GENl s TRILETES 



17 



granulose to rugose appearance of the 

 spores under reflected light. The spore coat 

 is 56 to 72 a thick and reddish brown by 

 transmitted light. By reflected light the 

 spores are brown, the spines are glossy dark 

 brown basally to more amber colored to- 

 wards their extremities. An inner mem- 

 brane, apparently unornamented, was seen 

 in all spores mounted in balsam and in the 

 broken dry spores. 



These spores were first described by Ben- 

 nie and Kidston in 1886 as Triletes XIV. 

 Zerndt (1934) described them in detail and 

 referred them to Triletes praetcxtus (type 

 21 of Zerndt [1931]>. He noted the presence 

 of the characteristic secondary folds on the 

 contact area (1931, pi. 8, fig.' 25; 1934, pi. 

 26, fig. 4). Although Wicher (1934a) in 

 his description of T. diffusopilosus — later 

 synonym of T. praetextus (Dijkstra [1946], 

 Potonie and Kremp [1955]) — did not men- 

 tion the presence of the serrated upper mar- 

 gin of the lips, his figure 23 on plate 8 

 showed some indication of this feature. 

 There is some question whether or not the 

 spores, from Appalachian Basin coals, illus- 

 trated by Cross (1947, pi. I, fig. 20; pi. Ill, 

 figs. 91-94) and designated as T. praetextus 

 and T. praetextus var. I are properly refer- 

 able to this species. 



The general occurrence of these spores, 

 as reported by Dijkstra (1955a), is in the 

 Westphalian B and C of most coal basins, 

 although thev also are present in the West- 

 phalian A in Turkey, and even in the Na- 

 murian of Poland. More detailed records 

 of previously reported occurrences were 

 given bv Dijkstra (1946), Potonie and 

 Kremp (1955) , and Horst (1955). 



Affinity. — These spores are, according to 

 Potonie (1954a, 1954b), allied with the 

 Bothrodendraceae. 



Occurrence. — Megaspores of Triletes 

 praetextus are present but poorly preserved 

 in the Battery Rock Coal (maceration 

 587) , Hardin County, Illinois; common and 

 beautifully preserved in the shale (macera- 

 tion 163) above the Pinnick Coal, Orange 

 County, Indiana; abundant but poorly pre- 

 served in the Pratt Coal from the Warrior 

 Basin in Alabama. All these coal beds are 

 of early Pennsylvanian age. 



Triletes echinoides Chaloner, 1951 



Plate 6, figures !. 5 



L954 Triletes echinoides Chaloner (1954b), | 

 29; pi. II, figs. 3, 4. 



Description. — Megaspores large, origin- 

 ally more or less spherical, up to 2.55 mm 

 in equatorial diameter (three complete 

 specimens measuring 1.76, 2.15, and 2.55 

 mm) . Trilete rays highly developed (pi. 6, 

 fig. 5b) ; lips fluted, up to 820 p in height at 

 proximal pole, decreasing in height some- 

 what towards extremities of the rays. Con- 

 tact areas in some specimens delimited by 

 weakly developed arcuate ridges, in some 

 specimens bearing tapering spines up to 

 480 p in length (pi. 6, figs. 5a, 5b) . 



Distal spore coat bearing long tapering 

 spines (pi. 6, fig. 4) up to 1690 ^t in length 

 and 340 ^ in width, most commonly 700 to 

 900^ in length and 100 to 200 ^ in width. 

 Spines fluted basally. Small spines variable 

 in length and width, up to 100 ^ in length, 

 occurring among the long distal spines. 



Discussion.— Chaloner's (1954b, p. 28-29) 

 original description was based principally 

 on fragmented specimens as is the one given 

 above. Most of the specimens that I ob- 

 served were either very poorly preserved 

 and very much compressed or apparently 

 fusinized. The high degree of compression 

 probably accounts for the excessive maxi- 

 mum diameter of the spines. These mega- 

 spores, on the basis of both groups of meas- 

 urements, have a diameter ranging from 

 1.76 to 2.66 mm, an apex ranging from 600 

 to 820 a in height, and distal spines ranging 

 up to 1630 fx in length. Megaspores of this 

 species are unique in their large size, highly 

 developed lips, and long spines. 



Thev were first reported by Chaloner 

 from the Beaver Bend Limestone of Indi- 

 ana (early Chester) . The reported occur- 

 rences are still restricted to beds of upper 

 Mississippian age in the Appalachian and 

 Eastern Interior Coal Basins of the United 

 States. 



The botanical alliance of these unusual 

 megaspores is unknown. 



Occurrence. — Megaspores were found 

 mostlv as fragments in the upper part of 

 the Menard and Golconda Formations in 



