AASP – The Palynological Society

Promoting the scientific understanding of palynology since 1967

Shannon Ferguson

CENEX, Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, USA

Galeacysta etrusca

This specimen is one of the many morphotypes of G. etrusca. This dinoflagellate cyst species is endemic to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean region in general. Its morphology (especially the periphragm and the central body) changes in response to sea surface salinity changes.

Sophie Warny and Kate Griener

CENEX, Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, USA

Nothofagus fusca

Pollen grain collected in the Kaweka Mountains of New Zealand in October 1924. Plants of the Nothofagus genus were some of the last species to persist in Antarctica after cooling and glaciation intensified about 33.7 Ma. Today, they are found throughout the Southern Hemisphere in regions like New Zealand and Patagonia.

Stan Vitha and Vaughn M. Bryant

Texas A&M University
College Station, USA

Chenopodium botrys

Pollen image reconstructed from a stack of confocal images.

Carlos Santos

CENEX, Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, USA

Buttinia andreevi

This pollen grain is an important biostratigraphic marker of unknown taxonomic affinity (most likely an angiosperm). This specimen was extracted from the Late Maastrichtian Umir Formation, Middle Magdalena Valley Basin, Colombia. It did not survive the end Cretaceous extinction.

David M. Jarzen and Mary Dettmann

Florida Museum of Natural History
Gainesville, USA

Belliolium pauciflorum (=Zygogynum)

A member of the Winteraceae family, native to New Caledonia. The plant has many primitive evolutionary features.

Mary Dettmann and David Jarzen

Florida Museum of Natural History
Gainesville, USA

Elyranthe globosa

The plant is a member of the family Loranthaceae (Mistletoe family). The pollen of this taxon resembles some of the fossil forms of Aquilapollenites. Native from India to Viet Nam and western Malaysia.

Kenneth Mertens

Ghent University
Ghent, Belgium

Lingulodinium machaerophorum

Confocal image of dinoflagellate cyst Lingulodinium machaerophorum from recent sediments in the Black Sea (GeoB7625-2). This species shows a notable increase in process length during the Holocene, related to salinity variations caused by Mediterranean inflow/Black Sea outflow (Mertens et al. 2012).

What is Palynology?

playnology Palynology is the study of pollen, spores, dinoflagellates, and other microscopic "palynomorphs." (MORE) Palynology originated in Scandinavia in the early 20th century and developed in America after World War II, particularly in the area of George Fournier, Third President of AASP petroleum exploration. This site includes Biographies of over 100 palynologists who were prominent nationally and internationally in the development of palynology.

Read More»

AASP News

View All AASP News»

AASP Publications

PLEASE NOTE: Before being able to order items from the online AASP store, or to renew membership, you will need to register your details on the site, and then after that you will be able to order items/renew membership using the newly registered details.

NOTE: If you are experiencing difficulties with your access to our journal, Palynology, on the Taylor & Francis website (www.tandfonline.com/tpal), please contact support@tandfonline.com.


playnology Palynology is the study of pollen, spores, dinoflagellates, and other microscopic "palynomorphs." (MORE) Palynology originated in Scandinavia in the early 20th century and developed in America after World War II, particularly in the area of George Fournier, Third President of AASP petroleum exploration. This site includes Biographies of over 100 palynologists who were prominent nationally and internationally in the development of palynology.

View all Publications»

The Geological Society of America AGI - American Geosciences Institute IFPS