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Home , Argonauta hians, Argonautidae, Spire (mollusc)

Cainozoic Research, 4(1-2), pp. 19-25, February 2006

First post-Miocene Argonauta from , and its Palaeontological Significance

Susumu Tomida Masahiro Shiba² & Takami Nobuhara³ ¹,

1 Departmentof Management, Chukyo Gakuin University, Nakatsugawa City, Gifu, 509-9195, Japan.

'Natural History Museum, Tokai University, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, 424-8620, Japan.

J .Science Education (Geology), Faculty of Education, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan.

Received 1 January 2003; revised version accepted 29 July 2003

A ofArgonautahians Lightfoot, 1786,an epipelagic octopod living now in tropical and subtropical oceans, was obtained from the upper Pliocene Dainichi Formation ofthe Kakegawa Group, central Japan. Its occurrence accompaniedby abundant tropical and subtropical benthic molluscs indicates the influence ofthe warm ocean current in the mid-latitudeofNW Pacific during the Late Pliocene

2 This is the first of formation warm episode (c. Ma). record argonautid species from a post-Miocene Japanese and marks the first ap-

in the NW Pacific. In the Middle around the pearance ofa living Argonautaspecies Miocene, many argonautid species flourished Japa- nese Islands, but none are known from the post-Miocene as a result ofthe Late Miocene intensifiedAntarctic glaciation (Robin, 1988)

and the terminal The is the known from the Pliocene the Miocene coolingevent (Beu, 1990). Argonauta only surviving genus to present. The fossil occurrenceofArgonautahians from the Japanese Pliocene suggests that this surviving lineage expandedits distribu- tion mid-latitude Pacific Pliocene into the NW during the warm climatic event.

Key : , Pliocene, words: Argonauta, Japan.

Introduction Geologic setting

In August, 2000, a fossil Argonauta was foundin the upper The Kakegawa Group is a Plio-Pleistocene fore-arc basin

Pliocene Tenno silty sand Member, Dainichi Formation, deposit of the Pacific side of SW Japan. The upper part of

Kakegawa Group, at Koichi, Kakegawa City, Shizuoka the Kakegawa Group is divided into three formations in

Prefecture, central Japan (Figure 1). The specimen is well ascending order: the KamiuchidaFormation(turbidite), the preserved and allows us to identify the fossil as Argonauta Dainichi Formation (shelf sand and silty sand), and the hiansLightfoot, 1786, an epipelagic octopod species living Hijikata Formation (slope silt) (Figure 2, 3) (Shiba et al., now in tropical and subtropical oceans. Shibaetal. (2001) 2000). Shibaet al. (2000) traced volcanic ash layers inter- figured the specimen, but with no systematic description, calated in the three formations and noted that the Kamiu- and did not mention its palaeontological significance. chida, Dainichi, and Hijikata Formations correspond to the

fossil have been all the and Many argonauts reported over lowstand, transgressive, highstand systems tract, re- world in strata ofthe Oligocene to Lower Pliocene, and are spectively, from the viewpoint of sequence stratigraphy.

important indicators of marine climate and palaeo-ocean currents (e.g.. Bellardi, 1872;Hilber, 1915; Martin, 1929; The Dainichi Formation unconformably covers Miocene

Fleming, 1945; Kobayashi, 1954a,b; Kaseno, 1955; To- basement rocks in the northwestern part (landward margin)

mida, 1983; Noda etal., 1986). of the basin, and the volcanic ash layers in the formation

is the first record of fossil from show coastal The ofthe Daini- This paper an argonautid a onlap patterns. geologic age post-Miocene Japanese formation, and it marks the first chi Formation is determined to be latest Pliocene (c. 2.0

Ma) several appearance of a living Argonauta species in the NW Pa- by chronological techniques, e.g., radiometric

cific. We provide a systematic description of Argonauta dating (Shibata et al., 1984) and microbiostratigraphy

hians Lightfoot, 1786 on the basis of the fossil specimen, (planktonic foraminifers: Ibaraki, 1986; calcareous nanno-

and discuss its palaeontological significance in relation to : Kameo, 1998).

