Fungalpedia – Note 208, Hapalophragmites (Fossil Fungi)
Hapalophragmites Ramanujam & Ramachar.
Citation when using this data: Saxena RK & Hyde KD. 2024 (in prep) – Fungalpedia, Fossil Fungi.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig. 1
Classification: Raveneliaceae, Pucciniales, Pucciniomycetes, Basidiomycota, Fungi
The fossil genus Hapalophragmites was described by Ramanujam & Ramachar (1980) from the Neyveli lignite (Miocene, 23–5 mya) of Neyveli, Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India. Hapalophragmites includes triquetrously three-celled pedicellate teliospores with an odd number of cell terminals. The two basal cells are borne on a common stalk. The wall is cinnamon-brown. One germ pore is observed in each cell type. According to Ramanujam & Ramachar (1980), this genus is commonly found in the Neyveli lignite. The pedicel is not preserved in all specimens, but its attachment point is marked by a slight flattening of the spore wall between two cells. Fossil spores show a close similarity to the spores of modern Hapalophragmium Syd. & P. Syd. The odd spore is basal, not terminal, in other related triquetrous spores (e.g., Triphragmium Link and Nyssopsora Arthur). Furthermore, Nyssopsora has more than one germ pore per cell. Hapalophragmium is probably a tropical rust parasitizing leguminous plants, the pollen of which is abundant in the Neyveli lignite. The species epithet is honored by G.B. Cummins of Arizona University, U.S.A. Only one species listed in Index Fungorum (2023) under this genus.
Type species: Hapalophragmites cumminsii Ramanujam & Ramachar 1980
Figure 1 – Hapalophragmites cumminsii. Scale bar = 20 μm. Redrawn from Ramanujam & Ramachar (1980).
References
Entry by
Ramesh K. Saxena, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India
(Edited by Kevin D. Hyde, Eric Mckenzie, Samaneh Chaharmiri-Dokhaharani, & Achala R. Rathnayaka)