A brief summary of the studies of Rock-Forming Calcareous Algae in Japan

Abstract

The role of calcareous algae is great in the construction of limestone formations. This note gives a retrospect of the studies pursued in Japan on the fossil algal floras taking part in the constitution of various limestones in different ages of the Japanese Islands and the islands of the Japanese possession in the pre-war time. In short, the algae of the corallinaceae and Halimeda are dominant in the Cenozoic limestones, Petrophyton in the Lower Cretaceous Orbitolina calc-psammite, algae of the Dasycladaceae and of the Porostromata, besides Solenopora, in the Upper Jurassic Torinosu limestone, algae of the Dasycladaceae, especially Mizzia, in the Permian fusulinid limestones and Solenopora in a Gotlandian limestone. Some remarks are added regarding Collenia and Girvanella limestones, and also two interesting finds of Margaritina and Triploporella in some Permian limestones of China.