Neogene climatic events. - 20 -

1. Index and ofthe northwestern of Shiba b-f: Plio- Figure map geological map part KakegawaCity (after et al., 2001). a: Holocene,

Pleistocene volcanic d: Tenno sand Member KakegawaGroup (b: ash, c: Hijikata Formation, silty ofthe Dainichi Formation, e: Dai-

nichi sand Member ofthe Dainichi f: Kamiuchida Miocene basement rocks. Black circle shows the fossil Formation, Formation), g:

locality from which was recovered.

2. of the and ofthe fossil of hians. Sea level Figure Upper Neogene sequence Kakegawa area, stratigraphic position locality Argonauta

eustatic curve redrawn from Malmgren & Berggren (1987). - 21 -

The in the Dainichi Formation transgression recognized Type-species — Linnaeus, 1758

corresponds to the global sea-level rise at 2.0 - 1.8 Ma

shown by Haq et al. (1987) and Malmgren & Berggren

(1987). Argonauta hians Lightfoot, 1786

Figures 5a-d

A columnar section for the fossil locality is shown in Fig-

3. The DainichiFormationis ofthe Dainichi Selective ure composed synonymy;

sand Member and the Tenno 1786 hians (nearshore facies) silty sand Argonauta Lighttoot, p. 44

1920 hians Member (off shore facies), in ascending order. The fossil Argonauta sensu Bulow-Trummer, p. 269.

(listed Argonauta occurs in a shell-rich sand lens intercalatedin only) 1984 Argonauta hians sensu Bandel & Dullo, 37, figs the Tenno silty sand Member. The sand lens is 40 cm in p. 14, 15. (figured only) maximumthickness, but pinches out rapidly. The sand lens 1993 Argonauta hians sensu Trego, 299, figs 1-J, K. contains clasts and p. muddy rip-up covers the underlying (figured only) silty sand with an erosional contact. Abundantwarm-water 2001 hians Shiba 14. Argonauta sensu et al., p. 86, fig. benthic mollusks occur in the sand lens. Almost all ofthem (figured only) are nearshore, sandy-bottom dwellers, such as Suchium

suchiense suchiense (Yokoyama), perterebra

Material — Yokoyama, Glossaulax hagenoshitensis (Shuto), Babylo- examined An almostcomplete femaleegg case

nia elata(Yokoyama), Scapharca castellata (Yokoyama), (Natural History Museum, Tokai University: Reg. no. is Glycymeris totomiensis Makiyama, Glycymeris albolineata NHMT-KM0023) laterally compressed and lacking the

hom-like rostrum on one side, collected from the (Lischke), Amussiopecten praesignis (Yokoyama), Chla- upper

Pliocene Dainichi Formation at Koichi, mys satoi (Yokoyama), Bathytormus foveolatus (Sowerby), Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Megacardita panda (Yokoyama), Callista chinensis (Hol- Prefecture, Japan (34°46'57” N, 138°0'48” E).

ten) and Paphia takanabensis Shuto. In contrast, the silty

— An rather sand beds just below and above the sand lens yield muddy- Description egg case calcareous, small, thin, bottom dwellers of lower-shelf and with no to slope depths, such as single-chambered septae. Spire coiling very

Yoldia similis Kuroda & Habe and The involutely and rapidly expanding. shallow and Fulgoraria sp. sand closed. section inflated, somewhat lens is interpreted as an infill of a small channel or a local slightly higher

than wide, and Outer side scour on the lower shelf to slope. broadly subtrapezoidal. flattened, wider toward the becoming gradually , and bicari-

nate; widely-spaced double keels formed by two rows of

rather large, obtuse, distally narrow and elongate spinose

nodules nodules; spinose in one row arranged alternately

relative to those in the other; the area between nodule rows

is smooth. Lateral sides ornamentedwith numerous, coarse,

and sinuous radial smooth, prorsiradiate, weakly ribs; ra-

dial 35+ in ribs, numberon the last whorl, bifurcating into

main and intercalatory ones and terminating at spinose

nodules on the keels. Aperture widely subtrapezoidal in section; hom-like a projection on apertural margin near the

umbilicus.

Measurements — Maximum diameter 58.9 mm, max.

width of half23.8 one mm, aperture height c. 44 mm.

