Punctatisporites

Libertín, Milan, Bek, Jiří & Drábková, Jana, 2008, Two new Carboniferous fertile sphenophylls and their spores from the Czech Republic, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 53 (4), pp. 723-732 : 732

Division of Punctatisporites spores into natural groups would be facilitated by a good knowledge of their parent plants and/or an accurate grouping of morphologically similar spore types into a few new independent spore groups/genera (according to their sculpture, diameter and exine thickness). This is needed because Punctatisporites is probably the most variable Carboniferous dispersed spore genus known.

It is possible to divide Carboniferous sphenophylls into seven groups based on their in situ spore types and different morphologies and anatomies of the cones ( Libertín and Bek 2006). Spores isolated from Bowmanites brasensis and B. pseudoaquensis do not correspond with any members of these groups and represent a new group of Carboniferous sphenophyllalean plants. Their special position is based mainly on their in situ spores. This suggests that the previous classifications of sphenophyllalean cones given by Hoskins and Cross (1943) and Remy (1955) need basic revision because these classifications group together plants that produce different spores (e.g., monolete versus trilete) and overlook the significance of in situ spores. We are currently working on a new classification of Carboniferous fertile specimens of sphenophylls. This revision will be based not only on the morphology of the cones, but also on their in situ spores, underlining the necessity of collaboration between palaeobotanists and palynologists.