Late Quaternary mammalian faunas at Suse Quarry, Toyohashi, central Japan, and their implications for the reconstruction of the faunal succession

Abstract

About 18 000 yr BP, the fauna was generally similar to those of lowlands and low mountains of present-day Honshu, but also contained extinct forms (Anourosorex japonicus, Microtus cf. brandtioides and Cervus praenipponicus) and a form exotic to present-day Honshu (Ursus cf. arctos). The fauna of 15 000 yr BP became more similar to the present one, but wild boar Sus scrofa were almost absent as in 18 000 yr BP. From 15 000 yr BP to the early Holocene, the number of wild boar increased drastically, and the fauna became almost identical with that of present-day Honshu. -from English summary