A Late Permian coral reef complex, South Kitakami Terrane, Japan

Abstract

The early Late Permian (Kubergandian to Midian) Iwaizaki Limestone of the South Kitakami Terrane, situated in Northeast Japan, represents a coral reef complex which was formed on a faulted-bank in an active continental margin. The reef-building organisms include cerioid and dendroid rugose corals, a fasciculate tabulate coral and solenoporacean algae as constructors, calcisponges, bryozoans and crinoids as bafflers, and Tubiphytes, Archaeolithoporella and cyanobacteria as binders. The biotic composition is more diverse than the other coeval reefs. Characterized by the existence of an obvious framework, this reef is similar to the Recent coral reefs and unique among Late Permian reefs, most of which are mainly formed by calcisponges and calcareous algae.The distribution of Late Permian reefs is closely related to the palaeoclimate. Coral reefs were developed mainly around the South China and Indochina continental masses between the Tethys Sea and the Panthalassa Ocean, in the tropics. While, calcisponge reefs and Tubiphytes-algal crust reefs were common in tropical to subtropical regions, and stromatolite-bryozoan reefs developed in arid areas. The gradational distribution of Late Permian organic reefs including localized development of coral reefs were probably caused by decreasing of the glaciers and changing of the ocean current systems.