Figure 3. Columnar section for the fossil locality. Arrow indi- Comparison — The living and extinct Argonauta species cates the horizon ofthe fossil locality, a: mud to silty sand, b: be classified into three can groups on the basis ofegg case fine-grained sand, c: mud to silty sand intercalating fine- morphology: the first represented by A. hians grained sand layers, d: muddy rip-up clasts, e: shell remains, Lightfoot, f: burrows. 1786 with widely spaced keels and smooth radial ribs, the

second A. represented by argo Linnaeus, 1758 with nar-

rowly spaced keels and smooth radial ribs, and the third

A. nodosa Systematic palaeontology represented by Lightfoot, 1786 with widely

spaced keels and nodulose radial ribs.

Class Cephalopoda Cuvier. 1797 Argonauta hians resembles the following extinct species of

Superorder Dibranchiata Owen, 1836 the first group: Argonauta sismondai Bellardi, 1872 from

Order Octopoda Leach, 1818 the Lower Pliocene of San Stefano, Roero, Torino, Italy;

Family Cantraine, 1841 Argonauta oweri Fleming, 1945 from the Lower Pliocene

Subfamily Argonautinae Berry, 1912 of New Zealand; batavus Martin, 1929 from the

Genus ArgonautaLinnaeus, 1758 Middle Miocene of Palembang, Sumatra. - 22 -

4. of fossil and Figure Geological range living argonautids

Argonauta hians most closely resembles A. sismondai pelago (Nesis, 1977), the Mediterranean and Red Sea

among them, but is distinguished from it by having a (Mienis, 1978), offPapua-New Guinea(Knight, 1989),and

somewhat larger egg case with thinnerand finer radialribs. off South Africa (Norman, 2000).

Moreover, spinose nodules of A. hians are fine, distally

narrow and elongate, whereas those of A. sismondai are

gibbous. Argonauta hians differs fromA. oweri by having Discussion

a smaller shell with coarser radial ribs and coarser spinose

nodules. Argonauta hians is distinguished from Kapal ba- Modern argonauts live and reproduce primarily in tropical

tavus by having an involute spire and less spaced keels. to subtropical seas at epipelagic depths, but they are fre-

drifted into quently neighbouring temperate seas by winds

Distribution— Pliocene: Piemont, Italy (Biilow-Trummer, and currents (Stadum & Saul, 2000). Unlike empty Nauti-

Ponte & lus 1920), near Rimini, Italy (Bandel Dullo, 1984). shells, cases are and without argonautid egg fragile sep-

and Upper Pliocene: Dainichi Formation in Shizuoka Prefec- tae camerae, that is lacking in the buoyancy, and are

ture, central Japan (Shiba et al., 2001; present study). Liv- unlikely to be transported far after death (Stadum & Saul,

ing: Warm Pacific and Atlantic oceanic seas (Abbott & 2000).

Pacific of Archi- Dance, 1998): e.g., W. and Sea E. Indian - 23 -

5. 1786 the Pliocene Dainichi Figure NHMT-KM0023. Argonautahians Lightfoot, from upper Formation, Koichi, KakegawaCity,

Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan; 5a - left lateral side, 5b - ventral side, 5c - right lateral side, 5d - anterior side. All figures xl .5 and with

whitening; Scale bar 10 mm).

Therefore, the fossil occurrence of a well-preserved egg the Late Pliocene, and indicate the strong influence of

case from the Dainichi Formation suggests that Argonauta warm palaeo-Kuroshio current.

hians were living in the epipelagic sea off central Japan in The palaeoclimatic view is consistent with that the Dainichi - 24 -

Formation benthic mol- yields many tropical to subtropical are also due to Dr. Tadashi Kubota, Director ofthe Natural lusks the Tokai for his kind represented by following species. (Luna- History Museum, University, support tica) marmoratus Linnaeus, Thiara scabra (Muller), and critical comment on this study.

Gyrineum cuspidatum (Reeve), Bathytormus foveolatus

(Sowerby) and other species (Tomida & Ozawa, 1996;

Ozawa et al„ 1998). The northern limits of their distribu- References tion are now off or Ryukyu Islands, but were ex- panded to central Japan during the peak of the climatic Abbott, R.T. & Dance, S.P. 1998, Compendium ofseashells. 3rd optimum around 2 Ma (Ozawa et al„ 1995). ed. 411 USA, California, Odyssey Publishing, pp. Besides the palaeoclimatological significance, even more Bandel, K. & Dullo. W.-C. 1984. Zur Schalenstruktur fossiler important is that this fossil occurrence is the first record of und rezenter Argonauta-Gehäuse(Octopoda, Cephalopoda).

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