McLEANSBORO GROUP 



83 



These three coal beds, each usually less 

 than 1 foot thick, have been known from 

 drilling records for some time. The beds 

 are lenticular and the identity of any one 

 or two coal beds when less than three are 

 present may be uncertain. Plant spores 

 have provided a means of identifying these 

 beds and since they are otherwise unnamed 

 they are tentatively referred to as the 1st, 

 2nd, and 3rd Cutler-rider coal beds re- 

 spectively in order above the Cutler lime- 

 stone (fig. 7). 



The 1st Cutler-rider coal bed, observed 

 by Bell, Ball, and McCabe (1931) along 

 Galum Creek, Perry County, Illinois, but 

 not named, usually lies one to 10 feet above 

 the Cutler limestone.. It usually is over- 

 lain by black or gray shale although occa- 

 sionally by a thin sandstone which in turn is 

 overlain by shale. The underclay is well 

 developed and ranges in thickness from one 

 to six feet. 



The 2nd Cutler-rider coal bed lies at an 

 interval of from 30 to 56 feet above the 

 Cutler limestone. This coal bed is usually 

 associated with black shale, with gray shale 

 intervening between the black shale and 

 coal bed in some places. The underclay is 

 well developed being one to four feet thick, 

 with underclay limestone commonly present. 



The 3rd Cutler-rider coal bed, which is 

 very thin, lies 62 to 90 feet above the Cutler 

 limestone. The coal is capped by gray to 

 dark gray shale. The underclay is poorly 

 developed in contrast to the 1st and 2nd 

 Cutler-rider coal beds. Where present the 

 underclay is thin, and where absent the coal 

 overlies gray shale. 



The 1st and 2nd Cutler-rider coal beds 

 are probably represented by two coal beds 

 exposed along the Illinois Central Railroad 

 cut in sec. 24, T. 9 S., R. 4 E., Williamson 

 County. 



The following genera and species have 

 been identified from the 1st Cutler-rider 

 coal bed in each of the diamond-drill cores 

 illustrated in fig. 7 : 



1. Punctati-sporhes fenestratus sp. nov. 



2. P. obliquus sp. nov. 



3. P. quae situs sp. nov. 



4. P. triangularis sp. nov. 



5. P. sp. 



6. Granulati-sporites verrucosus (Wilson 

 and Coe) S. W. and B., 1944 



7. G. sp. 



8. Laevigato-sporites ovalis sp. nov. 



9. L. punctatus sp. nov. 



10. L. pseudothiessenii sp. nov. 



11. L. robustus sp. nov. 



12. L. minutus (Ibrahim) S. W. and B., 1944 



13. L. desmoinensis (Wilson and Coe) S. W. 

 and B., 1944 



14. Cirratriradites annuliformis sp. nov. 



15. Endosporitcs ornatus Wilson and Coe, 

 1940 



16. Triquitrites protensus sp. nov. 



17. Calamospora breviradiata sp. nov. 



18. C. liquida sp. nov. 



19. C. hartungiana Schopf, 1944 



20. C. sp. 



21. Lycospora granulata sp. nov. 



22. L. parva sp. nov. 



23. L. punctata sp. nov. 



24. Raistrickia crinita sp. nov. 



25. Wilsonia sp. 



A new species of Triquitrites with a dis- 

 tinctive reticulate spore coat was observed 

 in maceration 353-C, Franklin County, but 

 because of its single occurrence it has not 

 been described. The most abundant species 

 is Laevigato-sporites minutus (Ibrahim) S. 

 W. and B., 1944, which comprises 20 to 23 

 percent of the total spore population and L. 

 pseudothiessenii sp. nov. is next in numer- 

 ical importance with 14 to 15 percent. The 

 genus Laevigato-sporites contains 40 to 43 

 percent of the spore population and Lyco- 

 spora is next numerically with 15 to 20 per- 

 cent. L. punctata sp. nov. and L. parva 

 sp. nov. represent 9 to 10 percent and seven 

 to nine percent respectively but L. granu- 

 lata sp. nov. is rare. Endosporites ornatus 

 Wilson and Coe, 1940, represents nine to 

 11 percent of the spore population and the 

 remaining genera and species are of minor 

 numerical importance. 



The following genera and species have 

 been observed from all of the 2nd Cutler- 

 rider coal beds examined from Franklin 

 County : 



1. Punctati-sporites fenestratus sp. nov. 



2. P. obliquus sp. nov. 



3. P. orbicularis sp. nov. 



4. P. latigranifer (Loose) S. W. and B., 

 1944 



5. Laevigato-sporites ovalis sp. nov. 



6. L. pseudothiessenii sp. nov. 



7. L. robustus sp. nov. 



8. L. minutus (Ibrahim) S. W. and B., 1944 



9. L. vulgaris (Ibrahim) Ibrahim, 1933 



10. L. desmoinensis (Wilson and Coe) S. W. 

 and B., 1944 



11. Cirratriradites annuliformis sp. nov. 



12. Endosporites ornatus Wilson and Coe, 

 1940 



