The structural configuration of SW Japan mainly reflects a late Jurassic-early Cretaceous orogeny. The region is divided into an inner belt and an outer belt, on the Japan sea and Pacific ocean sides respectively, by a strike-slip fault, the Median Tectonic Line (MTL). Both consist of a series of stacked nappes. The inner belt is divided into a Jurassic olistostrome known as the Tanba zone and ...

The Triassic, lasting from 252 to 201 million years (Myr) ago, was crucial in the origin of modern ecosystems. It is the seventh of the 11 geological systems or periods into which the Phanerozoic, the fossiliferous last 540 million years, of Earth history is divided. It might seem strange to select just one of these divisions of time as somehow more significant than the others. However, this wa...

BACKGROUND Ichthyosaurs were an important group of Mesozoic marine reptiles and existed from the Early Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous. Despite a great diversity in body shapes and feeding adaptations, all share greatly enlarged eyes, an elongated rostrum with numerous conical teeth, and a streamlined body. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Based on new material from China and the restudy ...