Trans. Proc. Palaeont. Soc. Japa n , N. S .. No. 34, pp. 105- 1 1 0 . pis.

10, 1 1 , June 1 5, 1959

364. ON THE ·• NIPPONONAIA " FROM T H E LOWER CRETACEOUS

WAKI�O SUBGROUP, NORTH KYUSYU, JAPAN.

(Studies on the 1'.foll u scan Fauna of the Cretaceous

lnkstone Series. Part 3.)*

YOSHI HISA OTA

Fukuoka Liberal Arts Col l ege.

"F$B i\l!:>f,�ffilli lmMi!11 " XiPJxmonaia " 1:. -? 1. , -r : L. R. Cox 1W± c 1J ,t,.j;li� c 0)�
�1:.�l � "t ¢ /1661JlY- Ftmim0 t Ci) li . orn ament. out l i ne. hi nge !'!j"t' Nippononoia 1:.!J;) -C l '
7.> . fl\ [., hi nge, orname n t -Cffi:% t, ;};, I) Nippo11onaia O.:> d i ag nos i s c �'.£1r. :;t-3& l,, t.;
•. ' · Nippo11011aia ��lt�* li l.f:i ijf ::'f' ljij -Cf.f\ i:. �1<"t'�� I/L t ' ;., . VJ;-::> -C J{Jlfl{:r.fili k O.:>itr.�
n'ib 7.> ii:�·@ t;t " Nippononaia " .!: l/t" Jfll N t -. llb6!ff "F$f!fl b · iS 2 ffrf;!! � Jc� [.,f: . x o r na·
menl "t'?f.18i:. J: < {l:l ;.z. Trigonioides � O.:>ltl�.?.\ �IJJJ iS b ·l:. \., t: .

I n 1941 , SuzuKt erected a subgenu s, at Shinshu, Korea. The specimen (Co x ,

Nippononaia. with an i nternal and exter­
nal mou Ids. However, whether the
speci mens came from the Lower Cre­
taceous of Sanchu graben i n Kwanto
mou nta i ns or Katsu raga,va bas i n i n
eastern Sh i koku was a quesion. They
were u nfortunately gone by a fire i n
the Second Great War.
Lately I collected several specimens
from the Lo\ver Cretaceous Wak i no sub­
group. They are s i m ilar t o Trigonioides
kodairai KoBAYAs11r and SuzuKr i n the
ornament and Plicatounio kwamnonensis
OTA i n the h i nge nature. Namely. they
have intermed iate features between
Trigonioides and Plicatowzio but probably
more related to Nippononaia ryoseleiana
Suz u K r i n both respects. When the
h inge is u nknown, one can not d i s­
1955. Text fig. A ; KoBA YAsm. 1 9 56 . P l .
V . Fig. 3 ; 0-rA. P l . 6. Fig. 1 1 ) wh ich
was d isputed by Cox and K o 11AvAs 1 1 r
was an i nternal mou ld collected b y me
from the lower W"<lkino formation. Cox
referred i t to T. kodairai. and KonAYAsllr
t o Plicatozmio naktongensis multiplicatus.
i f not a Nippononaia. It is d ifficult to
deci de whether the speci men belongs to
" Nippononaia " or Plicatounio, for i ts
surface ornament can not be seen. I
have once ident i fied i t w i t h T. lwdairai,
but now i t is ascertained that the Wa­
k i no specimens can be d isti ngui shed
from Trigonioides in the hinge nature.
I want to describe here two new spe­
cies from the lower \Va k i no format ion.
which are provisionally referred to
' · Nippononaia although much obscuri­
",

t i ngu ish them from T. kodairai. There­ ty i s attached t o the hinge nature of
fore these Wak i no specimens have once true Nippono11aia and i ts taxonom ic posi­
been taken for T. kodairai but i ts type t ion i s ambiguous.
loca l i ty is the lower Naktong formation Before going further. I wish to
---- - - - ---

* Received J u l y 26. 1958 ; red Feb. J.!. 1959 record his warmest appreciat ions to
at Hiroshima Un iversity. Prof. T. KoBAYAS H I of the Universi t y

