Since the publication of five literature compilations issued between 2012 and 2020, 63 further published contributions on Triassic, Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian) dinoflagellate cysts have been discovered, or were issued in the last 14months (i.e. between February 2019 and March 2020). These studies are on North Africa, Southern Africa, East Arctic, West Arctic, east and west sub-Arctic Canada, China and Japan, East Europe, West Europe, the Middle East, and sub-Arctic Russia west of the Ural Mountains, plus multi-region studies and items with no geographical focus. The single-region studies are mostly focused on Africa, the Arctic, Europe and the Middle East. All the 63 publications are listed herein with doi numbers where applicable, and a description of each item as a string of keywords.

Honey samples produced in the years 2010 and 2011, in an area of caatinga vegetation in the semiarid region of Piauí State (Brazil), were analyzed using microscopy in order to track their botanical origin by the pollen grains present. Samples (19) were dissolved in ethanol and acetolyzed. The absolute concentration of pollen grains was obtained by comparison with the exotic marker Lycopodium clavatum L., and at least 500 pollen grains were counted per sample. The most diverse families were Leguminosae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae, and Myrtaceae, reflecting the characteristics of the semi-arid region and the caatinga, including endemic species. Samples from February (2010) showed a greater richness of pollen types, which is probably associated with the onset of the rainy season. Even during the dry season, there was honey production, with a considerable diversity of pollen types. This indicates that there are plant species in flower during the dry season that are important to sustaining bee colonies. Mimosa caesalpiniifolia and Pityrocarpa moniliformis were the only predominant pollen types; Coutarea and P. moniliformis were the secondary types. The pollen types Borreria verticillata, Combretum, Croton, Herissantia, Hyptis, Microtea, Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, M. misera, M. tenuiflora, P. moniliformis and Poaceae are very frequent in the analyzed honey, and characteristic of honey from Simplício Mendes. The absolute concentration analysis showed that 69% of the honey was classified in category I, 26% in category II and 5% in category III. A cluster analysis showed the formation of two major clades, one that shared many pollen types of Croton (S2) and another that shared the pollen types Borreria verticillata and Hyptis (S1). Two samples were considered monofloral honey (from M. caesalpiniifolia) and the remainder were considered heterofloral.

There are few publications on the precise age and palaeogeography of the Palaeozoic rocks of Colombia. In the present study the Pluspetrol Paisa-1 well, located in the central part of the Colombian Llanos Orientales Basin, is investigated palynologically, in order to determine the age, the palaeoenvironment and the palaeogeography of the sediments. The lowermost stratigraphical interval of the well (4939–5040′; ∼1505–1536m) is composed of alternating sandstone and black shale beds, from which a well-preserved assemblage of Ordovician acritarchs has been identified in five samples (cuttings and sidewall cores). The acritarch assemblage contains some diagnostic taxa, including Arbusculidium, Barakella, Coryphidium, Dactylofusa, Striatotheca, and Veryhachium, among others, indicating an Early to Middle Ordovician age. The presence of a few biostratigraphical index species, such as Dactyolofusa velifera or Coryphidium bohemicum, and the absence of others point to a middle Floian age. As the three diagnostic genera (Arbusculidium, Coryphidium, Striatotheca) are present, the assemblage clearly belongs, in terms of palaeobiogeography, to the peri-Gondwanan acritarch province. Our study thus extends the geographical distribution of this province to the north-western part of South America, extending the palaeobiogeographical distribution map of Early to Middle Ordovician acritarchs. A comparison of the palynoflora with models of acritarch distribution in different palaeoenvironments implies a relatively shallow-water environment.

In this study we analysed fossil Poaceae pollen of the Holocene from the Coastal Plain of Rio Grande do Sul (Águas Claras region), southern Brazil. Through light microscopy analysis, we measured the size of 60 pollen grains in the 28 samples (or, in samples with low frequency of Poaceae, sufficient pollen grains for the number of measurements to show a stability curve). The measurements of fossil Poaceae pollen were interpreted applying information from the modern Poaceae pollen dataset. Fossil Poaceae pollen showed changes from the Early Holocene to the present. Results showed that it is possible to obtain more ecological information (vegetation and climate changes) from fossil Poaceae pollen. Furthermore, dynamics of Poaceae vegetation during the Holocene are revealed. The palynological record documents the predominance of Poaceae herbaceous grasslands (63%) during the Early Holocene (10,974±49 ¹⁴C BP) and the low representation of Poaceae arboreal forests (Bambuseae – 15%). Vegetation changes are detected from 3420years BP with an increase in Poaceae arboreal forests (75%) and a decrease in Poaceae herbaceous grasslands (115cm). This significant change may indicate the late vegetation shift in response to sea-level change. At 1072years BP, a peak of Poaceae arboreal forests (85%) indicates warm conditions. The representation of Poaceae arboreal forests (Bambuseae) decreased drastically (27%) at 536years BP. Pollen grains from samples closer to the surface (5 and 15cm) reflect modern vegetation in the region. Poaceae pollen is shown to be sensitive to climate changes and therefore useful for the analysis of dynamics of grassland and forest vegetation.

