瀬戸内海西部諸島周辺海底から産出したナウマンゾウ化石

その他

In this paper, we describe 75 tusks and post-cranial skeletal elements of Palaeoloxodon naumanni that were recovered from the sea floor around Moroshima Island in the western Seto Inland Sea of Japan in 1956 and 1957, and discuss their significance.
These specimens are particularly valuable from the biogeographic and morphological viewpoints due to their locality and the details of their discovery. A sacrum（MO 560929-1126）recovered among these specimens is the first report of a sacrum of P. naumanni. An atlas（MO 560929-1117）and a humerus（MO 57-1112）are also compared with those of previously reported well-preserved specimens of P. naumanni. Although the features of the humerus are comparable with those of P. naumanni humeri reported from other areas, the atlas differs from a Lake Nojiri specimen. The differences between the two specimens are most likely attributable to intraspecific variation.