NAME Sphaerophorus moniliformis
AGE Early Tertiary (Oligocene?).   AGE span: 65.5...23.03 mya
K&J CLASSIFICATION (2000) Fungi Imperfecti, Phragmosporae.
FIGURE(S)
FIGURE REFERENCE
SPECIES, AUTHORITY S. moniliformis Menge 1858, p. 9, fig. 2.
LOCATION
ORIG DESCRIPTION* Thallus fruiting, of articulate hyphae consisting of appressed globules; branched, branches furcate, diverging, and tapering toward their ends. The minute, brown, encrusting organism covering the terminal leaflets at the tips of twigs of Thuja occidentalis like a miniature lawn. [English translation combining information of original Latin and German descriptions.]
COMMENTS* It is rather questionable whether this small plant can be assigned to Sphaerophorus in the first place, as this genus, or any other of the lichens as far as I know, do not possess an articulate thallus. Yet, it appears to have its closest relatives here; and, as no apothecia are present, I do not want to propose a new generic name for it. For as far as can be seen, the articulation is not just external, and the plantlet therefore also resembles the algae. The branches are like a string of pearls, in the trunks and main branches mostly of uniform size, but in the conical [tapering] furcating spurs gradually decreasing in size. Their substance appears to be hard and crusty, and the color appears to have been, in life as well, of a brown hue. The whole small [lawn-like] patch, about a millimeter in width, completely encircles two opened terminal leaflets of a Thuja sp., possibly of the Thuja kleinianus Goep. group, or [after further study more probably] of Thuja occidentalis. The little trunklets are appressed to the leaf surface, but the terminal prongs rise up into free space. This is the reason for me to have assigned it to Sphaerophorus, although the branching pattern also is reminiscent of Cornicularia.
PUBLICATION REFERENCE Menge A. 1858. Beitrag zur Bernsteinflora; Schriften der naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Danzig, v. 6, p. 3-18.
K&J REMARKS See remarks from Kalgutkar and Jansonius (2000) under Torulites Pia in Hirmer 1927.

Unfortunately, Kalgutkar and Jansonius (2000) did not succeed in obtaining a figure for this species. However, from the literature, it appears that it is very similar to Torula mengeana (q.v.).
TYPE
ALL NAMES (Including synonyms) Sphaerophorus moniliformis
SERIAL NUMBER 1582
PUBLIC COMMENTS
 *For source, see Publication Reference.