Kuwajima Formation

Last updated
Kuwajima Formation
Stratigraphic range: Barremian
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Unit of Tetori Group
Sub-unitsLower Member, Upper Member
Underlies Akaiwa Formation
Overlies Gomijima Formation
Lithology
Primary Sandstone, Mudstone
Location
CountryFlag of Japan.svg  Japan

The Kuwajima Formation is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation in Japan. Its precise age is uncertain due to a lack of identifying fossils, and it was previously considered likely Valanginian to Hauterivian in age. [1] However, it is now considered to probably be Barremian in age. [2] Dinosaurs and other vertebrates has been recovered from the Kaseki-kabe "Fossil-bluff" locality in the uppermost part of the formation. [3]

Contents

The multituberculate mammals Hakusanobaatar matsuoi and Tedoribaatar reini are known from the Kuwajima Formation. [4] A member of Tritylodontidae, Montirictus kuwajimaensis , has also been recovered from the unit. [5]

Vertebrate Paleobiota

Fish

Fish reported from the Kuwajima Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Sinamia S. kukurihimeMostly complete skeletonAn amiiform fish related to bowfins
Tetoriichthys T. kuwajimaensisThe oldest record of Osteoglossiform

Amphibians

Amphibians reported from the Kuwajima Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Shirerpeton [6] S. isajiiKaseki-kabeFacies IIIPartial disarticulated skull Albanerpetontid
Anura IndeterminateIsolated longbone, as well as a partial skeleton "composed of a few skull elements and several postcranial bones, including the femur, ilium, and vertebrae" [7] Partial skeleton belongs to a basal frog that lies outside of Neobatrachia. [7]

Choristoderes

Choristoderes reported from the Kuwajima Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Monjurosuchus IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies III
Monjurosuchus Monjurosuchus.jpg
Monjurosuchus
Neochoristodera [8] IndeterminateFacies IThe first report of a neochoristodere from Japan
Choristodera IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies III

Squamates

Squamates reported from the Kuwajima Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Asagaolacerta A. tricuspidensKaseki-kabeFacies III"An association of skull, jaws and postcranial bones of a small lizard with facetted tricuspid teeth, possibly a right maxilla"
Kaganaias Kaganaias BW.jpg
Kaganaias
Hakuseps H. imberisKaseki-kabeFacies IIIAn almost complete left dentary
Kaganaias K. hakusanensisKaseki-kabeFacies III"Part and counterpart of articulated partial skeleton comprising parts of the dors. vert. series and parts of the tail, pelvis, and hind limbs"
Kuroyuriella K. mikikoiKaseki-kabeFacies III"A disarticulated skull on four originally conjoined blocks, an association on two small blocks"
Kuwajimalla [9] K. kagaensisKaseki-kabeFacies III
Sakurasaurus IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies III"Small block with disarticulated association of skull bones, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis and hindlimb bones"
Paramacellodidae IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies III
Squamata IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies IIIFive distinct taxa

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs reported from the Kuwajima Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Albalophosaurus [3] A. yamaguchiorumKaseki-kabeFacies IIIPartial skull and lower jaws
Dromaeosauridae IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies III
Enantiornithes IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies III
Ornithischia [10] IndeterminateRight dentary, left maxilla, isolated teethDistinct from Albalophosaurus
Sauropoda ("Oharasisaurus")IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies IIITooth [11]
Styracosterna [10] IndeterminateMaxillary and dental teeth

Mammaliamorphs

Mammaliamorphs reported from the Kuwajima Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Hakusanobaatar [4] H. matsuoiKaseki-kabeFacies IIIDentary fragments and teeth Eobaatarid
Hakusanodon [12] H. archaeusKaseki-kabeFacies III Eutriconodont
Montirictus [5] M. kuwajimaensisKaseki-kabeFacies III Tritylodontid
Tedoribaatar [4] T. reiniKaseki-kabeFacies III"Fragment of right lower jaw with p4"Eobaatarid
Multituberculata IndeterminateKaseki-kabeFacies III

Invertebrate Paleobiota

Invertebrates reported from the Kuwajima Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionMaterialNotesImages
Nipponoridium B. matsuoiKaseki-Kabe Mimarachnid hemipteran
Nipponohagla N. kaga Prophalangopsid
Kagapsychops K. araneus Psychopsid

