Fungalpedia – Note 3184, Helicosporiates

 

Helicosporiates Kalgutkar & Sigler, Mycological Research 99: 520 (1995).

Citation when using this data: Jian Ma et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.

Notes: Helicosporiates was established by Kalgutkar and Sigler (1995), with H. pirozynskii as the type species based on its conidial morphological characteristics. Helicosporiates is characterized by cuboid to rectangular conidial cells, indistinct conidial septate, loose to tightly coiled or cochleate conidial filaments, and pale brown to brown helicoid conidia (Kalgutkar and Sigler 1995). Helicosporiates comprises a single species, H. pirozynskii, found in Canada (Kalgutkar and Sigler 1995; Saxena et al. 2021). It is important to note that Helicosporiates is morphologically similar to the extant warm-climate, subaqueous generic groups Helicoon, Helicodendron, and Helicosporium from the Eocene Eureka Sound Formation in the Canadian Arctic, and used their presence to postulate pools of open water in a warm, humid palaeoenvironment of the region (Kalgutkar and McIntyre 1991; Saxena et al. 2021).

Type species: Helicosporiates pirozynskii Kalgutkar & Sigler, Mycological Research 99: 520 (1995).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Helicosporiates.

Figure 1 – a Colligerites kutchensis, Bar = 8 μm. b Elsikisporonites tubulatus, Bar = 12 μm. c Helicominites salvinites, Bar = 10 μm. d Helicoonites goosii, Bar = 10 μm. e Helicosporiates pirozynskii, Bar = 8 μm. f Involutisporonites foraminus, Bar = 10 μm. g Palaeocirrenalia elegans, Bar = 8 μm. h Paleoslimacomyces canadensis, Bar = 5 μm. i Retihelicosporonites elsikii, Bar = 20 μm. (redrawn from Saxena et al. (2021)).

 

References

Kalgutkar R, McIntyre D. 1991 – Helicosporous fungi and Early Eocene pollen, Eureka Sound Group, Axel Heiberg Island, Northwest Territories. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 28(3):364–371.

Kalgutkar R, Sigler L. 1995 – Some fossil fungal form-taxa from the Maastrichtian and Palaeogene ages. Mycological Research 99(5):513–522.

Saxena R, Wijayawardene N, Dai D, Hyde KD, Kirk P. 2021 – Diversity in fossil fungal spores. Mycosphere 12(1):670–874.

 

Entry by

Jian Ma, School of Food and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Guiyang 550003, P.R. China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand.

 

Published online 18 September 2026

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