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.     

A new species of Middle Miocene sperm whale of the genus Scaldicetus (Cetacea; Physeteridae) from Shiga-mura, Japan

Abstract A nearly complete skeleton of a fossil sperm whale from the Middle Miocene age Bessho Formation at Shiga-mura, Nagano Prefecture, the most complete fossil physeterid skeleton found in Japan, is here named Scaldicetus shigensis, new species. Its abruptly tapered rostrum, deep supracranial basin, and high occipital crest are typical of physeterids. Large teeth with crenulate enamel on conical crowns, present in both the palate and mandible, are consistent with the genus Scaldicetus du Bus, 1867, a genus originally based on fossils discovered in the Antwerp Basin, Belgium. Scaldicetus shigensis is relatively primitive, having a relatively long, slender rostrum, large zygomatic arches, large tympanic bullae, prominent occipital condyles, low tooth count and a sloping occipital shield that is deeply emarginated laterally by large temporal fossae. The probable mandibular tooth count is 12, only one more than the primitive eutherian mammalian dentition. Despite its abundant primitive characters, Scaldicetus shigensis has very asymmetrical external nares, comparable to the living sperm whale, Physeter catodon, and is in this way more derived than most of the contemporaneous fossil physeterids. At a time when other sperm whales were more highly evolved, Scaldicetus shigensis retained a primitive occipital shield, large tympanic bullae, and low tooth count, as in primitive Oligocene odontocetes such as Agorophiidae. It was a relict form in Middle Miocene time, and provides an indication of a primitive stage of sperm whale evolution heretofore undocumented. Fossils from elsewhere previously referred to as Scaldicetus, largely on the basis of tooth characters, range in age from Early Miocene to Plio-Pleistocene time. Cranial material that would clarify relationships is lacking for most of these, and this time range seems too long for a cetacean genus. Because of this simplistic approach to identifications, Scaldicetus is probably a grade taxon, not a natural biological grouping. However, the tooth morphology of Scaldicetus shigensis is correct for the genus Scaldicetus, so we provisionally assign it to this genus. Redefinition of the genus Scaldicetus and revision of the Physeteridae are beyond the scope of the present study.     

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.     

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.     

Fourth‐ to third‐order cycles in the Hakobuchi Formation: Shallow‐marine Campanian final deposition of the Yezo Group,Nakagawa area,northern Hokkaido,Japan

The Yezo Group has a wide longitudinal distribution across Hokkaido, northern Japan. It represents a Cretaceous (Early Aptian–Late Maastrichtian) and Late Paleocene forearc basin‐fill along the eastern margin of the paleo‐Asian continent. In the Nakagawa area of northern Hokkaido, the uppermost part of the Yezo Group consists of the Hakobuchi Formation. Along the western margin of the Yezo basin, 24 sedimentary facies (F) represent 6 facies associations (FA), suggesting prevailing storm‐dominated inner shelf to shoreface environments, subordinately associated with shoreface sand ridges, outer shelf, estuary and fluvial environments. The stacking patterns, thickness and facies trends of these associations allow the discrimination of six depositional sequences (DS). Inoceramids Sphenoceramus schmidti and Inoceramus balticus, and the ammonite Metaplacenticeras subtilistriatum, provide late Early to Late Campanian age constraints to this approximately 370‐m thick final stage of deposition and uplift of the Yezo forearc basin. Six shallow‐marine to subordinately non‐marine sandstone‐dominated depositional sequences include four 10 to 110‐m thick upward‐coarsening regressive successions (FS1), occasionally associated with thin, less than 10‐m thick, upward‐fining transgressive successions (FS2). The lower DS1–3, middle DS4–5 and upper DS6 represent three depositional sequential sets (DSS1–3). These eastward prograding and westward retrograding recurring shallow‐marine depositional systems may reflect third‐ and fourth‐order relative sealevel changes, in terms of sequence stratigraphy.     

