Survival and extinction of the Taxodiaceae in the Quaternary of Japan

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  • 日本の第四紀におけるスギ科樹木の残存と絶滅の過程

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Abstract

The research history and stratigraphic occurrence of Taxodiaceae macrofossils from the Plio-Pleistocene sediments in central Japan were reviewed and the process of survival and extinction of the Taxodiaceae are discussed. Taiwania and Sequoia became extinct in the late Pliocene and the earliest Early Pleistocene. Metasequoia and Glyptostrobus became extinct in the latest Early Pleistocene. Cunninghamia survived up to the Middle Pleistocene and then became extinct. The extinction of these genera occurred in and around the well-defined stages of global climatic deterioration as shown in the marine oxygen isotope curves. During the same period the uplift of mountains around sedimentary basins increased and should have caused the other conifers including Cryptomeria, Cupressaceae, and Pinaceae to increase in abundance. The flood plain habitat of Metasequoia and Glyptostrobus was susceptible to orogenic and eustatic events that became more prevalent during the late early Pleistocene. Active uplift of mountains fragmented the alluvial lowlands and restricted the movement of Metasequoia and Glyptostrobus as climate and sea level changed.

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