1 05
1 ()() Yoshiltisa OT1l

of Tokyo, for his cont inuous encou r · valve of " Nippo11011aia " . while i n that
agemcnt, and express many t hanks to_ of Trigonioides t he y are four in number,
Messrs I. HAYA�11 and A. ToKt:YA�JA d i verg i ng from beak to the anterior
of the l:nh·ers i ty and l\Tr. 1\1. NA KA:'\o h i nge marg i n with angles o f 0 ', 30 ° . 60 °
of t h e H i roshima U n i versity and Assist. and 90 ° (Text-fig. A).
Prof. H. Ho:-;To of the Fukuoka L i bera l The h i nge p l ate of " Nippononaia " is
Arts Col lege at Tagawa for t h e i r k i nd narrow \v i th s l ender teeth and that of
help. Trigonioides w ide w i th stout denti t ion.
Suz i: i.; 1 i n his second paper (19,13) took
I Distinction among " Nippo11011 aia", I rue Nippo11011aia as a subgenus of
Plicato1111io i nstead o f U11io because o f
Trigo11ioides and Plicato1111io.
i ts h i nge nat u re i nd i s t i nguishab l e from
A. The d i fference of " NiPJ>o· that o f Plicatounio. " Nippononaia " is
no11aia " from Trigonioides on one side, somewhat s i m i lar t o P. /m.•anmonensis OTA
from Plicatounio on the other. One can 0958) i n the h inge hut fa i r l y d i fferent
eas i l y d i s t i ngu ish t he last from the from P. nal?to11ge11sis wh i c h has many
t w o others in ou t l i ne and ornament. u n i onid featu res in the h i nge natu re.
Name ly. Plicafo1111io is d i st i nc t from
them i n i t s posterior rad i a l p l icati ons
II Comparison between American
and transversely e longated ou t l i ne. Pli·
catou11io is more or less simi lar to " Nip­ species of Nippn11011<1i a and
po11011aia '' in the subquadrate or su b­ " 1Vippo11011 aia ,, of the
triangu lar outl i ne.
Wakino s u bgro111>.
B. I t i s not always easy to d i stingu­
i sh " Nippononaia · • from Trigonioides as REESJDE ( 1957) reported t h e find of
t hey resemble in the outl i nes and orna­ Nipponrmaia in the Lower Cretaceous of
ments. As the resu l t of t hi s study. i t Colorado, North America. Comparing
was found t hat the two genera can be " Nippononaia" of Waki no with R E E S J DE'S,
d i st i ng u ished by the hinge nat u re . the foll o\v i ng differences can hard l y be
More precisely, t he median teeth are overlooked.
more developed i n Trigo11ioides t han i n 1) In the compos i tion and arrange­
" Nippanonaia " . as formu l ated below : ment of the teeth, they are very m u c h
a l i ke. but R E F:SJ DE·s teeth a r e not d i s ­
" .Nippononaia "

t inctly crenulated a s those of Wak i no

5a 3a (3b) 5b
form.
-(4a) - 2a (l') 2b - .Jb
2) REESmE"s appears rather smooth
Trigonioidcs
accord i ng t o h i s Text-figure 2 ( R E E S J D E ,
(5a) 3a la (lb) 3b 1957. p . 652), b u t t he l\Takino form has
(4 a) 2a-- l ' a
-- ( l '� 2- b-
- 41) d i stinc t crenulation on the ventral
where brackets i nd i cate such great margi n . However. 1 can not make sure
variabil i ty that the teet h in brackets whether t he ventral margin of R E E s mE 's
are somet imes total l y absen t . F urther· is crenu lated or smooth as noth i ng is
more. the d i fference between them exi sts stated .
i n t he d i spos i t ion of h i nge teeth. Two 3) I n ornamentation R E E s 1 0E's is more
pseudocard inal teeth are subparallel to s i m i l ar to Trif{onioides matsumotoi Ko·
the anterior h i nge marg i n in the left BAYAs1 1 r and Si:zu1-: 1 than Nippononaia
 364 . " Nippononaia " from the Lower Cretaceous 107

l o.

4a

Te xt-fig ure. A. Hi n ge-structure of " :\7ippo11011aia " . Trigo11ioides and Trigonia.