The oldest angiosperm—a tricarpous female reproductive fossil from western Liaoning Province, NE China

The fossil plant female reproductive organs each with a tricarpous were collected from the Yixian Formation, Chaoyang district, western Liaoning Province. The geological age of the Yixian Formation here is believed to be Late Jurassic, which places this fossil as the oldest angiosperm currently known. Its morphological characters are distinct from other known angiosperm reproductive organs as it has 3 ovaries, each with a terminal style and an apical stigma. 9 such organs compose a cyme. As this morphological arrangement is unique to this plant, a new genus and species has been established, namedChaoyangia liangii gen. et sp. nov. Project supported by the Special Finances of Biological Sciences and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (the special item of the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China).     

Fossil nothofagaceous leaves from the Eocene of western Antarctica and their bearing on the origin, dispersal and systematics of Nothofagus

Fossil leaves resembling Nothofagaceae have been investigated from the Eocene of western Antarctica and a new form genus Nothofagofolia is proposed for these kinds of fossils. Some new specimens belonging to this form genus are described. They were collected from the Fossil Hill locality of Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, western Antarctica. Two new species, two new combinations and an unnamed species are reported. A number of published Nothofagus leaf fossils from the same locality are discussed and revised. As a result of these studies of Nothofagus leaf morphology, we conclude that (1) Nothofagus probably originated in high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere during the middle-late Late Cretaceous and diversified, dispersed gradually to the lower latitudes of the same hemisphere; (2) leaf morphological characters are significant for the systematics of the family Nothofagaceae, especially at the intrageneric level; and (3) extant species of Nothofagus known from southern temperate areas have more primitive leaf morphological characters and lower leaf ranks than those from tropical mountains as well as those of the Fagaceae and Betulaceae. Supported by the Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology & Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaoentology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 013106), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30670159) and the Fund of Innovation Program by Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences     

Advanced mosasaurs from the Upper Cretaceous Nakaminato Group in Japan

Plotosaurus is a highly aquatically adapted mosasaur, which is supposed to inhabit the deep ocean basin. The geographic occurrence of this genus has been limited only to the west coast of North America. In this study, two Plotosaurus-type mosasaur caudal vertebrae derived from the Upper Cretaceous Nakaminato Group in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, are described with discussion on the paleobiogeographic significance of the Late Cretaceous mosasaur fauna in the Northwestern Pacific region. The two specimens are an intermediate caudal vertebra found in a beach cobble, which presumably originated from the Hiraiso Formation (upper Campanian), and a terminal caudal vertebra found in situ in the lower Isoai Formation (lower Maastrichtian). Because their relative centrum lengths (ratio of centrum length/centrum height, ~0.7) are very close to that of Plotosaurus, the specimens are referred to cf. Plotosaurus sp. The two specimens provide the first evidence that highly specialized Plotosaurus-type mosasaurs inhabited the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, suggesting that such forms had a wider distribution than previously recognized and might have existed since the late Campanian in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.     

Potassium-argon dating of igneous activity in the central Chilean Andes — latitude 33°S

Potassium-argon dating of volcanic and plutonic rocks in the Andean region of central Chile has revealed previously unrecognized episodes of igneous activity during Cretaceous and Cenozoic time. These results indicate the need to re-evaluate the classic stratigraphic subdivisions that have evolved on lithologic rather than time-stratigraphic criteria.Four radiometric age groups have been identified in the coast range volcanic belt:

1. (1) Las Chilcas Formation — Early Cretaceous continental volcanic strata (120-110 m.y.).

2. (2) Lo Valle Formation — Late Cretaceous continental volcanic strata (78-65 m.y.).

3. (3) Late Oligocene extrusive volcanics (31-28 m.y.).

4. (4) Early Miocene intrusive volcanics (20.6–19.5 m.y.).

Two radiometric age groups have also been identified in the adjacent Andean Cordillera:

1. (1) Farellones Formation — continental volcanic strata (18.5–17.3 m.y.).

2. (2) Early Pliocene extrusive volcanics (5-4 m.y.).

An older group of continental volcanic strata in the Andes represented by the Abanico Formation remains undated but is intruded by plutons dated at 19.5 and 24 m.y.Available chronologic evidence indicates that volcanic activity moved eastward from the coast range volcanic belt to the Andean Cordillera between 20 and 18 m.y. ago and remained there to the present time.     

