Appianoporites
Encyclopedia
Appianoporites is an extinct monotypic
genus
of fungus
in the Agaricomycetes
family Hymenochaetaceae
. At present it contains the single species
Appianoporites vancouverensis.
The genus is solely known from the Eocene
Appian Way deposits on Vancouver Island
. Appianoporites, the first fossil fungus species to be described from the Appian Way strata, is one of only three found on Vancouver Island
, British Columbia
: the agaricomycete Quatsinoporites cranhamii
was described from a Cretaceous
fossil at the same time as Appianoporites, while a third fungus, Margaretbarromyces dictyosporus
was described three years later.
, a partial bracket fungus fruiting body, or conk
. The specimen, AW 104 D top, is currently residing in the collections housed by the Royal British Columbia Museum
, Victoria
. The specimen was collected south of the Campbell River on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island. The partial conk was preserved in a calcareous nodule
recovered from a silty mudstone matrix. The nodules formed in a shallow marine environment along with abundant plant material.
It was first studied by a group of researchers consisting of Selena Smith, Randolph Currah and Ruth Stockey, all from the University of Alberta
. Smith and colleagues published their 2004 type description in the journal Mycologia
volume 96. The generic epithet Appianoporites was coined from a combination of Appian in reference to the type locality and "porites" to reflect that it is a polypore
fungus. The specific epithet "vancouverensis" was proposed in recognition of Vancouver Island
, where the fossil deposits are.
When first described Appianoporites vancouverensis was the second fungus species to be described from Vancouver Island and the fourth species to be described from British Columbia. Cryptodidymosphaerites princetonensis and Palaeoserenomyces allenbyensis were the first fossil fungi to be described from British Columbia, known only from the Early Eocene Allenby Formation near Princeton, B.C.
. Quatsinoporites cranhamii
, a Cretaceous
age agaricomycete, was described in the same paper from deposits along the western shore of Vancouver Island. Three years later the ascomycete Margaretbarromyces dictyosporus
was described from the Appian Way site.
diameter tubes per millimeter. The fungus is composed of monomitic hyphae. Due to the abraded nature of the specimen the basidia and basidiospores are both unknown at this time. The specimen was studied by cutting the calcareous nodule into slices with a rock saw and using the cellulose acetate peel technique to create slides that were examined under stereo microscope.
Though a number of polypore fungi groups Appianoporites is placed in Hymenochaetaceae
based on the structure of the poroid hymenophore, the presence of setae and monomitic hyphal system lacking clamp connections. This placement is tentative due to limited characters available in the fossil including the lack of diagnostic features such as the basidiospores.
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of fungus
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
in the Agaricomycetes
Agaricomycetes
Agaricomycetes is a class of fungi. The taxon is roughly identical to that defined for the Homobasidiomycetes by Hibbett & Thorn, with the inclusion of Auriculariales and Sebacinales. It includes not only mushrooms but also most species placed in the deprecated taxa Gasteromycetes and...
family Hymenochaetaceae
Hymenochaetaceae
The Hymenochaetaceae are a family of fungi in the order Hymenochaetales. The family contains several species that are implicated in many diseases of broad-leaved and coniferous trees, causing heart rot, canker and root diseases, and also esca disease of grapevines...
. At present it contains the single species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
Appianoporites vancouverensis.
The genus is solely known from the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
Appian Way deposits on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
. Appianoporites, the first fossil fungus species to be described from the Appian Way strata, is one of only three found on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
: the agaricomycete Quatsinoporites cranhamii
Quatsinoporites
Quatsinoporites is an extinct monotypic genus of agaricomycet fungus in the Agaricomycetes family Hymenochaetaceae. At present it contains the single species Quatsinoporites cranhamii....
was described from a Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
fossil at the same time as Appianoporites, while a third fungus, Margaretbarromyces dictyosporus
Margaretbarromyces
Margaretbarromyces is an extinct monotypic genus of pleosporale fungus of uncertain family placement. At present it contains the single species Margaretbarromyces dictyosporus....
was described three years later.
History and classification
The genus is known only from the single holotypeHolotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
, a partial bracket fungus fruiting body, or conk
Bracket fungus
Bracket fungi, or shelf fungi, among many groups of the fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota. Characteristically, they produce shelf- or bracket-shaped fruiting bodies called conks that lie in a close planar grouping of separate or interconnected horizontal rows...