Pollen analysis supported by 25 accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C dates from the Tǎul Negru peat bog (1143 m) in the Lǎpuş Mountains (Eastern Carpathians, Romania) is used to reconstruct the Holocene vegetation history of this mountain region. The vegetation record at Tǎul Negru starts at c. 10,500 cal yr BP with dense montane forests dominated by Picea abies (spruce) and Ulmus (elm). Corylus avellana (hazel) spread after 10,000 cal yr BP and reached maximum frequencies between 9000 and 7000 cal yr BP before decreasing. Thereafter, Picea prevailed in the forests with Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) expanding after 5700 cal yr BP, attaining maximum representation at 4200 cal yr BP. Fagus sylvatica (beech) spread from 4800 cal yr BP onwards with a short decline around 3700 cal yr BP. Mass expansion resumed afterwards, leading to the ultimate recession of Picea, Corylus and Ulmus. Fagus predominates the forests to the present. Small-scale human influence on the landscape (cereal-type pollen grains, Poaceae, and Plantago lanceolata) first appeared after 6000 cal yr BP. Further anthropogenic impact was detected after 5000 cal yr BP, and was slightly stronger between 2300 cal yr BP and the twelfth century AD with regular and increasing appearances of primary and secondary cultural indicators. Large-scale forest clearing in the lowlands and foothills with more agriculture led to the development of the modern cultural landscape in the last 500 years.

This is a biography and obituary of the German Democratic Republic palynologist Dr Eberhard Schulz (1931–2017). A pioneer in Mesozoic palynology, he established, together with other important palynologists of that time, the basis of today's palynological research, especially in the Triassic and Jurassic of Eastern Germany. His comprehensive range charts, numerous new type descriptions, and beautiful and informative illustrations were and still are a valuable contribution to our field. In addition, his professional life and heritage not only illustrate an important period of advances in palynology during the 1950s to 1970s, but also give us an insight in German history, and the restrictions and challenges that scientists faced in the German Democratic Republic.

An earlier proposal of euglenid affinity for the acritarch Moyeria was based primarily on the pattern of bi-helical striate ornamentation as seen in scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Examination of specimens using transmission electron microscopy reveals that the ‘striae’ are actually integral components of the microfossil wall itself, corresponding to the pellicle strips of some euglenid species today. A Silurian specimen from Scotland preserves an articulated wall composed of thickened arches and thinner U-shaped interconnecting segments paralleling that seen in some modern photosynthetic euglenids. A second specimen from the Moyeria holotype section (Silurian of New York State) shows fused articulation, again compatible with some extant euglenids. This evidence is sufficient to transfer Moyeria out of the Incertae sedis group, Acritarcha, and into the Euglenida. This proposal helps establish the morphological basis for the recognition of euglenid microfossils and ultimately provides evidence of a lengthy fossil record of the eukaryotic supergroup Excavata.

In the summer of 2016, the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 364 cored through the post-impact strata of the end-Cretaceous Chicxulub impact crater, Mexico. Core samples were collected from the post-impact successions for terrestrial palynological analysis, yielding a rare Danian to Ypresian high-resolution palynological assemblage. This record constitutes one of the first Palaeocene and Ypresian palynological assemblages from Central America or Mexico, representing a more coastal lowland palaeoenvironment than previous studies from mainland Mexico. Although the abundance of pollen and spores is very low in the Palaeocene carbonates, abundance increases in the more organic-rich shale layers representing the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and later Ypresian. The spores and gymnosperm pollen identified from IODP 364, although rare compared to the angiosperm pollen, are a diverse mix of cosmopolitan taxa, as well as some characteristic of fossil Central American assemblages (e.g. Selaginellaceae), and others previously identified from the Paleogene northern Gulf of Mexico coastal plain. The assemblage generally indicates the presence of nearby moist to seasonally dry lowland tropical forest, with some taxa suggestive of higher elevation forests. Ephedroid pollen grains may be indicative of the presence of more arid conditions.

At the end of the Cretaceous Period, an asteroid collided with the Earth and formed the Chicxulub impact structure on the Yucatán Platform. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 364 drilled into the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater. The post-impact section of the core was sampled for terrestrial palynological analysis, yielding a high-resolution record ranging from the early Paleocene to the earliest Eocene (Ypresian), including a black shale deposited during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The IODP 364 core provides the first record of floral recovery following the K–Pg mass extinction from inside the Chicxulub impact crater. The systematic taxonomy of the angiosperm pollen provided here follows a separate publication describing the systematic paleontology of the plant spores and gymnosperm pollen from the IODP 364 core (Smith et al. 2019). The Paleocene section of the core is nearly barren, but with unusually high relative abundances of the angiosperm pollen Chenopodipollis sp. A (comparable to the Amaranthaceae), possibly indicating an estuarine pollen source. Pollen recovery is higher in the PETM section, and variable but generally increasing in the later Ypresian section, with excellent preservation in several samples. Estimated absolute ages of several potentially useful regional biostratigraphic events are provided. One new genus (Scabrastephanoporites) and five new species (Brosipollis reticulatus, Echimonocolpites chicxulubensis, Psilastephanocolporites hammenii, Scabrastephanoporites variabilis, and Striatopollis grahamii) are formally described.