Direct correlation of radiolarian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kilinora spiralis</Emphasis> Zone with the Late Jurassic ammonite faunal succession in the Kurisaka Formation,Kurosegawa Terrane,SW Japan

The last appearance datum of the radiolarian Kilinora spiralis is recorded above the first appearance datum of the ammonite Ataxioceras (A.) kurisakense in the Todoro Section of the Kurisaka Formation, Southern Kurosegawa Terrane, Shikoku, SW Japan. The constraint by ammonite age prolongs the range of the Kilinora spiralis Zone, a remarkable Jurassic radiolarian zone in Japan-NW Pacific region, into the lower Kimmeridgian. The direct correlation of the Kilinora spiralis zone with the Late Jurassic ammonite faunal succession in the Kurisaka Formation will provide a clue to the still pending chronological difference between European and North American radiolarian zones.     

Jianshangou Bed of the Yixian Formation in West Liaoning,China

The Jianshangou fossil locality was first found byChang Zhenglu and his colleagures in 1962, now thearea of Jianshangou, Sihetun and Huangbanjigou be-comes famous all over the world for its yielding feath-ered dinosaurs, Confuciusornis and Archaefructus. Thename of Jianshangou Bed was proposed by the firstauthor of present paper as an informal suggesting unitduring the research on Jehol fossils of western Liaon-ing in 1963 and 1964. The unit was named then asJianshan Bed[1], indicating th…     

Discovery of a Late Permian Angara-Cathaysia mixed flora from Acheng of Heilongjiang,China, with discussions on the closure of the Paleoasian Ocean

This work documents a new flora from the Upper Permian Hongshan Formation of Acheng County, Heilongjiang Province, Northwest China. The flora consists of 20 species: Paracalamites sp., Pecopteris tangwangheensis Huang, Callipteris obese Huang, Callipteris shenshuensis Huang, C. tangwangheensis Huang, C. heilongjiangensis Huang, C. zeilleri Zalessky, C. sp., Comia yichunensis Huang, C. tenueaxis Huang, Iniopteris sibirica Zalessky, Supaia teiliensis Huang, Compsopteris tchirkovae Zalessky, C. cf. adzvensis Zalessky, Nilssonia sp. 1, Nil. sp. 2, Taeniopteris cf. densissima Halle, T. cf. nystraemii Halle, T. sp. and Noeggerathiopsis derzavinii Neub. It is dominated by Angara species but mixed with some typical Cathaysian elements. The age of the flora is assigned to late of the Late Permian according to the stratigraphic ranges of the known species and the comparisons of it with the similar floras. The new discovery indicates that the final collision between the North China Plate and Siberian Plate occurred in Late Permian along the Xar Moron River-Changchun-Yanji sutured zone, and the Paleoasian Ocean was finally closed at the end of the Permian.     

浮游藻类三个常见属(颤藻属、直链硅藻属和针杆藻属)学名变更的解释

根据近年来国外文献所涉及的藻类分类学研究进展,着重解释了蓝藻门的颤藻属和硅藻门的直链硅藻属和针杆藻属的一些浮游种类的学名变更情况,同时介绍了国际上最新的蓝藻门颤藻目和硅藻门的分类概况．根据Anagnostidis和Komfirek的分类,原颤藻属的大部分浮游种类进入了新属『浮游蓝丝藻属](Planktothrix),其他种类则分别属于[湖生蓝丝藻属](Limnothrix)、胶鞘藻属(Phormidium)和现在的颤藻属(Oscillatoria)等多个颤藻目的类别．根据Krammer和Lange-Bertalot的分类,原直链硅藻属的浮游种类进入了新属[浮生直链藻属](Aularoseira),另外的种类归属于Orthoseira、Ellerbeckia和现在的直链硅藻属(Melosira)等硅藻类别中：原针杆藻属的浮游种类并入脆杆藻属(Fragilaria),其他种类进入菱形藻属(Nitzschia)、双尖菱板藻属(Hantzschia)和现在的针杆藻属(Synedra)中．     

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.     

