Abstract
Middle and Late Permian (Capitanian and Changhsingian) radiolarians were obtained from chert blocks located within conglomerates of the Kamiaso Unit of the Mino terrane along Tsubogawa River, Gifu Prefecture, Central Japan. Previously, the Capitanian and Changhsingian cherts have not been reported from the sequences of the Akiyoshi terrane. Therefore, the collected chert blocks were not derived from the Akiyoshi terrane. The Capitanian and Changhsingian cherts have been recovered from the Permian sequences of Jurassic accretionary complexes in Southwest Japan; however, the characteristics of the Permian radiolarian fauna of the chert blocks are inconsistent with those from previously recovered Permian cherts. This indicates that the chert blocks were not derived from previously known units including Permian sequences. A previous study suggested that Triassic-Jurassic chert clasts within the chert breccias of the Kamiaso Unit were derived from the accreted Kamiaso Unit on the landward trench slope. As the Permian chert has not been identified in the coherent facies of the Kamiaso Unit, the Permian sequences must have been subducted during accretion. Our results suggest that the chert blocks were derived from the pre-accretion Kamiaso Unit located on the outer trench slope.
