62 



PENNSYLVAN1AN SPORES OF ILLINOIS 



a potential source of error in the correlation 

 of coal beds. In working well-known coal 

 beds a start was usually made at the type 

 locality or area for which the bed was 

 named. The type locality usually provided 

 the stratigraphic evidence for identification 

 of the bed elsewhere. 



CASEYVILLE GROUP 



The Caseyville group, formerly called 

 the lower Pottsville, is best known from 

 exposures in southern Illinois. It is the 

 oldest Pennsylvanian group in Illinois, and 

 is thought to correspond to the upper part 

 of the Morrow series of the Midcontinent 

 region, the upper part of the lower half of 

 the Pottsville of the eastern United States, 

 and the upper part of the Namurian B and 

 the lower half of the Namurian C of 

 Europe. 



Weller (1940) reported a maximum 

 thickness of more than 400 feet for the 

 strata of the Caseyville group in Hardin 

 and Pope counties. It is characterized by 

 two massive cliff-forming sandstones, the 

 Battery Rock and the Pounds, which in 

 places contain well-rounded quartz pebbles. 

 Within the Caseyville group there are three 

 coal beds which have been named the Way- 

 side, Battery Rock, and the Reynoldsburg 

 in the order from oldest to youngest. The 

 Wayside is a member of the Lusk forma- 

 tion ; the Battery Rock coal bed lies be- 

 tween the Battery Rock and Pounds sand- 

 stones; and the Reynoldsburg coal bed lies 

 between the Pounds and Grindstaff sand- 

 stones. The Caseyville group, according 

 to Weller, Henbest, and Dunbar (1942), 

 extends to the base of the Grindstaff sand- 

 stone. 



Wayside Coal Bed 



Spores are rather numerous in the Way- 

 side coal bed, but the number of species is 

 small. Three forms which probably repre- 

 sent new species are not described because 

 each is a single occurrence, and only nine 

 genera have been identified. The Wayside 

 coal bed can be identified from its spore 

 content because Lycospora pseudoannulata 

 sp. nov. averages 70 to 75 percent of the 



total spore content, and because Punctati- 

 sporites provectus sp. nov. is restricted to 

 this coal bed. It is important to record 

 the absence of the following genera: Alati- 

 sporites, Laevigato-sporites , Cirratriradites, 

 and Schulzospora gen. nov. The following 

 genera and species are present in maceration 

 609, NE. i/4 NW. i/4 NE. \/ 4 sec. 4, T. 11 

 S., R. 2 E., Johnson County, Illinois: 



1. Punctati-sporites provectus sp. nov. 



2. Granulati-sporites pallidus sp. nov. 



3. Reticulati-sporites splendens sp. nov. 



4. Denso-sporites reynoldsburgensis sp. nov. 



5. D. ruhus sp. nov. 



6. Triquitrites priscus sp. nov. 



7. Lycospora pseudoannulata sp. nov. 



8. L. micro papillatus (Wilson and Coe) 

 S. W. and B., 1944 



9. Raistrickia prisca sp. nov. 



In addition to the above species, forms 

 referrable to Wilsonia gen. nov., Endo- 

 sporites, and Punctati-sporites need to be 

 described when sufficient good specimens 

 are found. 



Battery Rock Coal Bed 



The spore content of the Battery Rock 

 and Wayside coal beds are similar with 

 respect to the small number of species 

 identified. Only 1 1 species have been 

 identified from the Battery Rock coal bed 

 and nine of these are new. 



Schulzospora gen. nov. and Denso- 

 sporites sinuosus have been observed only 

 in this coal bed. Generally eight percent 

 of the total spore content is Schulzospora 

 gen. nov. The dominant species is Lyco- 

 spora pseudoannulata sp. nov. ; however, 

 it is less abundant than in the Wayside. 

 Denso-sporites is more abundant than in 

 the Wayside and there are four species 

 present in contrast to two for the Wayside. 

 Granulati-sporites pallidus sp. nov. has be- 

 come a prominent member of the flora. 



The following important genera have 

 not been observed from the Battery Rock 

 coal bed: Alati-sporites, Reinschospora, 

 Cirratriradites, and Wilsonia gen. nov. 

 The following genera and species have been 

 identified from this coal bed, maceration 

 587, Hardin County, Illinois: 



1. Granulati-sporites pallidus sp. nov. 



2. Reticulati-sporites splendens sp. nov. 



3. Denso-sporites sinuosus sp. nov. 



4. D. lobatus sp. nov. 