Studies in selected fragilarioid diatoms of potential indicator value from Florida (USA) with notes on the genus Opephora Petit (Bacillariophyceae)

Four araphid diatom taxa were collected from Florida streams and studied with both light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three taxa, formerly in the genus Fragilaria Lyngbye, are here placed in the genus Pseudostaurosira Williams et Round. On the basis of ultrastructure observed by SEM, the remaining taxon is placed in a new genus, Sarcophagodes. At least two of the species referred to Pseudostaurosira may have been confused with species of the genus Opephora Petit, which may have led to misinterpretation of the ecological characteristics of the latter genus.All the taxa treated here belong to the Family Fragilariaceae Greville as delimited in current classification schemes. Two new combinations Pseudostaurosiropsis geocollegarum (=Fragilaria geocollegarum Witkowski et Lange-Bertalot), Pseudostaurosira neoelliptica (=Fragilaria neoelliptica Witkowski) and the new species Pseudostaurosira clavatum are presented herein. Additionally, a new genus, Sarcophagodes, is erected to accommodate the new species S. delicatula. LM and SEM details, as well as criteria delimiting these taxa are discussed. More collections and further analyses are needed to assess the distribution of both Opephora and Sarcophagodes.     

Diverse protolith ages for the Mindoro and Romblon Metamorphics (Philippines): Evidence from single zircon U–Pb dating

Within the north‐eastern part of the Palawan Continental Terrane, which forms the south‐western part of the Philippine archipelago, several metamorphic complexes are exposed that are considered to be rifted parts of the Asian margin in South‐East China. The protolith age(s) and correlations of these complexes are contentious. The largest metamorphic complex of the Palawan Continental Terrane comprises the Mindoro Metamorphics. The north‐eastern part of this metamorphic complex has recently been found to be composed of protoliths of Late Carboniferous to Late Permian protolith age. However, meta‐sediments exposed at the westernmost tip and close to the southern boundary of the exposure of the Mindoro Metamorphics contain detrital zircons and with U–Pb ages, determined by LA–ICP–MS, in the range 22–56 Ma. In addition, zircons as young as 112 Ma were found in a sample of the Romblon Metamorphics in Tablas. As the youngest detrital zircons provide an upper age limit for the time of deposition in meta‐sediments, these results suggest that the Mindoro and Romblon Metamorphics comprise protoliths of variable age: Late Carboniferous to Late Permian in NE Mindoro; Eocene or later in NW Mindoro; Miocene at the southern margin of the Mindoro metamorphics; and Cretaceous or later on Tablas. The presence of non‐metamorphic sediments of Late Eocene to Early Oligocene age in Mindoro (Lasala Formation), which are older than the youngest metasediments, suggests that metamorphism of the young meta‐sediments of Mindoro is the result of the collision of the Palawan Continental terrane with the Philippine Mobile Belt in Late Miocene. Similarities of the age spectra of zircons from the Eocene to Miocene metamorphics with the Eocene to Early Miocene Lasala Formation suggest that the protoliths of the young metamorphics may be equivalents of the Lasala Formation or were recycled from the Lasala Formation.     

Geological age of the Yokawa Formation of the Kobe Group (Japan) on the basis of terrestrial mammalian fossils

Abstract   The age of the Yokawa Formation of the Cenozoic Kobe Group distributed in Hyogo Prefecture of western Japan based on mammalian fossils is discussed. Two fossil dental specimens of terrestrial mammals discovered from the lowest part of the Yokawa Formation in the Sanda area are described. These two fossils described here are: (i) a right mandibular fragment with p2–m3 of Bothriodon sandaensis sp. nov. (selenodont anthracotheriid artiodactyl), which appears to be the most primitive among the species of the genus; and (ii) right m1–m3 of cf. Hyrachyus sp. (primitive rhinocerotoid perissodactyl). In the lower part of the Yokawa Formation, Zaisanamynodon (amynodontid perissodactyl) was previously reported. The morphology ('evolutionary stage') of B. sandaensis is indicative of the latest Middle to Late Eocene, that of cf. Hyrachyus sp. is indicative of the Early to Middle Eocene, and Zaisanamynodon is indicative of the Late Middle to Late Eocene. Therefore, the fossil mammals of the Yokawa Formation indicate an latest Middle Eocene ( ca . 38 Ma) correlation for the lower part of the formation, as a working hypothesis. Although the resolution of the geological age based on these mammalian fossils is relatively low compared to that based on marine index fossils, this result is concordant with the recent radiometric correlation of the lower part of the Yokawa Formation in the Sanda area.     

