NAME Stagonospora intertrappea
AGE Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian).   AGE span: 70.6...65.5 mya
K&J CLASSIFICATION (2000) Fungi Imperfecti, Sphaeropsidales
FIGURE(S)
Image of
Pl.28fig.9.jpg
FIGURE REFERENCE Trivedi BS, Verma CL. 1973. A new fossil fungus from the Deccan Intertrappean beds of Madhya Pradesh, India; The Palaeobotanist, v. 20 (1971), p. 71-73.
SPECIES, AUTHORITY S. intertrappea Trivedi & Verma 1973, p. 71, pl. 1, fig. 1-5.
LOCATION Mohgaonkalan, Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh, India.
ORIG DESCRIPTION* Pycnidia without stroma, 0.2-0.25 mm long and 0.10-0.15 mm broad; pycnidial wall parenchymatous, single-celled. Spores oblong, linear fuscoid or ellipsoidal, 20-23 x 7-10 µm with 1-3 transverse septa, middle septa dark, without septal opening; mycelium septate and branched.

Five pycnidia are seen in cross section, they are well preserved, three have spores within them while the remaining two, probably immature, are without spores (textfig. 1). Pycnidia are 0.2-0.25 mm long and 0.10-0.15 mm broad, somewhat pyriform, pycnidial pores are not clearly visible. Pycnidial wall is parenchymatous, single cell layer thick, its cells are broader than long. Near apex of pycnidium the cells of the wall have dark contents. Host tissue has almost completely decayed but at the base of the pycnidia, parenchymatous cells are still preserved (textfigs. 4, 6; pl. 1, figs. 1, 4). In close association with the pycnidia, branched septate hyaline hyphae can be seen (text-fig. 5; pl. 1, fig. 5). Numerous 2- to 4-celled, well preserved spores are enclosed within the pycnidium. They are longer than broad, oblong linear, fusoid, or ellipsoid in shape, 20-23 x 7-10 µm in size when mature (text-figs. 2, 3, 7; pl. 1, fig. 3). They have 1-3 septa, spore wall is smooth and quite firm. Middle septum of the spore is darker in color and is without any opening (pl. 1, fig. 2).
COMMENTS* Stagonospora intertrappea does not resemble any fossil fungus reported so far. Diplodia rodei Mahabalé 1969 shows only a remote resemblance with it. However, the two differ in many characters. In Diplodia rodei spores are two-celled, oval or elongate, 17.8 x 7.5 µm in diameter and with characteristic striations, while in the present fossil, the spores are 2- to 4-celled, mostly four-celled, oblong, elongate or fusoid, 20-23 x 7-10 µm, and embedded in the pycnidium. Closer scrutiny reveals that the fossil fungus closely resembles the living genus Stagonospora of the group Coelomycetes (Fungi Imperfecti). Stagonospora is characterized by the presence of a pycnidium without stroma, spores being colorless, usually straight, oblong or linear, generally obtuse at the ends, with two or more distinct septa. The fossil fungus described here closely resembles the living genus Stagonospora in almost all details, but it does not resemble any living species of the genus (Saccardo, 1884; Grove, 1935).
PUBLICATION REFERENCE Trivedi BS, Verma CL. 1973. A new fossil fungus from the Deccan Intertrappean beds of Madhya Pradesh, India; The Palaeobotanist, v. 20 (1971), p. 71-73.
K&J REMARKS
TYPE S. intertrappea Trivedi & Verma 1973, p. 71, pl. 1, fig. 1-5. Holotype: Slide No. M/307 in Trivedi's Collection, Botany Department, University of Lucknow.
ALL NAMES (Including synonyms) Stagonospora intertrappea
SERIAL NUMBER 1625
PUBLIC COMMENTS
 *For source, see Publication Reference.