. The specimen, AW 104 D top, is currently residing in the collections housed by the Royal British Columbia Museum
Royal British Columbia Museum
The Royal British Columbia Museum is a natural history and human history museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1886. The "Royal" title was approved by Queen Elizabeth II and bestowed by HRH Prince Philip in 1987, to coincide with a Royal tour that year...
, Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. The specimen was collected south of the Campbell River on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island. The partial conk was preserved in a calcareous nodule
Calcareous
Calcareous is an adjective meaning mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate, in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.-In zoology:...
recovered from a silty mudstone matrix. The nodules formed in a shallow marine environment along with abundant plant material.
It was first studied by a group of researchers consisting of Selena Smith, Randolph Currah and Ruth Stockey, all from the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. Smith and colleagues published their 2004 type description in the journal Mycologia
Mycologia
Mycologia is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes papers on all aspects of the fungi, including lichens. It first appeared as a bimonthly journal in January of 1909, published by the New York Botanical Garden under the editorship of William Murrill. It became the official journal of...
volume 96. The generic epithet Appianoporites was coined from a combination of Appian in reference to the type locality and "porites" to reflect that it is a polypore
Polypore
Polypores are a group of tough, leathery poroid mushrooms similar to boletes, but typically lacking a distinct stalk. The technical distinction between the two types of mushrooms is that polypores do not have the spore-bearing tissue continuous along the entire underside of the mushroom. Many...
fungus. The specific epithet "vancouverensis" was proposed in recognition of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, where the fossil deposits are.
When first described Appianoporites vancouverensis was the second fungus species to be described from Vancouver Island and the fourth species to be described from British Columbia. Cryptodidymosphaerites princetonensis and Palaeoserenomyces allenbyensis were the first fossil fungi to be described from British Columbia, known only from the Early Eocene Allenby Formation near Princeton, B.C.
Princeton, British Columbia
Princeton is a small town in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia, Canada. It lies just east of the Cascade Mountains, which continue south into Washington, Oregon and California. The Tulameen and Similkameen Rivers converge here...
. Quatsinoporites cranhamii
Quatsinoporites
Quatsinoporites is an extinct monotypic genus of agaricomycet fungus in the Agaricomycetes family Hymenochaetaceae. At present it contains the single species Quatsinoporites cranhamii....
, a Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
age agaricomycete, was described in the same paper from deposits along the western shore of Vancouver Island. Three years later the ascomycete Margaretbarromyces dictyosporus
Margaretbarromyces
Margaretbarromyces is an extinct monotypic genus of pleosporale fungus of uncertain family placement. At present it contains the single species Margaretbarromyces dictyosporus....
was described from the Appian Way site.
Description
The holotype of Appianoporites is a lone fragment of fruiting body 7 millimetre (0.275590551181102 in) by 2.5 millimetre (0.0984251968503937 in) and 3.3 millimetre (0.12992125984252 in) deep, which was abraded by water transport before preservation in a calcareous nodule. The conk section has an average of six 130 to 163 μmMicrometer
A micrometer , sometimes known as a micrometer screw gauge, is a device incorporating a calibrated screw used widely for precise measurement of small distances in mechanical engineering and machining as well as most mechanical trades, along with other metrological instruments such as dial, vernier,...
diameter tubes per millimeter. The fungus is composed of monomitic hyphae. Due to the abraded nature of the specimen the basidia and basidiospores are both unknown at this time. The specimen was studied by cutting the calcareous nodule into slices with a rock saw and using the cellulose acetate peel technique to create slides that were examined under stereo microscope.
Though a number of polypore fungi groups Appianoporites is placed in Hymenochaetaceae
Hymenochaetaceae
The Hymenochaetaceae are a family of fungi in the order Hymenochaetales. The family contains several species that are implicated in many diseases of broad-leaved and coniferous trees, causing heart rot, canker and root diseases, and also esca disease of grapevines...
based on the structure of the poroid hymenophore, the presence of setae and monomitic hyphal system lacking clamp connections. This placement is tentative due to limited characters available in the fossil including the lack of diagnostic features such as the basidiospores.