58 



PALEOZOIC FOSSIL SPORES 



Ernestiodcndron, or Walchianthus can- 

 not in the same instance also be assigned 

 to some different genus and species. Fur- 

 thermore, it seems an absurdity to at- 

 tempt to make an identification with a 

 generalized group such as Pollenites or 

 even Florinites, when a more precise spe- 

 cific pertinence is thoroughly demon- 

 strated. The systematic problem that 

 confronts us revolves around proper de- 

 termination of fossils where pertinence 

 to a definitely restricted group is, for 

 one reason or another, legitimately in 

 question. Thus it would seem that unless 

 one of the pollen specimens Florin has 

 illustrated is regarded as improperly re- 

 ferred to species of Lehachia, Ernestio- 

 dendron, or Walchianthus, none of them 

 can be regarded as type material of a new 

 distinct taxonomic species. As there is 

 no discernible reason to question Florin's 

 more precise assignment of that material, 

 it seems equally evident that Pollenites 

 cordaitiformis has no type and the name 

 was superfluous as proposed. 



Florinites antiquus sp. nov. is de- 

 scribed below and designated as the type 

 species. Two other species previously 

 described also are tentatively assigned to 

 the genus. There can be little doubt that 

 Types 5 of Millott (1939) and 3K of 

 Knox (1942) are also congeneric. Flor- 

 in's various descriptions and excellent il- 

 lustrations have shown clearly that a 

 number of other species can be distin- 

 guished by their pollen characters. 



Florinites is known to be widely dis- 

 tributed in the Pennsylvanian and Upper 

 Carboniferous as well as in the Permian 

 strata where other coniferous remains are 

 associated with it. Pollen of this char- 

 acter has been found to be abundant in 

 some Tennessee coals and other beds of 

 lower Pottsville age. It seems likely that 

 a detailed study of these forms will add 

 much to our knowledge of the early an- 

 cestry of conifers. 



1. Florinites antiquus Schopf, sp. nov. 

 Text figures 4, 5 



Description. — Pollen grains, bilateral symmetry, 

 equipped with an annulate bladder joined to 

 the central pollen body only on the distal side, 

 thus outlining a "contact area" equivalent to a 

 germinal "furrow." The grains are broadly 

 elliptical when compressed in the proximo-distal 

 plane so that the length and breadth proportions 



are evident. When compressed laterally the 

 axial dimension is observed to be shorter than 

 that in either of the other two planes of sym- 

 metry. Inclusive of the bladder, the fossils 

 range from 55-90 (mostly 65-85) microns in 

 length, and 40-75 (mostly 45-60) microns in 

 breadth. The axial dimension, exhibited in a 

 few instances, is a little less than 40 microns. 

 The body, enclosed by the bladder on all but 

 the distal side, is more nearly spherical ranging 

 from 25-45 (mostly 27-37) microns in length 

 and 20-40 (mostly 25-35) microns in breadth. 

 The axial dimension of the body is somewhat 

 less, about 20-25 microns. The body proper is 

 always compressed with sharp folds which are 

 characteristically more numerous around the 

 periphery ; the bladder is oftentimes hardly 

 folded when compression is in the proximo- 

 distal plane, but the folding that does affect it 

 is more erratic. When compressed obliquely 

 or laterally the outline is much distorted. The 

 bladder membrane itself is less than a micron 

 thick ; a zone a few microns broad around 

 the equator is more definitely yellowish trans- 

 lucent and slightly thicker ; compressed laterally 

 the equatorial zone of the bladder remains dis- 

 tinguishable and the slight inequality in thickness 

 evidently contributes to the more erratic char- 

 acter of folds. The bladder is smooth to min- 

 utely granulose externally but shows an internal 

 reticulation net. The reticulae vary from 1 to 

 3 microns in diameter and may be very slightly 

 elongated radially. The bars of the reticulation 

 are not prominent in this species and have a 

 thickness of a fraction of a micron. The reticu- 

 lation is more pronounced away from the body 

 and is hardly discernable immediately surround- 

 ing the "contact area" on the distal side or cen- 

 trally on the proximal side. The body wall is 

 essentially smooth, very thin, and except where 

 folded into several thicknesses, it hardly darkens 

 the light straw-yellow translucence of the cen- 

 tral area of the pollen grain. The "contact 

 area" where bladder joins the body wall is 

 elliptical or oval with its greater diameter 

 commonly transverse to the length of the pollen 

 grain. The margins of this area are quite faint 

 and its size and outline vary from 17 x 23 to 

 10 X 20 microns. It can hardly be detected under 

 the microscope unless the grain is oriented 

 distal side up. A distinct but tenuous striation 

 traverses the "contact area" in many instances, 

 continues on the bladder membrane until about 

 opposite the body margin, and is then lost as 

 the bladder membrane developsi its more dis- 

 tinctive ornamentation. It can hardly be in- 

 terpreted as a monolete suture line ; it would 

 seem more plausibly regarded as a harmome- 

 gathic groove similar in character to those on 

 the distal side of Monoletes prepollen but more 

 faintly developed, since the body and bladder 

 membranes are not nearly so thick as the 

 Monoletes coat. The striation seems correlated 

 in position with the long axis of the contact 

 area and frequently is set obliquely with ref- 

 erence to the breadth of the grain as a whole. 



Haptotypic characteristics are very faint and 

 may be observed to best advantage in forms in 

 which the body membrane is wanting, but the 

 bladder membrane persists (perhaps as a result 

 of maceration). In such examples, which are 



