Fossil fungi with suggested affinities to the Endogonaceae from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica

This is the publisher's version, also available from http://www.mycologia.org/content/104/4/835. Documented fossil evidence of zygomycetous fungi is rare. A conspicuous fungal fossil, Jimwhitea circumtecta gen. et sp. nov., occurs in permineralized peat from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mycologia
Main Authors: Krings, Michael, Taylor, Thomas N., Dotzler, Nora, Persichini, Gianna
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: The Mycological Society of America 2014
Subjects:
Endogone
Fremouw formation
Gametangium
Hyphal mantle
Jimwhitea circumtecta
Permineralized peat
Sporocarp
Zygosporangium
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13692
https://doi.org/10.3852/11-384
Description
Summary:This is the publisher's version, also available from http://www.mycologia.org/content/104/4/835. Documented fossil evidence of zygomycetous fungi is rare. A conspicuous fungal fossil, Jimwhitea circumtecta gen. et sp. nov., occurs in permineralized peat from the Middle Triassic of Antarctica. The fossil is interpreted as a mantled zygosporangium that buds from a macrogametangium subtended by a sac-like macrosuspensor. The macrogametangium is united at its tip with a microgametangium which is subtended by a micro-suspensor. This configuration is strikingly similar to the zygosporangium-gametangia complexes seen in certain modern Endogonaceae. Co-occurring with J. circumtecta are isolated propagules closely resembling the zygosporangium of J. circumtecta and a portion of a sporocarp containing zygosporangia embedded in a gleba. Several of the sporangia are borne on ovoid or elongate structures, which we interpret as gametangia. These fossils offer an exceptionally detailed view of the morphology and reproductive biology of early Mesozoic zygomycetes.

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