GeloriniPhD (PDF , 6973kb) - University of York

Type HdV-1005: Brachydesmiella sp. (Plate I)
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CHAPTER 1
Diversity and ecology of tropical African fungal spores
Conidia lemon-shaped, 2-septate, ca. 28-36 x 20 µm, the central cell large, the end cells small with thinner walls than
central cell. The extant taxon B. biseptata was found on wood of deciduous trees in N-America and Europe (Ellis, 1971).
Very rare in the Challa record; all 3 specimens occurred in two adjacent intervals about 20,500 cal. yr BP.
Type HdV-1006 (Plate I)
Fungal spores one-septate, ca. 25 x 10 µm, elliptic-cylindrical, one cell slightly broader than the other one. Apices have
thicker walls, darker than central part. Rare in the Challa record (5 specimens total); present only in Glacial-period
deposits.
Type HdV-1007 (Plate I; Fig. 1.2)
Fungal spores (conidia?) 3-septate, ca. 24-30 x 8-10 µm, constriction at central septum well developed, the other two
septa not closed, with less constriction. Apical cells showing hilum. Type HdV-1007 spores were only recorded in the
Glacial and Late-Glacial sections of the Challa record, disappearing from ca. 11,000 cal. yr BP.
Type HdV-1008: cf. Valsaria sp. (Plate I)
Ascospores uniseptate, ca. 30 x 20 µm, thick verrucose wall, septum very pronounced and slightly protruding. Fossil
Valsaria type ascospores were recorded by van Geel et al. (2003) in soil samples from a Roman Period settlement site
in the Netherlands. In the Challa record Type 1008 spores are relatively rare, but with a distinct Glacial and Late-Glacial
distribution: 14 specimens were found in 7 intervals older than 11,100 cal. yr BP.
Type HdV-1009: Chaetomium sp. (Plate I)
Ascospores lemon-shaped, ca. 8-10 x 7-8 µm, bilaterally flattened with apical pores. Chaetomium species are cellulosedecomposing
fungi occurring on plant remains and dung. Apart from the occurrence of their fossil ascospores in deposits
from natural habitats (Type HdV-7A; van Geel, 1978; van Geel et al., 1989), fossil Chaetomium spores also appeared to be
linked to archaeological sites (Buurman et al., 1995; van Geel et al., 2003). In the Challa record Chaetomium spores are
very rare; we recovered 5 specimens in sediments dated between 18,200 and 7,700 cal. yr BP.
Type HdV-1010 (Plate I; Fig. 1.2)
Fungal spores uniseptate, fusiform, ca. 32 x 11 µm, with a pore at one end.
Type HdV-1010 spores regularly occur in the Glacial and Late-Glacial sections of the Challa record but are largely absent
in the Holocene, with the exception of a few finds at ca. 1300 and 400-300 cal. yr BP.
Type HdV-1011: Epicoccum purpurascens Ehrenb. (Plate I; Fig. 1.2)
The conidia of Epicoccum purpurascens are globose, 15-28 µm in diameter, verrucose, with multiple transverse and
vertical septa and a funnel-shaped smooth base with attachment scar. E. purpurascens is a ubiquitous saprophytic fungus
found on a variety of substrates. It is an extremely common cosmopolitan invader of dead plant material (Ellis, 1971),
but is also known from soil, litter, wheat, potato, sugar beet, hay, bird nests, pulp, paper, cotton and wood (Domsch et al.,