they have received little attention because the basic stratigraphy and development of the basins are poorly understood. This paper provides details of a field survey of the Miocene geology of the Kinbusan area in eastern Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The lithofacies suggest alluvial fan and plain environments, which correlate with the syn-rifting horizon of the southwest Japan Arc. A syn-depositional graben, which is newly named the Kinbusan Graben, can be inferred from the geometry of the basin fill, and this graben consists of two sub-basins bounded by two ENE–WSW-trending normal faults. Miocene dikes also trend ENE–WSW, indicating that the graben was formed in response to extension oriented perpendicular to the strike of the faults. The age of the Iwami Formation shows that extension was initiated before arc rotation. Fault-slip data, collected from meso-scale faults in the basin fill, indicate axial compressive stress with the maximum principal stress being vertical. The stress field suggests that the basin fill was accommodated not only in fault-perpendicular extension but also in fault-parallel extensions, and fault-parallel extension was the probable cause of differential subsidence of the basin fill during faulting. The results show that the basic stratigraphy and structures of the eastern San'in basins provide important constraints on the timing and style of deformation in the southwest Japan Arc and the Japan Sea.     

New discovery of Palaeontinid fossils from the Middle Jurassic in Daohugou, Inner Mongolia (Homoptera, Palaeontinidae)

Three new species of fossil Palaeontinidae are described from Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China: Daohugoucossus shii sp. nov., D. parallelivenius sp. nov., D. lii sp. nov. The diagnosis of Dao- hugoucossus Wang, Zhang and Fang, 2006 is revised. These materials are the first complete fossil palaeontinids in the Middle Jurassic of the world. Based on observation of these new specimens, Sc of this new genus has the following combined characters: joined with R at base, diverged near M separa- tion, coalesced with R before the nodal line, extended beyond the nodal line and fused with R1 before distal end. Due to the Sc characteristics mentioned above, the genus Liaocossus Ren, Yin and Dou, 1998 can be well distinguished from “Ilerdocossus-complex”.     

New species of Tsaidamotherium (Bovidae,Artiodactyla) from China sheds new light on the skull morphology and systematics of the genus

A new species of Tsaidamotherium(Bovidae,Artiodactyla),T.brevirostrum,described here represents only the second discovery of the genus.Tsaidamotherium is a mid-sized late Miocene bovid with an odd-looking plate-like horn-core apparatus so far known only from northwestern China.The holotype of T.brevirostrum is a cranial part of skull from the Liushu Formation(late Miocene)of the Linxia Basin.The new species differs from the type species,T.bohlini,mainly in horn-core morphology,having the frontal horn-cores proper much smaller and less distinctly separated from the plate-shaped posterior portion.Furthermore,the new species has smaller frontal sinuses,but a thicker layer of compact bone beneath the horn-core apparatus as seen in frontal section.A complete skull with a smaller horn-core apparatus is considered to represent a female individual of T.brevirostrum.The facial part of the skull,which is first known for this genus,is very short and high,with a high nasal cavity,strongly retracted nasals,and shortened premaxillae and premolar rows.All this probably suggests that the animal with an enlarged nasal cavity,like the modern Saiga and Budorcas,may have had a special adaptation to the high plateau environment.     

Late Paleocene–middle Miocene pelagic sequences in the Boso Peninsula, Japan: New light on northwest Pacific tectonics

Late Paleocene–middle Miocene pelagic limestone/chert sequences from the Mineoka Tectonic Belt, Boso Peninsula, central Japan, were biostratigraphically studied for planktic foraminifer fossils for the first time. The rock units are included as several isolated blocks tectonically within the ophiolitic mélange together with the Mio-Pliocene Honshu arc-derived terrigenous and Izu Arc-derived volcaniclastic materials. The pelagic sequences are grouped into the newly proposed Kamogawa Group which is subdivided into the Paleocene Nishi Formation, Eocene–Oligocene Heguri-Naka Limestone and early–middle Miocene Shirataki and Heguri Formations. This study of Kamogawa Group pelagic sequences throws new light on tectonic modeling of plate accretion to the unique trench–trench–trench (TTT)-type triple junction area off the Boso Peninsula. Different formations of the Kamogawa Group have different tectonic and paleogeographic significances for the oceanic plate with a seamount that was approaching the Izu and Honshu arcs during Pacific plate subduction, and that was accreted to the Honshu Arc during the middle Miocene.     

