Abstract
A new fossil assemblage of terrestrial vertebrates was found from limestone breccias, forming a cave deposit in the Futenma-gu (Shrine) Cave, Ginowan City, Okinawa (long., 26°17′19.5″;lat., 127°46′44.2″).The site represents one of the well preserved and most fo ssiliferous localities of terrestrial vertebrates in Ryukyu Islands. The assemblage of the Futenmagu site consists of the following species. Mammalia: Cervus astylodon, Dicrocerus sp. and Chiroptera; Amphibia and Reptilia: Testudo sp. nov., Geoemyda spengleri japonica , Japalura sp. And there are a few species of Ayes. As the good majority of the fossil bones be-longs to deer, it was attempted to estimate the number of individuals of each species of the fossil deers by canine teeth and axes; minimum of 67 individuals of Cervus astylodon and 133of Dicrocerus sp. were counted. This assemblage records the first fossil locality of Geoemyda spengleri japonica in Okinawa-jima and an addition for Tesudo sp. nov. in Ryukyu Islands. The species composition of the Futenma-gu assemblage is characterized with the abundance of Cervus astylodon and Dicrocerus sp . and the lack of Sus sp. and Diplothrix legata, so that it is tentatively correlated with the Yamashita-cho Daiichi Cave assemblage (Naha, Okinawa) of 32, 000 ± 1, 000y.B.P.in radiocarbon age. It is suggested that fossil land tortoises were introduced into the Ryukyu Islands earlier than hitherto presumed.
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