TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF SOME TOURNAISIAN (HASTARIAN) SPORES FROM BELGIUM

Well preserved miospore assemblages have been obtained from the Tourna isian (Hastarian) interval in six boreholes in the West Flanders regio n of northwestern Belgium. The Hastarian interval in this region compr ises the Hastiere, Pont d'Arcole, Landelies and Orient formations and represents a mixed succession of elastic and carbonate rocks. The mios pore assemblages recorded have been assigned to four biozones (VI, HD, BP and PC). Associated conodont faunas indicate that the HD-PC miospo re biozones correlate with the Siphonodella sandbergi to upper S. cren ulata conodont biozones. Seventy-three miospore taxa were recorded fro m the Hastarian samples. The present paper concerns the systematic des cription and taxonomic revision of some of these miospore taxa. In par ticular, five new miospore species Retusotriletes volaticus Higgs, sp. nov., Cyclogranisporites flandersii Higgs, sp. nov., Cordylosporites turritus Higgs, sp. nov., Secarisporites mauriceus Higgs, sp. nov. and Corystisporites rubeus Higgs, sp. nov. are erected. Two new varieties of Tumulispora rarituberculata (Luber) Playford, 1991 are proposed an d two new spore types Cyclogranisporites sp. A and Grandispora sp. A a re described. The genus Umbonatisporites Hibbert et Lacey, 1969 is ret ained and emended and nine new generic combinations are proposed: Cris tatisporites hibernicus (Higgs) Higgs, comb. nov., Spelaeotriletes bal teatus (Playford) Higgs, comb. nov., Apiculiretusispora coniferus (Ked o) Higgs, comb. nov., Cyclogranisporites ciniae (Turnau) Higgs, comb. nov., Umbonatisporites rarisetosus (Kedo) Higgs, comb. nov., Indotrira dites echinatus (Owens, Mishell et Marshall) Higgs, comb. nov., Indotr iradites ornatus (Neves) Higgs, comb. nov., Indotriradites scorpius (B alme et Hassell) Higgs comb. nov and Indotriradites mitratus (Higgs) H iggs, comb. nov.