NAME Helicosporiates
AGE    AGE span:  mya
K&J CLASSIFICATION (2000) Fungi Imperfecti, Helicosporae.
FIGURE(S)
FIGURE REFERENCE
SPECIES, AUTHORITY Helicosporiates Kalgutkar & Sigler 1995, p. 520.
LOCATION
ORIG DESCRIPTION* ORIGINAL DIAGNOSIS: Conidia simple, pale brown to brown, helicoid; spirals of loose to tightly coiled filaments; filaments slender, multicellular. Conidia usually helically coiled in one plane or somewhat cochleate.

Monotypic.
COMMENTS* Previously described and illustrated as Helicosporium-type by Kalgutkar & McIntyre (1991, figs. 4-6). The conidia of modern Helicosporium are very similar to those of Helicomyces Link. The conidia of species of both genera have conidial filaments that are septate or indistinctly septate and broadly to narrowly cylindrical. However, the conidia of Helicosporium are mostly brown in contrast to those of Helicomyces which are invariably hyaline.

Modern concepts of the genera also place emphasis on development of conidia or conidiophores. In Helicosporium, the conidia are borne on differentiated (macronematous) conidiophores which are mononematous, tall, slender, brown, septate, simple or loosely branched and bear pale to dark, coiled or somewhat cochleate, pleurogenous or acropleurogenous conidia. In Helicomyces, conidia are generally hyaline, usually tightly coiled, acrogenous and are borne terminally on sessile denticles on repent mycelium, or on short, simple, hyaline conidiophores which arise from the mycelium as lateral branches.

Helicosporiates differs from Involutisporonites Clarke 1965, emend. Elsik 1968, in having conidial spirals made up of multicellular filaments consisting of slender cells with sometimes indistinct septa. Spores of Involutisporonites usually have a limited number of spirals consisting of thickened broad cells with distinct septa and a porate or aporate terminal cell. In Colligerites Jain & Kar 1979 multicellular compactly coiled spores are differentiated into a central region consisting of generally smaller, rounded cells and an outer region with larger, rectangular cells. This feature separates Colligerites from other fossil helicosporous genera including Helicosporiates. The multicellular and multiseptate spores of Helicominites Barlinge & Paradkar 1982 are tortuous and coiled in very loose spirals with narrow ends, hence are easily distinguished from the conidia of Helicosporiates.
PUBLICATION REFERENCE Kalgutkar RM, Sigler L. 1995. Some fossil fungal form-taxa from the Maastrichtian and Palaeogene ages; Mycological Research, v. 99, p. 513-522.
K&J REMARKS
TYPE TYPE: Helicosporiates pirozynskii Kalgutkar & Sigler 1995, p. 520, fig. 18.
ALL NAMES (Including synonyms) Helicosporiates;
SERIAL NUMBER 679
PUBLIC COMMENTS
 *For source, see Publication Reference.