Naha Limestone, Ryukyu Group, Okinawa: Late Pliocene, Japan

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Malacostraca - Decapoda - Callichiridae
Karasawa et al. 1995
Malacostraca - Decapoda - Portunidae
Podophthalmus vigil (Fabricius 1798)
Karasawa et al. 1995
Malacostraca - Decapoda - Leucosiidae
Myra fugax (Fabricius 1798)
Karasawa et al. 1995
Malacostraca - Decapoda - Macrophthalmidae
Karasawa et al. 1995
Karasawa et al. 1995
Bivalvia - Arcida - Arcidae
Bentharca sp. Verrill and Bush 1898
Once referred to as Pseudogramatodon pacificus.....an unlikely ID according to MacNeil (1960)
Bivalvia - Ostreida - Gryphaeidae
Ostrea musashiana Yokoyama 1920
Bivalvia - Pectinida - Pectinidae
Chlamys satoi Yokoyama 1928
see common names

Geography
Country:Japan State/province:Okinawa
Coordinates: 26.5° North, 127.8° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Geographic resolution:basin
Time
Period: Neogene Epoch: Pliocene
Stage: Piacenzian 10 m.y. bin: Cenozoic 6
Key time interval: Late Pliocene
Age range of interval: 3.6 - 2.58 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Ryukyu Member:Naha Limestone
Regional section:Okinawa
Stratigraphic resolution:formation
Stratigraphy comments: The lower part of the Riukiu Limestone is called the Naha Limestone. It is of Pliocene age and is seperated from the overlying Yontan Limestone (Pleistocene) by an erosional boundary. The Naha Limestone is not a homogeneous lithologic unit. Most of it is poorly indurated medium to coarse grained lime sand, but other parts of it range from a powdery limestone to a dense nonporous limestone. It ranges in color from nearly white to brownish yellow.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:brown,yellow poorly lithified calcareous grainstone
Secondary lithology:brown,white poorly lithified "limestone"
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: Poorly indurated medium to coarse grained lime sand, but other parts of it range from a powdery limestone to a dense nonporous limestone. It ranges in color from nearly white to brownish yellow.
Environment:lagoonal/restricted shallow subtidal
Glacial or sequence phase:transgressive
Geology comments: Probably is a reef limestone, but only coral rich in a few places. It is presumed that the Naha Limestone is a detrital lagoon deposit or a reef detritus deposited on an insular shelf. The lower part is more widespread that the upper part, probably reflecting erosion during deposition of the Yontan Limestone. The highest beds are less conglomeratic and generally contain abundant algal nodules.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body,original aragonite
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:some macrofossils
Collection methods:selective quarrying,field collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Collection method comments: Collections held in USNM and UGSG repositories.
Taxonomic list comments:Taxa described in text, but not listed for specific localities. Importantly this list contains bivalvia
Metadata
Database number:42383
Authorizer:A. Hendy Enterer:A. Hendy
Modifier:A. Hendy Research group:marine invertebrate
Created:2004-07-28 13:52:11 Last modified:2025-02-22 15:12:02
Access level:the public Released:2004-07-28 13:52:11
Creative Commons license:CC0
Reference information

Primary reference:
7337. F. S. MacNeil. 1960. Tertiary and Quaternary Gastropoda of Okinawa: A comparison of the late Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene Gastropoda of Okinawa with related faunas of East Asia together with a resume of the geological setting of the fossiliferous deposits. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 339:1-148 [A. Miller/C. Ferguson/P. Wagner]

Secondary references:

137211% 3220H. Karasawa, T. Nohara, and K. Shimoji. 1995. Decapod Crustacea from the Ryukyu Group (Pleistocene) of Okinawa-jima, Japan. Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum 22:127-135 [A. Miller/A. Hendy/A. Hendy]