11 



identification and interpretation of taxa and 

 his many helpful suggestions while he was a 

 member of the Illinois State Geological Sur- 

 vey staff; to Jack A. Simon, Head of the Coal 

 Section of the Illinois Survey, for his review 

 of the manuscript; and to Mrs. Romayne S. 

 Ziroli, also of the Illinois Survey, for her help 

 in the construction of scientific names pro- 

 posed for new taxa. This investigation was 

 the subject of a doctoral dissertation in ge- 

 ology submitted in 1961 to the Graduate 

 College, University of Illinois. 



PREVIOUS 

 INVESTIGATIONS 



Only publications relating to Pennsylva- 

 nian spores and pollen of the Illinois Basin 

 and to plant microfossils of Pennsylvanian 

 strata other than coal are summarized here. 



McCabe ( 1931) , probably the first to study 

 microfossils in the Illinois Basin, reported on 

 some macerated residues of the Herrin (No. 

 6) Coal Member. A more detailed investi- 

 gation of the megaspores from the No. 6 Coal 

 was conducted by Schopf (1938). Brokaw 

 (1942) described spores from the Harrisburg 

 (No. 5) Coal Member and, after comparing 

 them with those of the No. 6 Coal, concluded 

 that the two coals could be distinguished on 

 the basis of their spore content. Schopf, Wil- 

 son, and BentalFs (1944) synopsis of Paleo- 

 zoic spores and definitions of generic groups 

 outlined certain principles to be followed in 

 solving many of the problems in spore no- 

 menclature. 



Eddings (1947) studied the small spores 

 of the Chapel (No. 8) Coal Member in Illi- 

 nois and used them in tracing the lateral ex- 

 tent of the coal and the thickness of the in- 

 terval between the No. 8 and the No. 6 Coals. 

 Kosanke (1950) carried out a comprehensive 

 study in which he established correlation of 

 the important coals of the Illinois Basin by 

 using spore genera and species, including the 

 100 new species described in the report. The 

 distribution of Pennsylvanian and Mississip- 

 pian megaspores in coals of the Illinois Basin 

 was reported by Winslow (1959). 



Several significant studies have been made 

 of spores derived from Mississippian and 

 Pennsylvanian strata associated with coal. 

 Hoffmeister, Staplin, and Malloy (1955a) 

 studied Mississippian plant spores from coal 



SOUTHWESTERN 

 ILLINOIS 



EASTERN 

 ILLINOIS 



NAMED MEMBER 



Millersville Ls. 



Coffeen Ls. 

 Witt Coal 



Flat Creek Coal 



Bunje Ls. 



Sorento Ls. 

 McWain Ss. 



Shoal Creek Ls. 



New Haven Coal 

 Macoupin Ls. 

 Womac Coal 

 Burroughs Ls. 

 Carl inville Ls. 



Chapel (No.8) Coal 

 Trivoli Ss. 



Scottville Ls. 



Athensville Coal 

 Rock Branch Coal 



NAMED MEMBER 



Merom Ss. 

 Cohn Coal 



Livingston Ls. 



Reel Ls. 



Mt. Carmel 

 Shoal Creek Ls. 



Chapel (No.8) Coal 



West Franklin Ls. 



WESTERN 

 KENTUCKY 



NAMED MEMBER 



Carthage Ls. 



Madisonville Ls. 



FIG. 2 — Rock stratigraphic and cyclical classifica- 

 tion of McLeansboro strata of part of Illinois 

 and equivalent strata of western Kentucky 

 (after Kosanke et al., 1960). 



and carbonaceous shale of the Hardinsburg 

 Formation of Illinois and Kentucky. They 

 discovered considerable variation in relative 

 distribution of spore genera and species with- 

 in a short vertical interval, but generally the 

 same genera and species were found through- 

 out the Hardinsburg Formation. Neves 

 (1958) reported on small spore assemblages 

 of the Upper Carboniferous Six Inch Mine 

 coal seam in England and the immediately 

 overlying marine and nonmarine shales, and 

 he later (1961) investigated the spores con- 

 tained in coal and marine and nonmarine 

 shales of a Namurian (Lower Carboniferous) 

 sequence in the southern Pennines area of 

 England. 



Spores obtained from four outcrops of the 

 Harlem Coal and associated strata in West 

 Virginia were studied by Collins (1959). 

 Lower Carboniferous small spore assemblages 

 were described from the Lower Oil-shale 



