Piercipollis simplex E.M.FRIIS, P.R.CRANE et K.R.PEDERSEN, 2019

Friis, Else Marie, Crane, Peter R. & Pedersen, Kaj Raunsgaard, 2019, The Early Cretaceous Mesofossil Flora Of Torres Vedras (Ne Of Forte Da Forca), Portugal: A Palaeofloristic Analysis Of An Early Angiosperm Community, Fossil Imprint 75 (2), pp. 153-257 : 217-218

Piercipollis simplex E.M.FRIIS, P.R.CRANE et K.R.PEDERSEN sp. nov.

Text-fig. 41a–e

H o l o t y p e. Designated here. S136755 (Torres Vedras sample 44; figured Text-fig. 41a–e ).

P l a n t F o s s i l N a m e s R e g i s t r y N u m b e r.

PFN000478 (for new species).

P a r a t y p e s. S136757, S148017, S148218 (Torres

Vedras sample 44).

R e p o s i t o r y. Palaeobotanical Collections , Department of Palaeobiology, the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden .

E t y m o l o g y. From Latin: simplex referring to the simple reticulum and colpus margin.

T y p e l o c a l i t y. Torres Vedras (NE of Forte de

Forca; 39°06′13″ N, 9°14′47″ W).

T y p e s t r a t u m a n d a g e. Lower member of the Almargem Formation; Early Cretaceous (late Barremianearly Aptian).

D i a g n o s i s. As for the genus.

D i m e n s i o n s. Length of pollen grains: about 15 µm.

D e s c r i p t i o n a n d r e m a r k s. The species is based on four pollen clumps containing many pollen grains of the same kind. The pollen clumps are perhaps fragments of anthers ( Text-fig. 41a ). The pollen grains are small, almost circular in equatorial outline, about 15 µm in diameter, and monocolpate. The colpus is long, extending to the equator. The exine is semitectate-reticulate and columellate (Textfig. 41b–d). The reticulum is coarse, homobrochate and with polygonal to rounded lumina up to about 0.35 µm wide ( Text-fig. 41e ). The muri are smooth with a slightly rounded profile and are supported by long scattered columellae. The colpus is distinctly delimited by a continuous line formed by the marginal muri of the reticulum. There is no difference in the form of the reticulum close to the colpus compared to over the main body of the grain ( Text-fig. 41b, d ). The reticulum is often detached from, and larger than, the main body of the pollen grain ( Text-fig. 41b–d ).

A f f i n i t y a n d o t h e r o c c u r r e n c e s. A single pollen grain similar to Piercipollis simplex has also been observed in a coprolite from the Catefica locality, but otherwise the species is unknown from other mesofossil floras in Portugal.

Figures

Text-fig. 41. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of monocolpate pollen of Piercipollis simplex gen. et sp. nov. from a pollen clump; Torres Vedras locality, Portugal. a) Holotype; pollen clump that yielded the pollen in this Text-figure; b–d) Pollen grains in distal (b), proximal (c) and lateral views (d) showing the very long colpus and the well-developed reticulum that is only loosely attached to the smooth surface of the foot layer; note the large angular lumina, smooth muri and short, sparsely scattered, columellae; note also that main body of pollen grains (foot layer) does not fill out the whole space of the reticulum; e) Reticulum showing the smooth muri loosely attached to the smooth surface of the foot layer by short, sparsely scattered, columellae. Specimen, TV44-S136755 (holotype). Scale bars 300 Μm (a), 6 Μm (b–d), 3 Μm (e).