Quatsinoporites
Encyclopedia
Quatsinoporites is an extinct monotypic
genus
of agaricomycet
fungus
in the Agaricomycetes family Hymenochaetaceae
. At present it contains the single species
Quatsinoporites cranhamii.
The genus is solely known from the Barremian
aged, Apple Bay deposits of northwestern Vancouver Island
. Quatsinoporites is one of only three known fossil fungus species found on Vancouver Island and the only to be described from the Apple Bay strata. The agaricomycete Appianoporites vancouverensis
was described from an Eocene
fossil at the same time as Quatsinoporites , while a third fungus, Margaretbarromyces dictyosporus
was described three years later.
, a partial bracket fungus fruiting body, conk
. The specimen, P13021 E, is currently residing in the paleobotanical
collections housed by the University of Alberta
, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The specimen was collected in Apple Bay, near Quatsino Sound
on the northwestern shore of Vancouver Island
, British Columbia
, Canada. The partial conk was preserved in a calcareous nodule
recovered from a Greywacke
sandstone
matrix equivalent in age to the Longarm Formation. 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 & 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 Quatsinoporites coined from a combination of Quatsino in reference to the nearness of the type locality to Quatsino Sound and "porites" to reflect that it is a polypore
fungus. The specific epithet "cranhamii" chosen in honor of Gerald Cranham in recognition of his contribution of a number of Vancouver Island plant fossils to the University of Alberta for study.
When first described Quatsinoporites cranhamii was the first fungus species to be described from Vancouver Island and the third 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.
. Appianoporites vancouverensis
, an Eocene
age agaricomycete, was described in the same paper from deposits along Appian Way on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island. Three years later the ascomycete Margaretbarromyces dictyosporus
was also 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 Quatsinoporites 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 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 agaricomycet
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...
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 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...
Quatsinoporites cranhamii.
The genus is solely known from the Barremian
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale between 130.0 ± 1.5 Ma and 125.0 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous epoch...
aged, Apple Bay deposits of northwestern 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...
. Quatsinoporites is one of only three known fossil fungus species found on Vancouver Island and the only to be described from the Apple Bay strata. The agaricomycete Appianoporites vancouverensis
Appianoporites
Appianoporites is an extinct monotypic genus of fungus in the Agaricomycetes family Hymenochaetaceae. At present it contains the single species Appianoporites vancouverensis....
was described from an 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...
fossil at the same time as Quatsinoporites , 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, 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, P13021 E, is currently residing in the paleobotanical
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
collections housed by 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...
, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The specimen was collected in Apple Bay, near Quatsino Sound
Quatsino Sound
Quatsino Sound is a complex of coastal inlets, bays and islands on northwestern Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the northernmost of the five sounds that pierce the west coast of Vancouver Island, the others being Kyuquot Sound, Nootka Sound, Clayoquot Sound, and...
on the northwestern shore 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...
, 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...
, Canada. 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 Greywacke
Greywacke
Greywacke or Graywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. It is a texturally immature sedimentary rock generally found...
sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
matrix equivalent in age to the Longarm Formation. 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 & 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 Quatsinoporites coined from a combination of Quatsino in reference to the nearness of the type locality to Quatsino Sound 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 "cranhamii" chosen in honor of Gerald Cranham in recognition of his contribution of a number of Vancouver Island plant fossils to the University of Alberta for study.
When first described Quatsinoporites cranhamii was the first fungus species to be described from Vancouver Island and the third 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...
. Appianoporites vancouverensis
Appianoporites
Appianoporites is an extinct monotypic genus of fungus in the Agaricomycetes family Hymenochaetaceae. At present it contains the single species Appianoporites vancouverensis....
, an 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...
age agaricomycete, was described in the same paper from deposits along Appian Way on the eastern 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 also described from the Appian Way site.
Description
The holotype of Quatsinoporites is a lone fragment of fruiting body 5 millimetre (0.196850393700787 in) by 2 millimetre (0.078740157480315 in) and 3 millimetre (0.118110236220472 in) deep, which was abraded by water transport before preservation in a calcareous nodule. The conk section has an average of three, 130 to 540 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 Quatsinoporites 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 the lack of diagnostic features such as the basidiospores.