See also

Related Research Articles

Albionbaataridae is a family of small, extinct mammals within the order Multituberculata. Fossil remains are known from the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. These herbivores lived their obscure lives during the Mesozoic, also known as the "age of the dinosaurs." They were among the more derived representatives of the informal suborder "Plagiaulacida". The taxon Albionbaataridae was named by Kielan-Jaworowska Z. and Ensom P.C. in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eobaataridae</span> Extinct family of mammals

Eobaataridae is a family of fossil mammals within the order Multituberculata. Remains are known from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. They are among the most derived representatives of the informal suborder "Plagiaulacida", and closely related to Cimolodonta. Most eobaatarids are only known from isolated teeth, though several reasonably complete members are known, including Sinobaatar and Jeholbaatar. The body of Sinobaatar is generalised, while Jeholbaatar displays clear adaptations for scansoriality (climbing) due to its elongated digits. Due to the morphology of the cheek teeth, Eobaatar and Jeholbaatar are inferred to be omnivorous, likely feeding on plants and invertebrates.

<i>Kaganaias</i> Extinct genus of lizards

Kaganaias is an extinct genus of basal and oldest dolichosaur that lived in what is now Japan during the Early Cretaceous. Kaganaias was semi-aquatic and is the only known aquatic squamate known from before the Cenomanian stage of the Cretaceous. It is also the first to be found in an inland area, instead of on the coast where aquatic squamates are commonly found. Its generic name is derived from Kaga Province, the old name for the Ishikawa Prefecture where the specimens were found, while the species name hakusanensis comes from the mountain that gives its name to Hakusan the city near its find site. The geological formation in which the specimens were found, the Kuwajima Formation, stands alongside the Tetori River and has been the site of numerous other finds including molluscs, dinosaurs, fish, and pterosaurs.

<i>Shokawa</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Shokawa is an extinct genus of choristoderan diapsid reptile, known from the Lower Cretaceous of Japan. It is only known from one species, Shokawa ikoi. The only known remains are a postcranial specimen lacking the skull, discovered at the KO2 locality in sediments belonging to the Okurodani Formation near the village of Shokawa in Gifu Prefecture. Shokawa possessed a long neck with at least 16 cervical vertebrae, and closely resembles and is closely related to the smaller choristoderan, Hyphalosaurus. The generic name refers to the village near where it was found, while the specific name honors the collector of the first specimen, one Mr. Ikoi Shibata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitadani Formation</span>

The Kitadani Formation is a unit of Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock which crops out near the city of Katsuyama in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, and it is the primary source of Cretaceous-aged non-marine vertebrate fossils in Japan. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, but it also preserves a diverse assemblage of plants, invertebrates, and other vertebrates. Most, if not all, of the fossil specimens collected from the Kitadani Formation are reposited at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.

Amphidon is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic mammal from the Morrison Formation. It is present in stratigraphic zone 5. Two species have been named in the genus: Amphidon superstes and Amphidon aequicrurius, by Simpson in 1925.

<i>Albalophosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Albalophosaurus is a genus of ceratopsian ornithischian dinosaur. It was described in 2009 from remains found in 1997 by Yoshinori Kobayashi from the Kuwajima Formation of central Japan, outcropping in Hakusan in the Ishikawa Prefecture. The holotype, SBEI 176, consists of cranial bones from an incomplete, disarticulated skull and left lower jaw thought to belong to a single individual. The type species is named A. yamaguchiorum. The generic name is derived from Latin albus, "white", and Greek λόϕος (lophos), "crest", a reference to the snow-covered crest of Mount Hakusan. The specific name honours Ichio Yamaguchi and Mikiko Yamaguchi, who discovered and prepared many fossils from the site.