A review of kentriodontine dolphins (Cetacea; Deiphinoidea; Kentriodontidae): Systematics and biogeography

Abstract Fossil dolphins belonging to the extinct family Kentriodontidae are small to medium-sized toothed cetaceans, which probably include the ancestors of some living species. Kentriodontids are known from rocks of Late Oligocene to Late Miocene age in various parts of the world. Among kentriodontids, species in the subfamily Kentriodontinae (e.g. species of Kentriodon Kellogg, 1927) are the most ubiquitous and generalized; these are now known from latest Oligocene to earliest Miocene strata in New Zealand and Patagonia, and Middle Miocene deposits in Maryland, Virginia, California and Japan. The diversity, morphologies and distributions of Miocene species of Kentriodontinae seem to parallel those of the living species of mostly pelagic delphinids in the subfamily Delphininae, and the fossil group may have been an ecological or behavioral/functional counterpart of the latter. Kentriodontines are inferred to have been wide-ranging neritic to pelagic animals that ate small fish and other nectonic organisms; they were probably active echolocators, and might have formed large schools. They are relatively common as fossils and, therefore, are potentially useful for intercontinental correlations of marine deposits.     

Correlation of the Hakkoda–Kokumoto Tephra, a widespread Middle Pleistocene tephra erupted from the Hakkoda Caldera, northeast Japan

Abstract A Middle Pleistocene widespread tephra referred to here as Hakkoda–Kokumoto Tephra (Hkd–Ku) has been newly recognized. Hkd–Ku, derived from the Hakkoda Caldera located in northernmost Honshu Is. of northeast Japan, covers much of Honshu Is. At the type locality in the proximal area, Hkd–Ku comprises Plinian pumice deposits and an immediately overlying ignimbrite. The fine vitric ash nature of the distal ash‐fall deposits of Hkd–Ku suggests that they are coignimbrite ash‐fall deposits. Hkd–Ku was identified using a combination of refractive indices and chemical compositions of major, trace and rare earth elements of glass shards, heavy mineral content, refractive indices of orthopyroxene and paleomagnetic polarity. On the basis of these properties, Hkd–Ku was identified in Oga and Boso Peninsulas and Osaka Plain, 830 km southwest of the source. Stratigraphic positions in Boso Peninsula and Osaka Plain within marine sediments that have a reliable chronology based on oxygen‐isotope, and litho‐, bio‐, magneto‐ and tephrostratigraphy indicate that the age of Hkd–Ku is ca 760 ka, positioned in the transition between marine oxygen‐isotope stages 19.1 and 18.4. The widespread occurrence of Hkd–Ku providing a tie line between many different Pleistocene sections over a distance of 800 km is a key marker horizon in the early part of the Middle Pleistocene. This tephra gives a time control point of ca 760 ka to marine sediments in the Oga Peninsula – where no datum plane exists between the Brunhes–Matuyama chron boundary and oxygen‐isotope stage 12 – and to the volcanostratigraphy of the Hakkoda Caldera. The distribution of Hkd–Ku showing emplacement of coignimbrite ash‐fall deposits in the area 830 km southwest of the source emphasizes the upwind transport direction, relative to the prevailing westerly winds, typical of other coignimbrite ash‐fall deposits in the Japanese islands.     

