92 



PENNSYLFANIAN SPORES OF ILLINOIS 



Punctati-sporites is present in very limited 

 numbers. 



The dominant species is Punctati-sporites 

 minutus sp. nov. which makes up 77 to 79 

 percent of the spore population. The next 

 most abundant species is Endosporites for- 

 mosiis sp. nov. with 7 percent, and the re- 

 maining species are of minor numerical im- 

 portance. There is little doubt that this 

 coal bed is at a different stratigraphic posi- 

 tion than the Trowbridge coal bed as seen 

 by comparing the genera and species lists 

 of the two coal beds. Endosporites formosus 

 sp. nov., the dominant spore of the Trow- 

 bridge coal bed, is replaced numerically by 

 Punctati-sporites minutus sp. nov. 



Watson Coal Bed 

 The name Watson is applied to the coal 

 bed exposed southwest of Watson in the 

 SW. 14 sec. 1, T. 6 N., R. 5 E., Effingham 

 County, Illinois. The following genera and 

 species have been observed from this bed : 



1. Punctati-sporites minutus sp. nov. 



2. P. sp. 



3. Granulati-sporites levis sp. nov. 



4. G. sp. 



5. Lacv'igato-sporites latus sp. nov. 



6. L. robustus sp. nov. 



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



8. Endosporites formosus sp. nov. 



9. E. 'vesicatus sp. nov. 



10. Triquitrites sp. 



11. Calamospora liquida sp. nov. 



12. C. hartungiana Schopf, 1944 



13. Wilsonia sp. 



Punctati-sporites minutus sp. nov. is the 

 dominant spore with 74 to 77 percent of 

 the spore population. In this respect this 

 coal bed is very similar to the coal bed 

 described earlier as the Woodbury (?) 

 bed. However, Laevigato-sporites minutus 

 (Ibrahim) S. W. and B., 1944, represents 

 about 10 percent of the spore population of 

 the Watson bed and it is exceedingly rare in 

 the Woodbury (?) bed. Further differences 

 between the two beds can be seen by a com- 

 parison of species lists of the respective beds. 



McLeansboro Coal and Limestone 

 Beds in Southern and South- 

 western Illinois 



A cross-section diagram of the McLeans- 

 boro coal beds and limestones from Frank- 

 lin to Macoupin counties (in pocket) was 

 prepared from data supplied by outcrops, and 



from diamond, rotary, and churn drill holes. 

 Spore analyses from Franklin, Jefferson, 

 Clinton, Bond, and Macoupin counties are 

 the basis for the suggested correlation. 



The No. 6 coal bed (top of bed is the 

 Carbondale-McLeansboro boundary) is 

 continuous the entire length of the traverse 

 except for a short distance in Bond and 

 Madison counties where it is "cut out." 

 The Herrin limestone overlying No. 6 coal 

 bed is also continuous. The coal beds and 

 limestones, from the Bankston Fork lime- 

 stone to the 3rd Cutler-rider coal bed, are 

 restricted to Franklin, Jefferson, and 

 possibly Washington counties. However, 

 preliminary spore studies suggest a possible 

 correlation between the Cutler coal bed and 

 the No. 7 coal bed of Macoupin and Madi- 

 son counties. Thus the Piasa and Cutler 

 limestones are possibly to be correlated. The 

 2nd Cutler-rider coal bed and the Scottville 

 coal bed have similar spore contents, but 

 the 3rd Cutler-rider coal bed is younger 

 than the Upper Scottville coal. The No. 

 8 coal bed of Macoupin County is present in 

 all of the counties southward into Franklin 

 County where it is notably continuous. The 

 Macoupin and Shoal Creek coal beds of 

 Macoupin County are thought to be present 

 in Franklin and Jefferson counties as indi- 

 cated in the diagram. The traverse crosses 

 the Duquoin monoclinal flexure in Jefferson 

 County and at the foot of the monoclinal 

 flexure there are five limestones and three 

 coal beds above the Shoal Creek limestone. 



The interval from the top of No. 6 coal 

 bed to the Shoal Creek limestone thickens 

 175 feet from Macoupin to Franklin Coun- 

 ty. One hundred feet of this thickening 

 is between No. 6 and No. 8 coal beds. In 

 general the limestones thicken westward 

 toward the margin of the basin. 



Conclusions on the McLeansboro 

 Coal Beds 



The coal beds of the McLeansboro group 

 that have been examined can be differenti- 

 ated from each other and distinguished from 

 the coal beds of older age by means of the 

 small spores which they contain. Sixteen 

 genera and 74 species have been identified 

 from the beds of McLeansboro age. Thirty- 



