NAME Pluricellaesporites
AGE    AGE span:  mya
K&J CLASSIFICATION (2000) Fungi Imperfecti, Phragmosporae.
FIGURE(S)
FIGURE REFERENCE
SPECIES, AUTHORITY Pluricellaesporites van der Hammen 1954, p. 83; emend. Elsik & Jansonius 1974.
LOCATION
ORIG DESCRIPTION* ORIGINAL DIAGNOSIS: Fungal spores composed of several [grains or] cells aligned along a single axis. [Jansonius & Hills (1976), card no. 2047.]

EMENDED DIAGNOSES (Elsik 1968, p. 276): Monoporate, psilate fungal or algal spores of three or more cells. Symmetrical or nearly symmetrical around one long axis. Two or more septa.

(Sheffy & Dilcher 1971, p. 46): Monoporate, psilate to scabrate fungal or algal spores of three or more cells; two or more septa. Cells linear along one long axis.

(Elsik & Jansonius 1974, p. 955): Fungal spores of three or more cells, two or more septa, symmetrical or very nearly so around the long axis. There is a single aperture, pore, hilum or exitus, at one end. Septa may be entire, perforate or split. Cells are short to long in relation to overall spore length. Spore outline is lenticular, oval or cylindrical. One or two cells at aporate end never constitute the bulk of the spore. Exine is psilate to variously ornamented; if ornament is present it is subdued, i.e. of low relief.
COMMENTS* (Sheffy & Dilcher): The emended description of Elsik (1968) includes spores with three or more cells. It does not mention a slit-like opening through the septa as found in the generic description of Clarke (1965). The present description introduces psilate to scabrate ornamentation.

(Elsik & Jansonius): van der Hammen (1954, 1955) illustrated morphologies of aporate, monoporate, and diporate character for his early species of Pluricellaesporites. For practical considerations alone this sets up a heterogenous group. Furthermore, his P. filiformis and P. erdtmanii appear to have been based upon incomplete specimens. Clarke's (1965) restated diagnosis can be interpreted to restrict the genus to specimens of five or more cells, but no comment on presence, or lack, of apertures was made.
PUBLICATION REFERENCE Van Der Hammen T. 1954. El desarrollo de la flora Colombiana en los periodos geológicos. I. Maestrichtiano hasta Terciario más inferior; Boletín Geológico, v. 2, p. 49-106.

Jansonius J, Hills LV. 1976. Genera file of fossil spores; Special Publication, Department of Geology, University of Calgary, cards 1-3287 cds.

Elsik WC. 1968. Palynology of a Paleocene Rockdale lignite, Milam County, Texas. I. Morphology and taxonomy; Pollen et Spores, v. 10, p. 263-314.

Sheffy MV, Dilcher DL. 1971. Morphology and taxonomy of fungal spores; Palaeontographica, Abt. B, v. 133 p. 34-51.

Elsik WC, Jansonius J. 1974. New genera of Paleogene fungal spores; Canadian Journal of Botany, v. 52, p. 953-958.
K&J REMARKS Clarke (1965, p. 90) gave the following restated diagnosis of Pluricellaesporites but did not formally emend it: "Fungal spores uniseriate, individuals consisting of five to many cells, cells flattened at common boundary, convex on sides, each cell connected by a slit-like opening through the septa".

Lange & Smith (1971) considered that van der Hammen's circumscription of Pluricellaesporites was unacceptably broad. Later (1975a), in their paper on Ctenosporites and other Paleogene fungal spores, they stated that "Pluricellaesporites is at risk of becoming a terminological catchall for few-celled linear phragmospores, unless an effective revision of this group is accomplished soon". However, in the mean time Elsik & Jansonius (1974) had emended Pluricellaesporites to include monoporate/monohilate, symmetrical or nearly symmetrical fungal spores of three or more cells showing different characteristics of shape, size, ornamentation and septation, and made its description more complete and generally acceptable. Rather than again emending the generic diagnosis, Kalgutkar and Jansonius (2000) adopt the emendation by Elsik & Jansonius (1974).

The spores in Pluricellaesporites are terminal, with a closed distal end (i.e., non-porate); catenate spores with two pores (or a hilum and a pore) are assigned to Diporicellaesporites.

When looking at the plate with the species of Pluricellaesporites, the type appears to differ in overall shape from other species here assigned; possibly it represents an unusual development, or stage in spore formation, that is not commonly seen in the fossil record. Kalgutkar and Jansonius (2000) could not find an illustration of an equivalent modern spore in their reference books.
TYPE TYPE: Pluricellaesporites typicus van der Hammen 1954, p. 104, pl. 21 (designated by van der Hammen 1955, p. 14).
ALL NAMES (Including synonyms) Piriurella Cookson & Eisenack 1979.; Pluricellaesporites;
SERIAL NUMBER 1357
PUBLIC COMMENTS
 *For source, see Publication Reference.