1 a. " 1Vippo11011aia " 1caki11oe11sis (?) OTA, n. sp.
1 b. " Nippo11011aia " se11gokue11sis OTA, n . sp.
Lower Wak i n o
subgroup. N . Kyusyu. Japan (based o n a n artitidal cast made
from a natural mould.)
2. Trigo11ioides paucisulcatus suzukii OTA n . subsµ.
Upper Wakino subgroup, '.\. Kyusyu, Japan (based on a n artilii.: i al rnst made
from1rn natural mould.)
3 a. and 3 b. Trigonioides matsumotoi KOBA YASllI and St;zcK 1
Upper Gosyonoura group. Amakusa. Japan (based on an artificial cast made
from a nat ural mould.)
4 a. Trigonioides kobayashi 1-loFFET
Senonian Bas Laos (based on a left val Yc)
•I b. Based on HoFF E T ( 1 937) Text-fig. (P. 10. fig. 3)
5. Neotrigonia margaritacea L A � I A R C K
6. Scabrolrigouia scabrn (LAMARCK)
Based on t h e Text-figs. 2 0 a n d 2 2 (JJ. 25) publ ished by L r n K UC ll l'\ E R ( 1 932) .

ryose!?iana and W akino form.

III Description of Species.
As the difference between R E E :; 1 0E's
form and Wak ino one is distinct, I Genus " Nippononaia " Suz u K 1 , 1941
consider at present that the former " Nippononaia " u.:akinoensis OTA,
should be excluded from " NiPPononaia "
ne\v species
i n my m i nd .
Plate 11, Figures 1-7. 11.
 108 Yoshihisa O rn
Desc1iption :-She l l med i um i n size,
t ransversely elongated, sube l l i pt ical i n
outl i ne. s ubequ i l atera l , regularly round­
ed i n anterior and s ubquadrate in pos­
terior : dorsal margi n broad l y arched.
subparal lel to ventral m argin which i s
sl i gh t l y curved. Test fairly thick. Beak
fai r l y prom i nent, prosogyrous. more or
less i ncurved, p laced at a bout two-fi fths
t o s ubmedian and fa irly projected above
h inge l i ne. Surface ornamented with
many V-shaped ribs crossed by concent ­
ric growth l i nes : rad ial ribs fi ne and
cl ose l y set i n m iddle : several m iddle
r i bs (6-8) convergi ng t o form acu te Vs
on a l ine through beak : each side of
them regu larly ornamented w i t h rever­
sed V-ribs : anterior r i bs about 1 8-20
i nc l ud i ng m iddle V-ribs smal ler and
more n umerous than posterior ! 1 4-16).
H i nge well developed ; cardinal tee t h
relat ively short, narrow and fine l y cre­
nu l ated : lower one stronger than u p per :
lateral teeth fai rl y Jong, Jamellar, fi nely
crenu lated , but weak and lo"·er than
anterior ones. Interna l l y, ventrai mar­
g i n crenu lated espec i a l l y in posterior
half.
- - -- -
l1feas11reme11/s : Height
-----
WJ . S 5057 26 m m
50GO 48 31
5051 24
47-
50 86 42 20
Occurrena :-Lower Sengoku format ion
i n Wak i no subgroup at R i k i maru, J:vl i yata­
mach i , K u rate-gun, F u kuoka Pref.
Observation : - The h i nge nature and
surface ornament vary considerabl y :
4a, 3b and median tooth are developed
i n some but not i n others. Namel y , 4a
and 3b are degenerat i ve. Even when
developed, they are small er than t he
others and a l ittle convex and crenu lated
only on one side. I t is a tendency for
3a or �a to branch off near beak. The
branch i ng tooth can be seen as arrange­
ments of nodes under the beak.
The ornament of the anterior area i s
variable. Namely, anterior ribs become
weak in adu l t stages, whi l e rad ial ones
are sometimes repl aced by concentric
costae. I n t h e anterior area ribs are
sometimes z i g -zag or irregu lar.
Comparison :-Th i s i s most s i m i lar to
N. ryosekiana S u w K 1 in ou t l i ne , orna­
mentation and h i nge nature.* However.
"N." 1caki11oe11sis d i ffers from N.
ryosekia11a i n lateral teeth and posterior
ornament. This new species is also
s i m i lar to Trigonioides kodairai and T.
paucisulcatus suzukii. b u t d i ffers i n the
h i nge nature. As al ready d i scussed ,
t h i s d iffers from N. asi11aria R EESJDE i n
h i nge and ornament.
Occurrence :-Lower Wakino formation
at R i k i maru, l\l i yata - mac h i . K u rate-gun,
F u k u oka Pref.
" Nippononaia . . sengokuensis OTA,
new species
Plate 1 1 . F i gures 8- 10.
Description :-Shel l rather small, ob­
oval, moderatel y convex. subeq u i l ateral ,
rather regu larly rounded o n both s i d es,
ventral margin rounded. Beak sma l l ,
submed i an, prosogyrous. more o r less
i ncurved. Numerous ribs arranged as
usual in 1cakinoe11sis. H i nge teeth
ident ical with those of the species, b ut
the angle of h i nge margi n i s smal l er.
* I showed these s pecimens of " N." waki­
noensis to Dr. K. S u z u K I who erected 1V'ippo110-
naia. He said that the Wakino specimens
a rc so s i m i lar t o N. ryosekiana in all respects
that they arc referable to h i s subgenus, not­
withstanding the fact that t he two species
disagree i n t he number and crcnulation of
l ateral teeth.
 364. . . Nipprmonaia " from the Lou..'er Cretaceous 1 09

