56 



PALEOZOIC FOSSIL SPORES 



able (3-4 ix) in thickness, appearing brownish 

 translucent ; spines are darker. 



50/^- 



Fig. 3 — Raistrickia grovensis sp. nov., camera 

 lucida drawing of holotype. 



This form, in general, resembles the spores 

 of Radforth's (1938) Senftenbergia plumosa hut 

 the spines are shorter, broader and less crowded 

 and the spores he illustrates are round in outHne. 

 It is difficult to make a precise comparison with 

 other previously described species now assigned 

 to Raistrickia because of inadequacies of their 

 description and illustration. The spine tips of 

 this form are entire and rounded ; others from 

 the same coal bed and elsewhere show spine tips 

 slightly dissected. No doubt several species 

 of schizaeaceous ferns are represented. The 

 specimen shown in text figure 3 designated as 

 holotype, is from the Herrin (No. 6) coal (up- 

 permost Carbondale age) which is worked by 

 extensive open-cut mining operations near Mid- 

 dle Grove, Illinois, in northern Fulton County. 



4. Raistrickia saetosus (Loose) S. W. and 

 B., comb. nov. 



Sporonites saetosus Loose, 1932, Neues 

 Jahrb., Beilage-Band 67, Abt., B., p. 452, 

 pi. 19, fig. 56. 



Setosi-sporites saetosus (Loose) Ibra- 

 him, 1933, Sporenformen des Aegirhori- 

 zonts, p. 26. 



Setosi-sporites saetosus (Loose) Ibra- 

 him, Loose, 1934, Inst. Palaobot. Arb., vol. 

 4, no. 3, p. 148. 



5. Raistrickia spinososaetosus (Loose) S. 

 W. and B., comb. nov. 



Sporonites spinososaetosus Loose, 1932, 

 Neues Jahrb., Beilage-Band 67, Abt. B., 

 p. 452, pi. 19, fig. 55. 



Apiculati-sporites spinososaetosus 

 (Loose) Ibrahim, 1933, Sporenformen des 

 Aegirhorizonts, p. 24. 



Apiculati-sporites spinososaetosus 

 (Loose) Ibrahim, Loose, 1934, Inst. Palao- 

 bot. Arb., vol. 4, no. 3, p. 153. 



6. Raistrickia superbus (Ibrahim) S. W. 

 and B., comb. nov. 



Setosi-sporites superbus Ibrahim, 1933, 

 Sporenformen des Aegirhorizonts, p. 27, pi. 

 5, fig. 42. 



Genus Florinites S. W. and B., 

 gen. nov. 



Plate 2, figures 13-13b ; text figures 4, 5 



Symmetry. — Pollen grains apparently 

 bilateral ; they may nevertheless be derived 

 from tetrahedral tetrads. 



Form. — Broadly elliptical in outline due 

 to the form of the bladder; body some- 

 what more spherical aftd nearly entirely 

 enclosed by the bladder ; greatest diam- 

 eter of body corresponds to the major 

 diameter of the bladder. When com- 

 pressed the bladder oftentimes is least 

 afifected by folding; the body generally 

 is marked by numerous sharp angular 

 folds, especially around its periphery. 



Sise. — Greatest diameter (length of 

 bladder) among different species varies 

 from about 50 to 180 microns ; the pollen 

 body proper varies from about 20 to 110 

 microns in diameter in individuals of vari- 

 ous species. 



Ornamentation. — Bladder ornament 

 similar to that of Endosporites and Pity- 

 osporites; exterior surface smooth or very 

 finely granulose or rugose, internally the 

 membrane bears a distinct reticulation net 

 v^^hich tends to be obsolescent in the cen- 

 tral proximal area. Bladder and body 

 walls are joined distally, and centrally 

 from this juncture there is no evidence of 

 reticulation. 



Haptotypic features. — Generally not 

 evident, and probably always extremely 

 obscure. Trilete imprint (when discern- 

 able) is wholly vestigial, probably located 

 entirely on the bladder, and has no func- 

 tional significance in the mature spore. 

 The effect of the haptotypic relations 

 sometimes may be obscurely expressed in 

 the proximal bladder reticulation pattern. 



Spore coat. — Bladder membrane is ex- 

 panded on all sides of the body except 

 for a small distal area. The bladder mem- 

 brane generally has a very well defined 

 reticulation network located on the inner 

 surface. At the folded margin the blad- 

 der membrane commonly appears thicker 

 than it actually is due to the reticule bars 

 appearing in profile ; the membrane proper 

 usually is less than a micron thick. Con- 

 sequently, it is highly translucent between 