The Okurodani Formation is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation in central Honshu, Japan. Part of the Tetori Group, it primarily consists of freshwater continental sediments deposited in a floodplain environment, with occasional volcanic tuffite horizons. It has an uncertain age, probably dating between the Hauterivian and Aptian. An indeterminate iguanodontian dinosaur tooth has been recovered from the formation. Many other fossil vertebrates are known from the KO2 locality

The Akaiwa Formation is an Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian-Barremian) geologic formation in central Honshu, Japan. Indeterminate ornithischian fossils are known from the formation. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the formation. As well as the turtle Kappachelys

<i>Monjurosuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Monjurosuchus is a genus of choristoderan reptile that lived in what is now China and Japan during the Early Cretaceous. It has large eyes, a rounded skull, robust legs with short claws, and a long, thin tail. Fossils have been found that preserve soft tissue, showing that it had soft skin and webbed feet.

<i>Khurendukhosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Khurendukhosaurus is a genus of choristodere, a type of amphibious reptile. It is known from Lower Cretaceous rocks of Mongolia and Russia. Two species have been named. The type species, K. orlovi, was named in 1984 by Sigogneau–Russell and Efimov for the fragmentary postcranial skeleton PIN 3386/3. This specimen was discovered in the Albian-age Lower Cretaceous Khuren Dukh Formation Formation at Hüren Dukh, central Mongolia. The lake deposits at this site also contain fossils of the choristoderes Irenosaurus and Tchoiria. Other postcranial bones of K. orlovi have been found at this site as well.

<i>Tchoiria</i> Extinct genus of diapsid reptiles

Tchoiria () is a genus of neochoristoderan reptile from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. The name Tchoiria comes from the city of Choir which is nearby to where the holotype was found. Tchoiria is thought to have a similar diet to another neochoristoderan reptile, Champsosaurus, due to morphology of the skull. It would hunt in freshwater environments, like the living gharials, where it would prey on many different types of fish and turtles.

Heishanobaatar is an extinct genus of eobaatarid multituberculate which existed in Shahai and Fuxin formations, northeastern China, during the early Cretaceous. It was first named by Nao Kusuhashi, Yaoming Hu, Yuanqing Wang, Takeshi Setoguchi and Hiroshige Marsuoka in 2010 and the type species is Heishanobaatar triangulus. Known from dentaries, lower incisors, and premolars, Heishanobaatar is distinguished by its laterally triangular third premolar, from which its species name is derived. Its referral to Eobaataridae was considered questionable by Kusuhashi et al. 2019.

Montirictus is an extinct genus of tritylodonts known from the Early Cretaceous Kuwajima Formation of Japan. It was among the latest surviving tritylodontids, and is closely related to the earlier Xenocretosuchus from mainland Asia, and the Jurassic Stereognathus from the UK. It may be a species of the genus Stereognathus, but resolution of its affinities conditions upon the discovery of additional material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolichosauridae</span> Extinct family of lizards

Dolichosauridae is a family of Cretaceous aquatic ophidiomorphan lizards closely related to the snakes and mosasaurs.

<i>Shirerpeton</i> Extinct genus of amphibians

Shirerpeton is an extinct genus of albanerpetontid amphibian from the Early Cretaceous Kuwajima Formation, which is located in Japan. The type species is Shirerpeton isajii, which was described by Masumoto & Evans in 2018. Shirerpeton represents the first record of Albanerpetontidae in East Asia and the holotype is SBEI 2459, a small block bearing most of a disarticulated but associated skull with some postcranial elements present as well.

<i>Hakusanobaatar</i>

Hakusanobaatar is an extinct genus of eobaatarid multituberculate which existed in Japan, during the early Cretaceous.

<i>Symmetrolestes</i> Extinct family of mammals

Symmetrolestes is an extinct genus of small spalacotheriid mammal from the Early Cretaceous period of Japan. The genus contains one species known as S. parvus, the type fossil is from fluvial deposits located in the Dinosaur Quarry in the Kitadani Formation, near the city of Katsuyama which lies alongside valley of the Sugiyamagawa River. It was described by Tsubamoto and Rougier in 2004 keeping the holotype at the National Science Museum, Tokyo, Japan.

The Tetori Group is a stratigraphic group in Japan, found within several basins in and around Fukui Prefecture. It is Early Cretaceous in age. It primarily consists of freshwater continental deposits, with some beds of volcanic tuffite. It primarily overlies Jurassic marine sediments or gneiss basement. Some of the units within the group are noted for their fossil content, including dinosaurs, lizards mammals and other vertebrates.

