Earth Science (Chikyu Kagaku)

On Japanese Proboscidean Fossils and views of the studies after that(<Special issue>Recent Progress in Studies on Japanese Proboscidean Fossils)

Tadao Kamei

Article type: Article
2000 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 211-230
Published: July 25, 2000
Released on J-STAGE: July 14, 2017

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.15080/agcjchikyukagaku.54.4_211

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Views of Japanese Proboscidean Fossils (1991) and of subsequent studies after publication are described in four sections. (1) As the publication was based on the studies by Proboscidean Research Group, a short history of the group is introduced first; (2) Among the studies after publication, some topics of the studies on Naumann's elephant, Palaeoloxodon naumanni (Makiyama) 1924, are discussed, i.e. taxonomical position, intraspecific variation, chronology and distribution, and relation to mammoth; (3) Also on stegodonts, some problems on systematic position, biostratigraphy, biogeography and footprints are disputed; (4) Some considerations on museum activity concerning elephant study are taken up, e.g. display, custody, information, restoration, research history. In addition, redescription of "Trilophodon" sendaicus Matsumoto 1924 is given in the last as an additional note.

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Reexamination of the Tabata Specimen of Palaeoloxodon naumanni with its Historical Review(<Special issue>Recent Progress in Studies on Japanese Proboscidean Fossils)

Norihisa Inuzuka

Article type: Article
2000 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 231-251
Published: July 25, 2000
Released on J-STAGE: July 14, 2017

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.15080/agcjchikyukagaku.54.4_231

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The Tabata specimen of Naumann's elephant, Palaeoloxodon naumanni, previously described by Tokunaga (1906), is reexamined with special reference to the dental morphology of its incisor and molars, based on recently acquired knowledge of the fossils, along with a historical review. Its specific position, which was regarded to be the same as Elephas antiquus at that time, can now be distinguished and identified as an independent species, P. naumanni. The tooth class which Tokunaga assigned as the fourth upper premolar should be corrected to the first lower molar, based on its crown width. Moreover, a life restoration drawing of a young male elephant is attempted based on the data obtained from the tooth class and tusk size of the Tabata specimen as well as some comparisons with other skeletal specimens.

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Characteristics in molar fossils of Naumann's elephant from the Naruto Straits, the eastern part of Seto Inland Sea, Japan.(<Special issue>Recent Progress in Studies on Japanese Proboscidean Fossils)

Ken-ichi Nakao

Article type: Article
2000 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 252-256
Published: July 25, 2000
Released on J-STAGE: July 14, 2017

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.15080/agcjchikyukagaku.54.4_252

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Many fossils of Naumann's elephant Palaeoloxodon naumanni have been dredged up from sea bottom of the Naruto Straits. The Naruto specimens of third molar kept in the Tokushima Prefectural Museum are made comparison with the Bisan-Seto, Shakagahana and Lake-Nojiri specimens from the standpoint of shapes and measurements. In conclusion, the Naruto specimens are somewhat smaller, and loxodont sinuses are relatively developed than the Lake-Nojiri specimens. However, differences between the Naruto, the Bisan-seto and the Shakagahana specimens are indistinct in size and morphology.

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Origin of the Japanese Proboscidea in the Plio-Pleistocene(<Special issue>Recent Progress in Studies on Japanese Proboscidean Fossils)

Keiichi Takahashi, Keiko Namatsu

Article type: Article
2000 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 257-267
Published: July 25, 2000
Released on J-STAGE: July 14, 2017

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.15080/agcjchikyukagaku.54.4_257

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S. shinshuensis, S. aurorae, M. protomammonteus, S. orientalis, P. naumanni and M. primigenius appeared successively during the Pio-Pleistocene in Japan. These proboscidean species take an important role in considering the origin and faunal succession of mammal fossils in Japan. The origin and faunal succession have been widely discussed by several authors, but most of these studies have been made through comparison between a faunal list of a given site and that of a specific region in the Asian Continent. We considered that this limited approach is an inadequate basis upon which to discuss meaningfully about the topic addressed in this paper, and therefore we include most papers that have described proboscidean fossils in China, Taiwan and Japan. A database that included 333 Chinese sites, 26 Taiwanese sites and 285 Japanese sites was prepared from these papers, and was used to produce a distribution map of proboscidean fossils in the Plio-Pleistocene. Field surveys and studies of museum materials have been made in these countries. These studies both provided new and supplementary information and clarified and corrected errors in the published literature. The sequence of the Plio-Pleistocene proboscidean fossils in China was correlated with the biozones of Japanese proboscidean fossils. A comparison of the proboscidean horizons of northern China with the biozones of the Japanese proboscideans showed the horizons of M. primigenius, P. naumanni and S. orientalis to be in agreement. These results of the distribution maps and the comparison with the biozones of Japanese proboscideans indicate that P. naumanni and S. orientalis originated in China. M. primigenius migrated to Japan from the northern region of mainland Asia. S. aurorae and M. protomammonteus are considered to be endemic species that have their ancestors in China.

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Skeletal restration of Stegodon aurorae (Proboscidea, Mammalia) and its feature : case study in the Taga specimen(<Special issue>Recent Progress in Studies on Japanese Proboscidean Fossils)

Shogo Konishi

Article type: Article
2000 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 268-278
Published: July 25, 2000
Released on J-STAGE: July 14, 2017

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.15080/agcjchikyukagaku.54.4_268

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Almost complete skeleton of Stegodon aurorae (Taga specimen) was found in Taga town, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. On the basis of the skeletal restration of the specimen, this paper presents morphological features of Stegodon aurorae. The restored skeleton is 193cm in shoulder height; 458cm in body length. The dorsal convex curvature in anterior thoracic vertebrae is rather strong, while straightened in posterior thoracic and lumber vertebrae. The shape lined with dorsal tips of spinous processes is straight. The restored skeleton was mounted in condition of walking referring to measurements of footprint fossils. S. zdanskyi is known as large proboscidea with bout 3.6m in shoulder height. Concerning of the body proportion in the S. aurorae and S. zdanskyi, the limbs of S. aurorae are relatively shorter for length of vertebral column than those of S. zdanskyi.

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Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility(Explanation of Geologic Term)

Mutsumi Nakai

Article type: Article
2000 Volume 54 Issue 4 Pages 279-280
Published: July 25, 2000
Released on J-STAGE: July 14, 2017

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.15080/agcjchikyukagaku.54.4_279

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