SPORE DISTRIBUTION —TRADEWATER 



83 



the basis for the previously reported small 

 spore assemblages (Kosanke, 1950, p. 63-73) 

 were not available. 



"Sub-Babylon" Coal 



The "Sub-Babylon" Coal, the oldest 

 Pennsylvanian coal in western Illinois, is 2 

 to 3 inches thick, and lies unconformably 

 above Mississippian strata and below the 

 Babylon Coal. The following species were 

 identified from the "Sub-Babylon" Coal 

 (maceration 144) NEJ4 NE14 SE14 sec. 2, 

 T. 5 N., R. 1 E., Fulton County: 



Cystosporites varius (A) 



Triletes superbus (C) 



T. triangulatus (R) 



C. giganteus (R) 



In addition, many small spore masses, espe- 

 cially those of Lycospora, are present. Also 

 present is a spore larger than (158 p), but 

 quite similar in shape and ornamentation 

 to those described by Kosanke (1950) as 

 Reticulatisporites irregularis. These small 

 spores are characteristic of, and apparently 

 restricted to, the "Sub-Babylon" Coal. All 

 the megaspores noted in the "Sub-Babylon" 

 Coal are known from older coals. However, 

 common species of older coals such as T. 

 subpilosus, T. globosus, and Spencerispor- 

 ites cf. S. radiatus are lacking. 



Babylon Coal 



The Babylon Coal, about 14 inches thick, 

 is exposed along Spoon River, north of 

 Babylon, in Fulton County, Illinois. Three 

 samples were available from areas near the 

 type section of the Babylon Cyclothem. The 

 assemblage given below is from the Baby- 

 lon Coal overlying the "Sub-Babylon" Coal 

 just discussed. 



The following species were identified 

 from maceration 145A-B: 



Cystosporites varius (P) 



Triletes auritus (P) 



T. augustae (P) 



T. triangulatus (P) 



No relative abundance determinations were 

 possible. T. augustae is represented in the 

 Pennsylvanian of Illinois for the first time. 

 Another sample from the Babylon Coal 

 (maceration 588) from Fulton County 

 (NW1/4 NE14 NE14 sec. 14, T. 7 N., R. 1 

 E.) lacked spores of Triletes auritus. The 



assemblage also differs from that given 

 above in the occurrence of abundant spores 

 of Monoletes and a few of T. mamillarias , 

 Calamospora cf. C. laevigata, and Cysto- 

 sporites breretonensis. This is the first oc- 

 currence of Cystosporites spores with the 

 reticulate pattern, although weakly devel- 

 oped here, characteristic of C. breretonensis. 



The third sample of the Babylon Coal 

 (maceration 523A-B) from Fulton County 

 (NW1/4 NE14 NE14 sec. 14, T. 7 N., R. 1 

 E.) lacked spores of both Triletes augustae 

 and Cystosporites varius and also differed 

 from that given for maceration 145A-B in 

 occurrence of Monoletes, C. giganteus, and 

 Calamospora cf. C. sinuosa (spore fragment 

 only). 



The most notable discrepancies between 

 assemblages are those between macerations 

 523A-B and 588, from samples taken within 

 600 feet of each other. The only species 

 common to the three samples of the Baby- 

 lon Coal is Triletes triangulatus. The bo- 

 tanically related small spores of Cirratrira- 

 dites appear for the first time in this coal 

 and make up 10 percent of the total small 

 spore content (Kosanke, 1950). 



Megaspores in the upper 6 inches of the 

 Babylon Coal (macerations 145B and 

 523A) are more abundant and represent a 

 more varied flora. Triletes superbus is con- 

 spicuously absent. The Babylon Coal can be 

 readily distinguished from coals above and 

 below on the basis of megaspores, as well as 

 on the basis of small spores which have indi- 

 cated (Kosanke, 1950) a vast change in the 

 flora compared with that of the Casey ville 

 coals. 



Willis and Tarter Coals 



The correlation (Moore et al., 1944) of 

 the Willis Coal from Schneider's mine 

 (NW1/4 SE14 sec. 30, T. 10 S., R. 9 E., Galla- 

 tin County, [southern] Illinois) with the 

 Tarter Coal (NW14 NW14 SE14 sec. 19, T. 

 5 X., R. 2 E., Fulton County, [western] Illi- 

 nois) is supported by the study of small 

 spore assemblages (Kosanke, 1950). The 

 Willis Coal, at the locality cited above, is 

 near its type locality; the Tarter Coal cited 

 above is in the area of the type section of 



