975. DESMOSTYLIAN TOOTH REMAINS FROM THE MIOCENE TOKIGAWA GROUP AT KUZUBUKURO, SAITAMA, JAPAN

Abstract

Fifteen isolated desmostylian teeth from the Godo Conglomerate Member of the lower part of the Miocene Tokigawa Group at Kuzubukuro, Higashi-Matsuyama City, Saitama Prefecture, are described in detail. The fossils belong to two genera, Paleoparadoxia and Desmostylus. Twelve teeth belong to Paleoparadoxia, of which five are confidently identified as P. tabatai. Paleoparadoxia teeth include the upper canine, M1, M2, and M3, and lower P3 and M3. Three Desmostylus specimens include a milk canine? and fragments of cheek teeth. The significance of the Kuzubukuro specimens is that both genera occur together in the same stratigraphic unit, although the possibility of one or both being reworked cannot be discarded. Because a number of shark species and some other marine mammals, such as pinnipeds and cetaceans, occur in the Godo Conglomerate as well, the locality is important for reconstructing the paleoecology of the desmostylians.