Palaeoiitologie. 525 



attachment of the sporangium there is a vvell-marked stomium 

 of small cells only about 20 // in height. The dehiscence of 

 the sporangium throiigh the stomium is clearly seen in some cases. 

 The tissues within the outer wai! consist of several iayers of 

 thin-walled cells, continuous beiow with the parenchyma of the 

 supporting rachis. The spores are approximately spherical in 

 form, with a diameter of v^2 — 40 u. The wall is smooth; 

 and in favourabie cases the triradiate marking can be clearly 

 recognised. 



On the present evidence, the systematic position of SUin- 

 ropteris must rcmain an open question. The general structure 

 of the rachis is altogether Fern-like, but not more so than in 

 a typical Pteridosperm, such as Lygiiiodendron. The sporangia 

 bear a general resemblance to exannulate sporangia of Ferns, 

 but are not sufficiently characteristic to settle the question. 

 The Author concludes that Stanropteris shovvs affinity with the 

 Ferns, but that it would not be surprising i^y find that, like so 

 many other Fern-like plants of its perlod, it had crossed the 

 Spermophytic frontier, and that these sporangia were in reaiity 

 of the nature of pollen-sacs. Arber ^Cambridge). 



Squinabol, S., I pseudofossili dei gneiss e dei mica- 

 scisti. — Storia di un errorc paleontologico. (Atti 

 della R. Accad. d. Sc. Lett. ed Arti in Padova. Vol. XX. 

 1904. Disp. I. p. 33—38, avec 1 planche.) 



Curieuse constatation d'une erreur paleontologique. Le 

 \)X^iQx\di\i Equisetiim que Sismonda avait signale sur un frag- 

 ment de gneiss erratique de la Brianza ne serait autre chose 

 qu'un receptacle desseche d'un Coprlnus dont les lamelies rayon- 

 nantes simulaient les branches de V Eqiiisetiim. L'identification 

 a ete possibile ä l'aide des spores restees intactes dans l'exem- 

 plaire qu'on conserve au Musee geologique de Turin aussi 

 bien que dans un autre recemment signale par le Dr. Dal 

 Piaz sur des micaschistes du Trentin. Cavara (Catania). 



Squinabol, S.. Plante fossili di Co n trä Ca nto n e [No- 

 va lej. (Atti della R. Accad. d. Sc. Lett. ed Arti in Padova. 

 Vol. XIX. 1903. Disp. I. p. 51—56.) 



Un petit nombre d'empreintes fossiles vegetales ont et^ 

 signalees par l'auteur dans les piroschistes de Novale (Vi- 

 cenza, Haute Italic) qui appartiennent ä la partie superieure 

 de l'eocene. Elles ont ete rapportees aux especes suivantes: 

 Myi'lca hakeaefolia (Ung.) Sap., Myrica haeringiana Ung., 

 Myrica Meissneri Seh., Myrica aciiminata (?) Ung., Cinnamo- 

 mum Rosmassleri Ung., Cinnamomiim veronense Mass., Sapln- 

 diis Ungeri Ett., Malpighiastrum novalense Squinabol n. sp. et 

 deux especes indeterminees appartenant aux genres Jiiglans et 

 Myrica. Voici la diagnose de l'espece nouvelle de Malpighiastrum, 



