Lepidostrobus willardii sp. nov. and its spores from the Lower Pennsylvanian of the Illinois Basin, USA.

 

Authors: Pšenička J, Bek J, Nelson WJ

Published in: Bulletin of Geosciences, volume 99, issue 3; pages: 203 - 218; Received 22 February 2024; Accepted in revised form 6 August 2024; Online 8 September 2024

Keywords: Lepidostrobus, Lycospora, Tradewater Formation, Pennsylvanian, Illinois Basin,

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Abstract

This paper describes a Pennsylvanian lycophyte cone collected from a highway cut along the southbound lanes of U.S. Interstate Highway 24 (I-24) north of Vienna, Illinois (USA) and stratigraphically belonging to the basal Tradewater Formation, under the Reynoldsburg Coal Bed (upper Bashkirian, lowermost Pennsylvanian). The cone is incomplete, more than 135 mm long and 26 mm wide, mainly representing the distal part with a missing base. The in situ spores from the cone represent trilete cingulizonate microspores belonging to the Lycospora brevijuga Group. Based on these spores together with morphological characters, the cone was compared with already existing species and differs sufficiently to warrant establishing a new species, here named Lepidostrobus willardii sp. nov.

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