I
marine Shells of t h e Naktong-\Yakino Se­
i11eas11remenls : Length He ight
-- -- ries. Japan. four. Geo{. Geogr. , Vol. 13.
-- and -- ( 1 9'11 ) . On the Occurrence of
--· --

\VI. S 5053 19 m m 17 mm
Trigo11ioides i n Southeastern .Manchoukuo.
5050 22 21
Bull. Geo!. l11st. ilfam:lto11k110, No. 1 0 I.
5031 18 17
KoBAYAS J l l , T. ( 1 95·1 ) , Studies on t he J u ra­
ssic T r i gonian in Japan. Pt. 1. Preliminary
Comparison : - Th i s i s d isti nguished Notes. Japan. four. Geo!. Geo1:r. . Vol. 25.
from "N. " 1mki11oensis and "N. " ryosekiana Nos. 1 -2.
Suzt:K I by small s i ze and oboval outl ine -- and MoR T . K. ( 1955 ) . The Vaugon i i n ae
of the shel l . T. kodairai was o r i g i na l l y from t h e Kitakami !\fo u n t a i n s i n North
Japan. On the Ju rassic Trigonians i n
descri bed from lower Naktong and
Japan . Pt. 3. Ibid. , Vol. 26, Nos. 1-2.
'Vak i no series by KoBAY1\ s 1 1 1 and Suzt; i-; 1 .
KonAYAs 1 1 1 , T. ( 1 956). On t he Dentition of
The Wak i no spec i men ( K oBA Y A S H J and
Trigm1ioides and its R e l ation to S i m i lar
St:zu: 1 , 1936. Pl. 29. F i g . 1 3) which they
Pelecy pod Genera. Ibid. . Vol. 27, No. 1.
described is inco m p lete in ornament. L E n K Cc 1 1 :-1 E R , R . ( 1932). Die Tri gon i e n des
and i t s h i nge nature is a lso not d istinct. Suddel't t sche n J u ra . Palaeotogr., Bd. 77.
Therefore I cannot accurate l y determine M.>\Tsn10To, T. ( 1938). Geology of the Go­
whether i t i s T lwdairai or " N. " se11- syonoura I s l a nds. A ma k u sa , w i th spec i a l
gokue11sis. But I presume that i t is Reference to the Cretaceous Stratigraphy.

probabl y . . N." se11golme11sis as suggested four. Geo!. Soc. Japan, Vol. 45.

by its oboval out l i ne and small size. -- e t al. ( 1 954). Th e Cretaceous Sys t e m i n

