NAME Palaeomycites major
AGE (Renault) Permian.   AGE span: 299...251 mya
K&J CLASSIFICATION (2000) Chytridiomycetes, Chytridiales; or: Zygomycetes, Endogonales; or: Oomycetes, Peronosporales.
FIGURE(S)
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Pl.20fig.3.jpg
FIGURE REFERENCE Renault B. 1896. Bassin Houiller et Permien d' Autun et d'Épinac, Flore Fossile, pt. I; Études des gîtes minéraux de la France, Paris, Fascicule 4, 578 p.
SPECIES, AUTHORITY P. major Renault ex Meschinelli 1902, p. 10.
LOCATION (Renault) Saône et Loire, France.
ORIG DESCRIPTION* (Renault): This fungal species, here assigned with some reservations to the Mucoraceae, is only represented by a dark spherical body, covered by a thick wall that obscures all interior detail. Its dimensions are relatively large: it measures 96 μm in diameter. One can see no trace of the three lines of dehiscence customary in macrospores; moreover, on one of its sides adheres a sinuous mycelial fragment (c in fig. 90), which has lost part of its protoplasm, and has no septa; we therefore may consider that this spherical body constitutes a chlamydospore which is in the process of germinating; the germinal tube (b) is cylindrical, measuring 17 μm across and 200 μm in length; it ends in a drawn-out point; its base is contracted at the point where it emerges. The protoplasm is granular, and no septa can be discerned.

This chlamydospore is contained within the broken envelope of the sporangium (e), amongst a considerable number of much smaller spores with a diameter of only 33 μm. They have thin transparent walls; their contents are barely colored; they all have the same shape. It seems not possible to consider the one we took for a chlamydospore as one of these, but developed to a special size, while the others were arrested in their development.
COMMENTS*
PUBLICATION REFERENCE Renault B. 1896. Bassin Houiller et Permien d' Autun et d'Épinac, Flore Fossile, pt. I; Études des gîtes minéraux de la France, Paris, Fascicule 4, 578 p.
K&J REMARKS Palaeomyces major Renault is a nomen nudum as no generic diagnosis was provided.

Meschinelli (1902) introduced the fossil genus Palaeomycites Meschinelli 1902 (non Renault 1896) with a proper generic diagnosis. It replaces Palaeomyces Renault 1896. See remarks from Kalgutkar and Jansonius (2000) under Palaeomyces.
TYPE
ALL NAMES (Including synonyms) Palaeomyces major Renault 1896, p. 439, fig. 90 (nom. nud.) [orth. corr. pro P. majus].; Palaeomycites major
SERIAL NUMBER 1217
PUBLIC COMMENTS
 *For source, see Publication Reference.