Fossiomanus is an extinct genus of tritylodontid mammaliamorphs from the Early Cretaceous of China. It includes one species, F. sinensis, which is known from a single nearly complete skeleton from the Aptian Jiufotang Formation. Features of its limbs and vertebrae indicate that Fossiomanus was adapted towards a fossorial lifestyle.

References

  1. Fujita, M. (2003). "Geological age and correlation of the vertebrate-bearing horizons in the Tetori Group". Memoir of the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum. 2: 3–14.
  2. Amiot, Romain; Kusuhashi, Nao; Saegusa, Haruo; Shibata, Masateru; Ikegami, Naoki; Shimojima, Shizuo; Sonoda, Teppei; Fourel, François; Ikeda, Tadahiro; Lécuyer, Christophe; Philippe, Marc; Wang, Xu (2021-01-01). "Paleoclimate and ecology of Cretaceous continental ecosystems of Japan inferred from the stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of vertebrate bioapatite". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 205: 104602. Bibcode:2021JAESc.20504602A. doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2020.104602 . ISSN   1367-9120.
  3. 1 2 Ohashi, T.; Barrett, P. M. (2009). "A new ornithischian dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Kuwajima Formation of Japan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (3): 748–757. doi:10.1671/039.029.0306. S2CID   128546047.
  4. 1 2 3 Kusuhashi, Nao (September 2008). "Early Cretaceous Multituberculate Mammals from the Kuwajima Formation (Tetori Group), Central Japan". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 53 (3): 379–390. doi: 10.4202/app.2008.0302 . ISSN   0567-7920.
  5. 1 2 Hiroshige Matsuoka, Nao Kusuhashi and Ian J. Corfe (2016). "A new Early Cretaceous tritylodontid (Synapsida, Cynodontia, Mammaliamorpha) from the Kuwajima Formation (Tetori Group) of central Japan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Online edition:
  6. Matsumoto, Ryoko; Evans, Susan E. (2018-01-03). "The first record of albanerpetontid amphibians (Amphibia: Albanerpetontidae) from East Asia". PLOS ONE. 13 (1): e0189767. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1389767M. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189767 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   5752013 . PMID   29298317.
  7. 1 2 Mizukami, Ayano; Matsumoto, Ryoko; Wani, Ryoji; Evans, Susan E. (2023-01-04). "A Three-Dimensionally Preserved Frog (Amphibia, Anura) from the Lower Cretaceous Kuwajima Formation, Tetori Group, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan". Paleontological Research. 27 (3). doi:10.2517/PR210031. ISSN   1342-8144.
  8. Matsumoto, Ryoko; Manabe, Makoto; Evans, Susan E. (2015-07-04). "The first record of a long-snouted choristodere (Reptilia, Diapsida) from the Early Cretaceous of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan". Historical Biology. 27 (5): 583–594. doi:10.1080/08912963.2014.898296. ISSN   0891-2963.
  9. Evans, Susan E.; Manabe, Makoto (March 2008). "An early herbivorous lizard from the Lower Cretaceous of Japan". Palaeontology. 51 (2): 487–498. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00759.x . ISSN   0031-0239.
  10. 1 2 Barrett, Paul M.; Ohashi, Tomoyuki (October 2015). "Ornithischian dinosaur material from the Kuwajima Formation (Tetori Group: Lower Cretaceous) of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan". Historical Biology. 28 (1–2): 280–288. doi:10.1080/08912963.2015.1032273. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   128909019.
  11. MATSUOKA H. (2000). Fossils of the Kuwajima "Kasekikabe" (Fossil Bluff): a scientific report on a Neocomian (Early Cretaceous) fossil assemblage of the Kuwajima Formation, Tetori Group, Ishikawa, Japan.
  12. Rougier, Guillermo W.; Isaji, Shinji; Manabe, Makoto (2007). "An Early Cretaceous Mammal from the Kuwajima Formation (Tetori Group), Japan, and a Reassessment of Triconodont Phylogeny". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 76 (2): 73. doi:10.2992/0097-4463(2007)76[73:aecmft]2.0.co;2. ISSN   0097-4463.