Di Martino, E.; Rosso, A.; Taylor, P. D.; Chiu, R. W.; Fujita, K.; Kitamura, A.; Yasuhara, M. (2025). Unveiling the cheilostome bryozoan fauna of Daidokutsu submarine cave (Okinawa, Japan) over the last 7,000 years. Palaeontologia Electronica.

505232

10.26879/1433 [view]

Di Martino, E.; Rosso, A.; Taylor, P. D.; Chiu, R. W.; Fujita, K.; Kitamura, A.; Yasuhara, M.

2025

Publication

The study of marine bryozoans in Japan dates to the late 1800s, with research pri- marily focusing on Pleistocene and Recent faunas in shallow-water shelf habitats. This paper aims to address gaps in the study of Holocene bryozoan assemblages from cave habitats in Japan by examining the cheilostome bryozoan fauna of a sediment core (Core 19) spanning the last 7,000 years extracted from Daidokutsu cave, a sub- marine cave on Ie Island, Okinawa. The study describes and illustrates using scanning electron microscopy, 63 cheilostome bryozoan species, comprising 17 anascan-grade and 46 ascophoran-grade cheilostomes, and introduces three new genera and 30 new species, a significant proportion consistent with previous studies on other Japanese bryozoan faunas. Additionally, we transfer the family Crepidacanthidae from Mamillo- poroidea to Adeonoidea. This research establishes a critical taxonomic foundation for future ecological studies aimed at understanding the responses of the bryozoan com- munity in this cave habitat to environmental and climate changes through the Holo- cene. The inclusion of bryozoan data expands the multi-taxon approach that was previously focused on other groups of organisms (ostracods, molluscs, foraminifera), thus providing a more comprehensive understanding of the historical biodiversity and ecological dynamics of the region.

Japan

Paleontology, Fossils, Paleobiology
Systematics, Taxonomy

Ectoprocta

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