A new species of Macrocnemus (Reptilia: Protorosauria) from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China and its palaeogeographical implication

A new species of the terrestrial protorosaur Macrocnemus is briefly described and named Macrocne-mus fuyuanensis sp. nov. The specimen was found from the marine Triassic of Yunnan Province, southwestern China. It differs from the type species M. bassanii in having the following characters: (1) 17 or 18 dorsal vertebrae; (2) relatively long humerus; and (3) femur longer than tibia. M. fuyuanensis is the only record of the genus outside Monte San Giorgio area and the first definite terrestrial reptile found from the marine Triassic of China. The age of the fossil-bearing Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation is believed to be the Ladinian based on associated vertebrate fauna. The existence of Mac-rocnemus in the limestone suggests the presence of a terrestrial ecosystem which probably originated from the Anisian and well developed in the Ladinian in this region. The island system along the north-coast of Tethyan during the Triassic was probably an important route for the exchanges of reptiles, especially the terrestrial reptiles between the west and east.     

Middle Miocene to Pleistocene magneto-biostratigraphy of ODP Sites 1150 and 1151, northwest Pacific: Sedimentation rate and updated regional geological timescale

Abstract Shipboard and shore‐based investigation on siliceous and calcareous microfossil biostratigraphy, magneto‐stratigraphy and tephrostratigraphy identified numerous datum events from the sedimentary sequences of Sites 1150 and 1151 drilled on the forearc basin of northern Japan by the Ocean Drilling Program Leg 186. Some 83 datum events were selected to construct new age–depth models for the sites. Based on the reliable magneto‐stratigraphy from the Pleistocene to the Upper Miocene, which were correlated to the standard geomagnetic polarity timescale, and on excellent records of diatom and radiolarian biostratigraphy throughout the sequences, the shipboard age model was revised. Major revisions referred to stratigraphic position of the Miocene–Pliocene boundary that has been shifted more than 200 m downward in each sequence. The age–depth relations of the forearc sites represent drastic changes in the sedimentation rate—extremely high (40 cm/k.y. on average) in the Early Pliocene and low (less than 2 cm/k.y. on average) in the Middle Miocene—and several hiatuses exist throughout the sequence. The drastic changes can be related mostly to changes in diatom sedimentation and the tectonics of the Japanese Island Arc. Local ages for some foraminiferal, calcareous nannofossil and radiolarian bioevents are estimated from the age–depth models at each site. These newly calibrated bioevents and biozones as well as established diatom biostratigraphy are incorporated into the updated magneto‐biochronologic timescale, which will contribute to an improvement in biochronologic accuracy of Neogene sediments in northern Japan and adjacent areas.     

Geochronological and petrological investigations of Miocene felsic igneous rocks in the Amakusa Islands,southwest Japan: Possible extension of the Setouchi Volcanic Belt

The opening of the Japan Sea led to the separation of southwest Japan from the Eurasian continent. Subsequent to this event, a diverse range of igneous activities occurred in southwest Japan. On the back-arc side of the region, igneous activity commenced at approximately 22 Ma and persisted for an extended period. In the trench-proximal region of southwest Japan, magmatism initiated around 15.6 Ma, immediately following the cessation of the Japan Sea opening, in correlation with the subduction of the Philippine Sea plate beneath southwest Japan. The Amakusa Islands in western Kyushu host felsic to intermediate igneous rocks with Miocene radiometric ages. There has been a debate regarding the attribution of the igneous rocks in Amakusa Island among the Miocene igneous rocks in southwest Japan. To address this issue, we conducted zircon U–Pb dating and analyzed the major- and trace-element compositions of felsic igneous rocks in the Amakusa Islands to elucidate their characteristics. The obtained U–Pb ages range from 14.5 to 14.8 Ma, suggesting contemporaneity between magmatism in the Amakusa Islands and the Setouchi Volcanic Rocks in the trench-proximal region of southwest Japan. The major and trace element compositions of the felsic igneous rocks exhibit similarities to the dacites of the Setouchi Volcanic Rocks. These findings support previous suggestions that the magmatism in the Amakusa Islands can be correlated with the Setouchi Volcanic Rocks, based on the discovery of a high-Mg andesite dike and paleo-stress analysis utilizing the direction of dikes and sills. Therefore, the Setouchi Volcanic Belt is proposed to extend further west than the previously identified Ohno volcanic rocks in eastern Kyushu. The subduction of the Shikoku Basin of the Philippine Sea plate toward western Kyushu supports the hypothesis that the Kyushu-Palau Ridge was positioned west of Kyushu at ~15 Ma.     

