Intraspecific variation of taeniate bisaccate pollen within Permian glossopterid sporangia, from the Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica

Abstract

Permineralized sporangia from Late Permian sediments of the Amery Group in the Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica, are assigned to Arberiella sp. cf. A. africana Pant and Nautiyal. These sporangia contain between 2000 and 3000 taeniate, saccate pollen grains that are predominantly haploxylonoid bisaccate and referable to the palynotaxon Protohaploxypinus limpidus (Balme and Hennelly) Balrae and Playford. However, the sporangia also contain greater than 4% of diploxylonoid bisaccate forms comparable to Striatopodocarpidites cancellatus (Balme and Hennelly) Hart 1963, together with sporadic monosaccate and trisaccate grains that, if found dispersed, would be assigned to several differen..