An incomplete pterosaur cervical vertebra from the "Upper" Formation (Late Cenomanian-Early Turonian) of the Mifune Group, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, is described. Although not complete, this vertebra is very elongated and has a reduced neural spine, allowing its assignment to the Azhdarchidae. It differs from other azhdarchids by being less constricted and by the morphology of the postzygapophyses. This Japanese occurrence extends the distribution of the Azhdarchidae during the Cretaceous to the easternmost part of Asia.

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Japanese species of the foraminiferal genus Murrayinella have a rotaliid aperture that is defined by a foraminal plate and umbilical coverplate. Our observations suggest that this genus must be transferred from the family Glabratellidae to the family Rotaliidae. Its morphological similarity to the genus Schackoinella, as shown by the presence of a peripheral spine on each chamber, must be a result of homeomorphic convergence. Murrayinella never possesses apertural grooves like those of glabratellids. We give a detailed description of the apertural structure of the Japanese species of Murrayinella and formally describe a new species, M. bellula.

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Discovery of upper premolar dentitions of Deperetella birmanica (Mammalia : Perissodactyla : Deperetellidae) from the Eocene Pondaung Formation, central Myanmar (=Burma) throws a new light on previously confused species-and genus-level systematics of Deperetella and its related genus Diplolophodon. Clarification of the relationship among the Deperetella species is particularly important for correlation of Eocene mammal faunas in Asia. The newly discovered material show the characteristics of the previously unknown upper premolar dentition of D. birmanica, demonstrating that Deperetella similis (the type species of the genus Diplolophodon) from China is a junior synonym of Deperetella birmanica and that D. birmanica is clearly distinguishable from all other species of Deperetella. The genus Diplolophodon, to which D. birmanica has often been allocated, is regarded conventionally as a junior synonym of Deperetella because this genus is not sufficiently distinct from Deperetella to warrant generic separation. The presence of D. birmanica and its comparable species in several Eocene deposits of Myanmar, China and Mongolia suggests that these deposits are roughly contemporaneous.

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A larger foraminiferal assemblage consisting of Miogypsinella ubaghsi (Tan), Spiroclypeus margaritatus (Schlumberger) and other species is described from limestone blocks dredged at two sites on the Komahashi-Daini Seamount of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. The fauna dates the limestone samples as Late Oligocene and is correlatable with the younger part of the Minamizaki Limestone on the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. These shallow-water benthic foraminifera give evidence for the shallow-water attitude of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge during the Oligocene, which has been rifted, submerged, and finally subsided to the present water depth.

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Kheraiceras Spath reached its peak during the Late Bathonian-Early Callovian and achieved a wide biogeographic distribution during that interval. The genus speciated rapidly and is represented in the fossil record by many species. The present endeavour provides a full taxonomic account of six species, of which five are from Kutch, western India. The sixth, K. noetlingisp. nov., is based on the specimen described as 'Sphaeroceras' cf. bullatum d'Orbigny by Noetling (1896) from Baluchistan, Pakistan. Among the five Kutch species one has also been found in Baluchistan. We know little about specific dimorphism in Kheraiceras. In at least three instances dimorphic pairs have been matched. Of the six species of Kheraiceras described herein three are new and two are new records. They are : Kheraiceras cosmopolitum, K. bullatum, K. cf. hannoveranum, K. spathi sp. nov., K. sp. A, and K. noetlingi sp. nov. Like many other biota, including other ammonites, Kheraiceras speciation is marked by a high degree of endemism in the Kutch Sea, which extended up to Baluchistan. The endemism in this newly opened basin is due to the transgressions resulting from the fragmentation of Gondwanaland.

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New names are proposed for two genera of Permian stauraxon radiolarians to correct existing homonymy; the replacement names are Raciditor Sugiyama for Nazarovella De Wever and Caridroit and Kimagior Sugiyama for Deflandrella De Wever and Caridroit. This action makes the family Deflandrellidae De Wever and Caridroit invalid according to Art. 39 of ICZN (1999), therefore the family Kimagioridae is established to replace Deflandrellidae.

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