Chronological and paleoceanographic constraints of Miocene to Pliocene ‘mud sea’ in the Ryukyu Islands (southwestern Japan) based on calcareous nannofossil assemblages

The Cenozoic sedimentary succession in Okinawa‐jima, including the upper Miocene to Pleistocene siliciclastic deposits (Shimajiri Group) and the Pleistocene reef to shelf deposits (Ryukyu Group), suggests a drastic paleoceanographic change from a ‘mud sea’ to a ‘coral sea.’ To delineate the paleoceanographic evolution of the mud sea, we quantified the stratigraphic distribution of the calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the Shimajiri Group in a 2119.49 m‐deep well (Nanjo R1 Exploratory Well) drilled in southern Okinawa‐jima (Ryukyu Islands, southwestern Japan). Four late Miocene and Pliocene datum planes were found in the studied interval: the first occurrence of Amaurolithus spp. (7.42 Ma), the last occurrence of Discoaster quinqueramus (5.59 Ma), the first occurrence of Ceratolithus rugosus (5.12 Ma), and the last occurrence of Reticulofenestra pseudoumbilicus (3.70 Ma). The calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the Tomigusuku Formation and the lower part of the Yonabaru Formation are characterized by a lower total number of coccoliths and abundant Sphenolithus abies that is associated, at times, with common Discoaster spp. Overall, these suggest the existence of oligotrophic conditions between 5.3 and >8.3 Ma. The total number of coccoliths increased and small Reticulofenestra spp. became more common in the middle part of the Yonabaru Formation, suggesting that eutrophic conditions were present between 3.5 and 5.3 Ma. The rare occurrence of calcareous nannofossils in the upper part of the Yonabaru Formation indicates a return to oligotrophic conditions at 3.5 Ma. Micropaleontological evidence suggests that these oceanographic changes were likely caused by local tectonic movement (shallowing of the sedimentary basin in which the Shimajiri Group was deposited).     

Using tephrostratigraphy and cryptotephrostratigraphy to re-evaluate and improve the Middle Pleistocene age model for marine sequences in northeast Japan (Chikyu C9001C)

We refine the tephrostratigraphy and cryptotephrostratigraphy of the Middle Pleistocene deep-sea sediments in the C9001C cores and reconstruct the age model of the cores to provide a standard stratigraphy for the NW Pacific Ocean area. In the lower half of the cores (corresponding to marine isotopic stages [MISs] 9–18), we newly identify nine concentrations (spikes) of glass shards (numbered G17–G25 from top to bottom) below sixteen previously reported spikes (numbered G1–G16) in the upper half of the cores (MISs 1–9). We correlated two spikes (both cryptotephras) with known widespread tephras: G18 with Naruohama-IV (MIS 10d; 357 ka) and G19 with Kasamori 5 (MIS 12b–c; 434–458 ka). Although the two cryptotephra spikes cannot be distinguished by the major- and trace-element compositions of glass shards, these correlations are based upon their stratigraphic occurrence within separate glacial periods (MISs 10 and 12) as indicated by the δ¹⁸O stratigraphy of the C9001C sequence. Based on the stratigraphic positions of the Naruohama-IV and Kasamori 5 tephras, we assign the sediment units corresponding to MISs 10, 11, and 12, and revise the previous assignment of core segments corresponding to MISs 7, 8, and 9. The resulting tephra-based age model is consistent with the last occurrence of Proboscia curvirostris, but it is inconsistent with the first occurrence of Emiliania huxleyi. According to the new age model, the sedimentation rate during MISs 18–2 has ranged from 0.21 m/ky (during MIS 17) to 0.74 m/ky (during MISs 8 and 9), however, the sedimentation rate was never as high as the rate of 1.1 m/ky indicated by an earlier age model.     

