Middle Permian brachiopod faunas of Japan and South Primorye, Far East Russia: their palaeobiogeographic and tectonic implications

Abstract

Similarity of the generic compositions of the Middle Permian brachiopod faunas of Japan and South Primorye indicates a close tectonic relationship between the Voznesenka Belt, South Primorye and the Hida Gaien Belt, southwest Japan and also between the Sergeevka Belt, South Primorye and the South Kitakami Belt, northeast Japan. The original continuation of these belts is now invisible owing to the Cretaceous thrust movement and left-lateral strike-slip faulting in the Japan—South Primorye region and the Early Neogene opening of the Japan Sea. The total sinistral displacement of the Central Sikhote—Alin Fault, Partizan Fault, Tanakura—Median Tectonic Line, Hatakawa Tectonic Line, Kurosegawa Tectonic Zone and associated minor faults may be about 1,500–2,000 km.