Fungalpedia – Note 329, Magnosporites (Fossil Fungi)
Magnosporites Rouse.
Citation when using this data: Saxena RK & Hyde KD. 2024 (in prep) – Fungalpedia, Fossil Fungi.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig. 1
Classification: Amerosporae, Incertae sedis, Fungi
Rouse (1962) described the monotypic fossil genus, Magnosporites, from the Burrard Formation (Late Cretaceous-Middle Eocene, (100–38 mya) sediments of Terminal Dock, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This genus includes spore-like bodies having circular to elliptical outline and a fairly thin wall (ca. 1.5 μm). The wall is bright yellow and is always folded and contorted. There is no apparent aperture and no ornamentation on the smooth surface. Size-range is 100–170 μm. According to Rouse (1962), these structures are associated with freshwater plants, as they are found only in freshwater deposits. Whether they are spores, sporangia, or remains of one-celled organisms is entirely open to question. The fungal affinity of these forms is questionable.
Type species: Magnosporites staplinii Rouse 1962.
Figure 1 – Magnosporites staplinii. Scale bar = 30 μm. Redrawn from Rouse (1962).
References
Entry by
Ramesh K. Saxena, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India
(Edited by Kevin D. Hyde, Samaneh Chaharmiri-Dokhaharani, & Achala R. Rathnayaka)
Published online 27 August 2024