Early exhumation of the collisional orogen and concurrent infill of foredeep basins in the Miocene Eurasian–Okhotsk Plate boundary, central Hokkaido, Japan: Inferences from K–Ar dating of granitoid clasts

Abstract   Thick Middle (–Upper) Miocene turbiditic deposits filled very deep and narrow foredeep basins formed in the western margin of the Hidaka collision zone in central Hokkaido. Cobble- to boulder-sized clasts of eight monzogranites and a single granodiorite in the Kawabata Formation in the Yubari Mountains area yielded biotite K–Ar ages of 44.4 ± 1.0 to 45.4 ± 1.0 Ma and 42.8 ± 1.1 Ma, respectively. Major elemental compositions of the clasts all fall in the field of S-type granite on an NK/A (Na₂O + K₂O/Al₂O₃ in molecule) versus A/CNK (Al₂O₃/CaO + Na₂O + K₂O in molecule) diagram, verifying their peraluminous granite character (aluminium saturation index (ASI): 1.12–1.19). These geochronological and petrographical features indicate that the granitoid clasts in the Kawabata Formation correlate with Eocene granitic plutons in the northeastern Hidaka Belt, specifically the Uttsudake (43 Ma) and Monbetsu (42 Ma) plutons. Foredeep basins are flexural depressions developed at the frontal side of thickened thrust wedges. The results presented here suggest that deposition of the Middle Miocene turbidites was coeval with rapid westward up-thrusting and exhumation of the Hidaka Belt. This early mountain building may have occurred in response to thrusting in the Tertiary fold-and-thrust system of central Hokkaido.     

Depositional and diagenetic history of limestones and dolostones of the Oligo‐Miocene Kujung Formation in the Northeast Java Basin,Indonesia

Lithological and geochemical features of platformal carbonates record the signatures of the global climates and the regional environmental settings and also reconstruct the diagenetic history and porosity evolution, which are essential to evaluate the potential of hydrocarbon reservoirs. This study investigates the platformal carbonates of the Oligo‐Miocene Krunji Formation of North East Java Basin, which are potentially significant hydrocarbon reservoirs. The carbonate sequence in a 283 m thick section at Kranji in East Java is subdivided into three lithological units: limestone unit 1, dolostone unit 2, and limestone unit 3, in ascending order. The strontium‐isotope ratios of well‐preserved calcite samples indicate the depositional period from Chattian (late Oligocene) to Burdigalian (early Miocene), which is consistent with ages of the foraminifer assemblages. Unit 1 consists of low‐porosity limestone, in which two horizons of subaerial exposure are recognized by the occurrence of red‐colored matrix and lower δ¹³C values. Unit 2 consists of dolomitic rock and exhibits coarse‐grained calcitic grains and cross‐stratified structure. Considering that this unit has been subject to dolomitization, the sediment of unit 2 was initially permeable and was likely deposited in a shoal setting. The overlying unit 3 of Aquitanian–Burdigalian age is characterized by a highly granular texture. High porosity and uniformly low δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values indicate that Unit 3 was subjected to more intense meteoric diagenesis than the Chattian unit 1. This was likely a consequence of the Antarctic ice‐sheet expansion during the Oligocene/Miocene transition, which amplified sea level change. The unit 2 dolomite has high δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values and a high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio which resulted from the reflux of seawater into permeable the sediment body in middle‐late Miocene (Burdigalian Tortonian) following the deposition of unit 3. The porosity and permeability of the Kujung Formation were initially controlled by sedimentological processes, but largely modified by later diagenetic processes.