Occurrence : -Same as t he preceding

the Japanese I slands. Japan. Soc. Promo­
tion. Sci. Research. Tol1yo.
species.
P H A S H A D . B. ( 19 19) . Stud ies on the Anatomy
of I nd i a n l\Iol l u sca. l\o. 3. Records Indian
Heferenccs 1W11s .. Vol. 1 6 .
R E ESIDE, J. B. ( 1957). N o n · ma r i n e pelecypod
Cox. L. R. (1 954). �oles on t h e Trigon i idae , ( Nippo11011aia asi11aria) from the Lower
w i t h O ut l i nes of a Clas s i ficat ion of the Cretaceous of Colorado. fou r. Pal.. Vol.
Fa m i ly. Proc. 11/at. Soc. Lo11do11, vol. 29, 3 1 . No. 3.
Pts. 2 & 3. SL· z 1; K 1 . K. (19.1 0 ) . !\on -mari ne Moll uscan Fau­
-- ( l!l55). Un the A ffi n i ty of Tri;.;mzioides nule of t he Si ragi Se r ies in South Tyosen.
and Hoffetrigonia. Geo/. Mag., Vii{. 92. Japan. four. Geo!. Geogr. , Val. 11.
Co;-.;RA!J, A. ( 1853 ) . s�- n opsi s of the Fami l y -- (194 1 ) , A new naiad, U11io (Nippo11011aia)
Naiades. Proc. Acad. Na t . Sci. Philadelphia. ryosel�i<1110, n . s u bgen . and n. sp. from t h e
Vol. 6. Lower Cretaceous of Japan . four. Geo/.
DAVIES. A. M. ( 1953) . Ter t i ar y Faunas. vol. Soc. Japan. Vol. 48.
1, London. -- ( 1 943), Restudy on t he .\'on · IVlarinc Mol ­
HOFF E T, J. H. ( 1 937a) . Su r le Genre Trigoni· luscan Faun a of the Rakuto Se r i es i n
oides, l\Iutat i on ge n et i que stable du Gen­ Keisha-do. Korea. ] our. Sl1ige11 Ka!!aku
re Trigonia. C. R. des seances de t.4cad. Ke11ky11.Slio. Vol. 1, No. 2.
des Sci. Paris, 1937. -- ( 1949 ) , Dcvelopement of the Fossil Non­
-- ( 193ib) . Les Lame l l ibranchis saumatres l\fa r i ne l\fo l l u scan Fau nas i n Eastern Asi a .
du Muong Phalanc ( Bas L a os ) . Bull. Serv. fa/J(l11. four. Geo/. Geo):r .. Vol. 2 1 .
Geo/. /'llldochi11e, Vol. 24. T H I E L E . J . ( 1934-35) . Handbuch der system­
KOBAY1\ S H I . T and Sezn ; 1 . K . (1936 ) , Kon · atischen Weichtierku nde. Bd. 2. Jena.
 110 Yosltiltisa O T.4

Explanation of Plate 10
All natural s i ze

Trigonioides matsumotoi Ko B AYASlll and SuzuKt .. ... .. .. . .. ..

. . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 102
. . . . . . . . . . .

Fig. 1. Right i nternal mould. showing the h i nge.

Figs. 2, 3. 4. 5. 6, and 7. Left i n ternal moulds.
Figs. 8, 9, 1 0 and 11. R i gh t i n ternal moulds.
Fig. 12. Right external mould, showing t he posterior and median ornament.
Fig. 13. Right plaster cast.
Fig. 1-l. R ight external mould, showing an anterior and median ornament.
Fig. 15. Right art i ficial cast. showing the anterior ornament.
Trigo11ioides Jxmcisulcatus pa11cis11/cat11s S1.:zuK t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 103
Fig. 1 6. Incomplete right i n ternal mould, showing the anterior ornament.
Upper Gosyonoura group a t Kyodomari, Gosyonoura I sland, Kumamoto Pref.

Explanation of P l ate 1 1
A l l natural size except Eig. 9 ( x 2)
" Nippo11011aia " waki11oe11sis OTA, new species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 107
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fig. 1. R ight internal mo uld holol ype. .

Figs. 2a and 2b. Plaster cast showing the s u r face ornament.

Figs. 3 and 4. I n ternal moulds of an immature right valves, showing the outline of
the younger stage.
Fig. 5. Plaster cast of an i ncomplete right valve.
Fig. 6. Plaster cast of an i ncomplete left valve.
Fig. 7. External mould of a r ight valve, showing disappearance of the anterior radi a l
ribs.
" 11;·;ppo11011aia " se11gok11emis OTA, new species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 108
Fig. 8. Left i n ternal mould. holotype.
Fig. 9. Right i nternal mou ld.
Fig. 10. Plaster cast of an incomplete right valve.
" Nippononaia '' waki11oe11sis OTA . (?)
Fig. 11. Right i nternal mould.
�II above specimens : Lower Wakino subgroup at Rikimaru, Miyata-machi. Kurate·gu n , F u k u ·
o k a Pref.
Trigo11ioides pa11cisulcat11s s11zukii OTA , new subspecies . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 102
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fig. 12. Internal mould of the bivalve. holotype, showing the h i nge.
Fig. 13. External moulds of the paratype bivalve, showing the surface ornament.
F ig. 14. Right i nternal mould.
Figs. 15 and 16. Bivalve i nternal moulds. showing the h i nge.
Figs. 17 and 18. Hight external moulds.
Fig. 1 9. Left external mould.
Fig. 20. Dorsal view of an external mould o f a bivalve.
Upper Wakino subgroup at llata. Katsuki-machi, Yahata-city, Fukuoka Pref.
O TA : Trigonioides Plate 1 0

lU

14
 Plate
IJ

20

18