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.     

K-Ar geochronology of the late cenozoic volcanic rocks of the Cordillera Occidental, southernmost Peru

Twenty-four K-Ar radiometric ages are presented for late Cenozoic continental volcanic rocks of the Cordillera Occidental of southernmost Perú (lat. 16° 57′–17° 36′S). Rhyodacitic ignimbrite eruptions began in this transect during the Late Oligocene and continued episodically through the Miocene. The development of andesitic-dacitic strato volcanoes was initiated in the Pliocene and continues to the present.The earliest ignimbrite flows (25.3–22.7 Ma) are intercalated in the upper, coarsely-elastic member of the Moquegua Formation and demonstrate that this sedimentary unit accumulated in a trough, parallel to Andean tectonic trends, largely in the Oligocene. More voluminous ash-flow eruptions prevailed in the Early Miocene (22.8–17.6 Ma) and formed the extensively preserved Huaylillas Formation. This episode was coeval with a major phase of Andean uplift, and the pyroclastics overlie an erosional surface of regional extent incised into a Paleogene volcano-plutonic arc terrain. An age span of 14.2–8.9 Ma (mid-Late Miocene) is indicated for the younger Chuntacala Formation, which again comprises felsic ignimbrite flows, largely restricted to valleys incised into the pre-Huaylillas Formation lithologies, and, at lower altitudes, an extensive aggradational elastic facies. The youngest areally extensive ignimbrites, constituting the Sencca Formation, were extruded during the Late Miocene.In the earliest Pliocene, the ignimbrites were succeeded by more voluminous calcalkaline, intermediate flows which generated numerous large and small stratovolcanoes; these range in age from 5.3 to 1.6 Ma. Present-day, or Holocene, volcanism is restricted to several large stratovolcanoes which had begun their development during the Pleistocene (by 0.7 Ma).The late Oligocene/Early Miocene (ca. 22–23 Ma) reactivation of the volcanic arc coincided with a comparable increase in magmatic activity throughout much of the Cordilleras Occidental and Oriental of the Central Andes.     

Pb, Nd, and Sr isotopic constraints on the origin of Miocene basaltic rocks from northeast Hokkaido, Japan: Implications for opening of the Kurile back-arc basin

Late Miocene (7–9 Ma) basaltic rocks from the Monbetsu‐Kamishihoro graben in northeast Hokkaido have chemical affinities to certain back‐arc basin basalts (referred to herein as Hokkaido BABB). Pb‐, Nd‐ and Sr‐isotopic compositions of the Hokkaido BABB and arc‐type volcanic rocks (11–13 Ma and 4–4.5 Ma) from the nearby region indicate mixing between the depleted mantle and an EM II‐like enriched component (e.g. subducted pelagic sediment) in the magma generation. At a given ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, Hokkaido BABB have slightly lower ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and slightly less radiogenic ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb compared with associated arc‐type lavas, but both these suites are difficult to distinguish solely on the basis of isotopic compositions. These isotopic data indicate that while generation of the Hokkaido BABB involves smaller amounts of the EM II‐like enriched component than do associated arc lavas, Hokkaido BABB are isotopically distinct from basalts produced at normal back‐arc basin spreading centers. Instead, northeast Hokkaido BABB are more similar to basalts erupted during the initial rifting stage of back‐arc basins. The Monbetsu‐Kamishihoro graben may have developed in association with extension that formed the Kurile Basin, suggesting that opening of the basin continued until late Miocene (7–9 Ma).