Two new species of Kladnostrobus nov. gen. and their spores from the Pennsylvanian of the Kladno-Rakovník Basin (Bolsovian, Czech Republic)

A new lycopsid family Kladnostrobaceae is proposed, based on the type of sporangia, their attachment by a pedicel and the type of reticulate spores enclosed. All these characteristics distinguish the Kladnostrobaceae from all other lycopsid families. A new lycopsid genus Kladnostrobus nov. gen., consisting of two new species Kladnostrobus clealii nov. sp. and Kladnostrobus psendae nov. sp., is described from the Kladno-Rakovník Basin (Lower Bolsovian) of the central and western Carboniferous continental basins of the Czech Republic. Helically arranged distal laminae and pedicels are relatively primitive, suggesting that Kladnostrobus may represent a new, primitive type of lycopsid cone produced by some unknown, probably arborescent lycopsid parent plant. Spores of Kladnostrobus are about 90-100 μm in diameter, and possess reticulate sculpture. The proximal contact area of spores is laevigate. In situ spores can resemble some dispersed species of the genera Convolutispora Hoffmeister, Staplin and Malloy, Camptotriletes (Naumova) Potonié and Kremp, Reticulatisporites (Ibrahim) Neves and mainly Dictyotriletes (Naumova) Smith and Buttterworth.