Electron Microscopy of the Megaspore Horstisporites Semireticulatus from Liassic Strata of Germany

Ultra-thin sections of paratypes of the megaspore Horstisporites semireticulatus Jung from Liassic strata of Germany have been investigated by the transmission electron microscope. By this it could be demonstrated that the fossil sporoderm consists of two distinct layers. The inner layer (exine) is very thin (about 0.5 μ) and reveals a lamellated structure. The outer layer (perine) is thicker by far (about 25 μ or more) and is composed of ramifying sporonin threads, which form a three-dimensional network. Proximally, in the region of the triradiate dehiscence commissure, both layers coalesce. Distally the exine separates from the perine, forming a cavity hitherto, erroneously, called mesosporoid. The structural similarity of the Horstisporites semireticulatus sporoderm and that of such megaspores of Selaginella which show a monozonal kind of perine formation e.g. Selaginella selaginoides, favours the idea that the fossil species in question belongs to the Selaginellaceae