CIRRATRIRADITES 



43 



grain characteristics. It may represent a 

 veritable "prepollen". 



1. Parasporites maccabei Schopf, 1938, Illi- 

 nois Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 50, pp. 48-9, 

 pi. 1, fig. 6, pi. 7, figs. 1-3. 



Genus Cirratriradites Wilson and Coe, 



1940 



Plate 3, figures 21, 21a, 21b 



Symmetry. — Spores trilete, radial. 



Shape. — Moderately oblate spheroidal, 

 with a strongly projecting equatorial 

 flange. The flange may assume a tri- 

 angular horizontal outline due to emphasis 

 of the trilete rays, or it may be nearly 

 circular; the spore body is circular or 

 slightly triangular. When compressed, 

 few folds are evident and, because of the 

 flange and oblate shape of the body, the 

 plane of flattening nearly always cor- 

 responds with that of the flange. 



Size. — Spores of various species range 

 from about 40 to over 100 microns in 

 overall diameter. 



Ornamentation. — Commonly showing a 

 pattern having its primary emphasis along 

 radial lines ; may consist of ridges more 

 or less anastomosing to the point of be- 

 coming a reticulation, or surfaces may be 

 nearly free of ornamental ridges and 

 most of the surface smooth, granulose or 

 finely punctate. Some species show a 

 unique type of distal ornamentation con- 

 sisting of one or several thinner areas with 

 rather prominent margins. The flange is 

 often more or less radially striated and in 

 addition may develop one or two concen- 

 tric bands of irregular thickening. The 

 pyramic areas are not particularly dis- 

 tinguished by ornamentation. 



Haptotypic features. — Trilete rays rela- 

 tively strongly developed and extended to 

 the equator, oftentimes a line of thick- 

 ening continues to the edge of the flange. 

 Lips are frequently strongly demarcated 

 and raised above the spore body ; the 

 suture lines are attenuate but distinct. No 

 arcuate ridges are developed distinct from 

 the flange and, in fact, the flange may be 

 taken to represent a hyper-development 

 of these haptotypic formations. The flange 

 is usually relatively broad, sometimes com- 

 prising more than half the total spore 

 diameter. It is definitely distinguished 

 from the spore body, being thinner than 

 the body wall and more translucent ; the 

 interradial flange width is often some- 



what less than that opposite the rays. The 

 margin of the flange is often minutely to 

 rather coarsely serrate. 



Affinity. — Spores of Cirratriradites are 

 not yet definitely correlated with any major 

 plant group. Their most likely affinity 

 seems to be with the lycopods but known 

 types of Lepidostrobus microspores are 

 usually smaller and generally possess no 

 comparable development of the flange. 

 Certain zonate types of Triletes spores 

 bear a superficial resemblance to Cirratri- 

 radites but so far as is known now there 

 is no inherent correlation between struc- 

 ture of megaspores and microspores where 

 heterospory is as highly developed as it is 

 in Triletes. There is in fact no essential 

 evidence to show whether spores of Cirra- 

 triradites functioned as microspores or 

 isospores. The Carboniferous existence of 

 isosporous lycopods is still most firmly 

 supported only on theoretical grounds but 

 they could possibly be represented by 

 Cirratriradites. 



Some authors have confused Cirratri- 

 radites spores with those of genera {En- 

 dosporites, Spencerites, etc.) which pos- 

 sess perisporal bladder development in 

 the equatorial plane. Such resemblance 

 as there is, is certainly only superficial. 



Raistrick's A^, A^, and Cg (cf. Rai- 

 strick 1935, 1937, 1938) belong here; 

 likewise, possibly D2 in part. As given 

 by Knox, (1938, 1942) D,^ is definitely 

 referable to Cirratriradites. Types 1 and 

 9 of Millott (1939) without much ques- 

 tion belong in this genus. The spores illus- 

 trated by Reinsch (1884, p. 22) in plate 

 15, figs, la and lb as types 222 and 223 

 from Zwickau, Saxony, are characteristic 

 of it. 



Remarks. — Thirteen previously de- 

 scribed species are included in the list be- 

 low, all but one of which, C. maculatus 

 the genotype, represent new name com- 

 binations. 



Spores of this character are frequently 

 encountered in American coals and addi- 

 tional species will subsequently be de- 

 scribed. The group shows such general 

 agreement in numerous characteristics 

 that a considerable degree of natural 

 relationship is attributed to it. 



1. Cirratriradites argutus (Ibrahim) S. W. 

 and B., comb, no v. 



Zonalcs-sporites argutus Ibrahim, 1933, 

 Sporenformen des Aegirhorizonts, pp. 31-32, 

 pi. 6, fig. 55. 



