Palynofloras from the Itsuki and Kuwajima Formations of the Tetori Group and their Correlation with Paleofloristic Provinces of Eastern Asia

Abstract. We collected samples from the middle part of the Tetori Group and obtained diverse spores (28 species) and gymnosperm pollen (8 species) from the Barremian Itsuki and Kuwajima formations. This is the first report of Barremian palynofloras from the Tetori-type floristic province in Japan and we compared them to coeval ones from the Ryoseki-type floristic province. These palynofloras include various cyathealean spores and cheirolepidiaceous pollen, indicating that floristic differences between the Tetori- (Inner Zone) and Ryoseki-type (Outer Zone) provinces are not so distinct during the Barremian in Japan. They also show similarities with floras of the Sindong Group of the Gyeongsang Basin, southeast Korea and Shitouhezi Formation in northeast China, thus indicating that some Ryoseki-type elements may have extended their distribution northward in the Barremian.