32 



PALEOZOIC FOSSIL SPORES 



Apiculata-sporitesspinulistratus (Loose) 

 Ibrahim, 1933, Sporenformen des Aegir- 

 horizonts, p. 37. 



A piculati-sporitcsspmulistratus (Loose) 

 Loose, 1934, Inst. Palaobot, Arb., vol. 4, no. 



4, p. 153. 



27. PUNCTATI - SPORITES TRIGONORETICULATUS 



(Loose) S. W. and B., comb. nov. 



Reticiilati - sporitcs trigonoreticulatus 

 Loose, 1934, idem, p. 155, pi. 7, fig. 9. 



28. PUNCTATI-SPORITES (?) VELATUS (LoOSe) 



5. W. and B., comb. nov. 



Reticulati-sporites velatus Loose, 1934, 

 idem, p. 155, pi. 7, fig. 19. 



29. PuNCTATi-sPORiTES VERRUCOSUS (Ibrahim) 

 S. W. and B., comb. nov. 



Sporonites verrucosus Ibrahim, 1932, 

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

 448, pi. 15, fig. 17. 



V errucosi-sporites verrucosus ( Ibrahim ) 

 Ibrahim, 1933, Sporenformen des Aegir- 

 horizonts, p. 25, pi. 2, fig. 17. 



Genus Granulati-sporites (Ibrahim, 

 1933) emend., S. W. and B. 



Plate 1, figures 8-8b 

 Symmetry. — Spores radial, trilete. 



Shape. — Originally oblate, rounded tri- 

 angular, ^N\.ih. the axial dimension much 

 the shortest ; when compressed the spores 

 are nearly always flattened in good proxi- 

 mo-distal orientation since the transverse 

 plane of the spore, being broadest, tends 

 to parallel the bedding of sediments en- 

 closing them. When preserved thus, the 

 spores appear subtriangular in outHne, 

 with sides either convex or slightly con- 

 cave and the corners rounded. 



Sise. — Spores of various species range 

 from about 25 to 45 microns in mean 

 diameter. 



Ornamentation. — Various, surfaces 

 smooth to punctate, finely to relatively 

 coarsely reticulate or apiculate ; the di- 

 verse types of ornamentation which char- 

 acterize various species are not prominent 

 to the extent that they mask the essential 

 shape characteristics of the spores. 



Haptotypic structures. — Trilete rays 

 are well extended toward the corners; 

 they are never relatively short. The lips 

 are not distinguished by special ornamen- 

 tation, the commissure is relatively simple 

 but definite in all cases ; usually no vari- 

 ations in ornamentation distinguish the 

 proximal (pyramic) side from the rest 

 of the spore coat. 



Spore coat. — Of relatively uniform 

 thickness throughout, generally thin, and 

 except where modified by ornamentation, 

 often less than 2 microns. 



Affinity. — Spores similar to those of 

 Granulati-sporites have been reported 

 from fructifications of ferns although rel- 

 atively few of these have been critically 

 described. Spores of Bozveria minor and 

 Renaultia gracilis which are illustrated by 

 Knox (1938) are of similar character. 

 Probably considerable difflculty will be 

 encountered in definitely correlating the 

 genus (further emended as may prove 

 desirable) with any single supra-generic 

 plant group. The many similar features 

 possessed by species assigned to Granulati- 

 sporites suggest that this grouping may be 

 a practical one. 



The forms Raistrick (1933, 1934, 1937) 

 designates as D^, Dg and D-^^ (Knox, 

 1938) probably belong to Granulati-spor- 

 ites as defined here. Likewise Millott's 

 Type 4 is of this character (Millot, 1939) . 



Remarks: The genus as emended in- 

 cludes fifteen species, twelve of which 

 represent new name combinations. The 

 genus was originally established to include 

 spores of trilete-type showing granular 

 sculpturing (Ibrahim, 1933, p. 21), char- 

 acters which in themselves are inadequate ; 

 consequently it must be regarded as co- 

 incidence that two of the three original 

 species (one of which was designated as 

 the type) are retained in the group, along 

 with another that Loose assigned to it in 

 1934. The genotype of Granulati-sporites 

 is the only genotype species included by 

 revision within the genus and thus there 

 can be no question as to validity of the 

 generic name. The genotype, G. granulatus 

 Ibrahim, also is based on a form from the 

 Aegir coal bed at the top of the West- 

 phalian B. 



1. Granulati-sporites deltiformis S. W. and 



B., nomen nov. 



Triquitrites deltoides Wilson and Coe, 

 1940, Am. Midland Naturalist, vol. 23, no. 

 1, p. 185, fig. 9. 



Note. — In combination with Granulati-sporites 

 the specific epithet becomes a homonym of G. 

 deltoides (lb.) S. W. and B., as given below. 



2. Granulati-sporites deltoides (Ibrahim) 

 S. W. and B., comb. nov. 



Sporonites deltoides Ibrahirh, 1932, 

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

 448, pi. 15, fig. 15. 