Organisms fossilised in amber include insects, plant remains and (rarely) fungi. One reason for the latter could be that fungal tissue decomposes quickly under the (sub-)tropical conditions where amber-producing trees thrive. Moreover, resin production is highest during drier seasons, while fungi usually occur during wetter periods. One way to improve the knowledge about fungal and similar records in amber may lie in looking for spores which are generally hardier than hyphal tissue. Traditional imaging methods mostly need laborious preparations, such as producing thin sections, without knowing whether microfossils are present in a sample. Here, a novel method to isolate fungal spores and other palynomorphs from amber using solvents is presented. Microscope slides can easily be coated with the suspended particles, embedded and microscopically examined. In this way, fungal remains including fungal spores were recovered from seven out of nine amber samples processed. A total of over 200 palynomorphs of various origins were extracted. They include pollen, moss and fern spores, and various cysts. At the same time, it became clear that treatment with nine different polar and non-polar solvents revealed provenance-specific solubility patterns. This simple ‘solvent fingerprinting’ may help identify provenances. Of all the provenances, Sumatran amber was the richest in all kinds of palynomorphs, and thus suitable to further develop the method, particularly concerning improved imaging. Mixtures of solvents should be tested that could enhance the particle yield of provenances with low solubility.

The genera Adenia Forssk., Crossostemma Planch. ex Benth. and Schlechterina Harms are members of the tribe Passifloreae DC., one of two tribes belonging to Passifloraceae sensu stricto. The genus Adenia is considered the sister group of all Passifloraceae sensu stricto, or as the sister to the other genera of the tribe Passifloreae. Crossostemma and Schlechterina are sister taxa. The objective of the present study was to characterise the pollen morphology of these three genera and to determine whether Adenia is palynologically distinct from the monotypic genera Crossostemma and Schlechterina. Pollen grains of eight species (six of Adenia, one of Crossostemma and one of Schlechterina) were acetolysed, measured, described and illustrated using light and scanning electron microscopy. The pollen grains of the analysed species are medium-sized isopolar monads that are subprolate, oblate-spheroidal or prolate-spheroidal with a subcircular to quadrangular amb and a small polar area; the pollen of Crossostemma and Schlechterina are 3-colporate, while that of Adenia is 4-colporate or rarely 3–4-colporate (in one studied species), and the sexine is reticulate, heterobrochate or homobrochate (Crossostemma), with simplicolumellate walls. The pollen grains of Adenia differ from those of Crossostema and Schlechterina mainly in the number of apertures. Multivariate analysis of the genera studied here, performed with published pollen data for Paropsia Noronha ex Thouars and Barteria Hook. f., revealed the formation of two large groups, one comprising Barteria and another comprising the other genera. Pollen morphology reveals that Paropsia has greater affinity with the genera of the tribe Passifloreae. The results lead to the hypothesis that genera belonging to the tribe Passifloreae possess pollen with fewer apertures than the pollen of taxa of the tribe Paropsieae.

Although Bahia presents high honey production, considering the national scenario, and has a diversity of environments, studies that characterize the state bee flora using melissopalynology cover relatively little spatial area. In this sense, we aimed to characterize the pollen spectrum of Apis mellifera L., 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from the Discovery Coast, Bahia. To this end, 21 honey samples were obtained from beekeepers from the municipalities of Belmonte, Eunápolis, Guaratinga, Itabela, Itagimirim, Itapebi and Porto Seguro, from November 2017 to August 2018. All honey samples were prepared using the acetolysis method and the slides were deposited in the palynotheca of the Federal University of Southern Bahia (palinoFLORAS, UFSB). The pollen types present in the honey samples were identified and, subsequently, at least 500 pollen grains per sample were counted, determining the frequency classes and frequency of occurrence. The pollen spectrum presented 44 pollen types distributed in 34 genera and 22 families. The pollen types Brosimum, Cecropia, Eucalyptus 1 and Mimosa pudica were found to be the predominant pollen. Eight pollen types were classified as very frequent, present in more than 50% of the samples: Borreria verticilata, Brosimum, Cecropia, Eucalyptus 1, Eucalyptus 2, Mimosa pudica, Myrcia 1 and Vernonia. We noted the absence of pollen types from the endemic species of the Discovery Coast, but some types such as B. verticillata and Vernonia, related to species that are on the list of vital plants for beekeeping, have been identified. Others helped to characterize the pollen spectra of regional honeys, such as those related to the genera Brosimum, Cecropia and Euterpe that are associated with typical forest species and are represented in the vegetation of the Atlantic Forest in the South of Bahia.

Diverse and moderately to poorly preserved palynofloras occur in the lower Middle Jurassic strata of the Hojedk Formation in the Chahrekhneh, southwest of Tabas, east central Iran. The palynofloras comprise 56 species including spores (15 species allocated to seven genera), various types of pollen (30 species designated to 16 genera), dinoflagellate cysts (five representatives of three genera), and one acritarch. The vertical distribution of miospores allows the erection within the Hojedk Formation of one biozone, the Klukisporites variegatus—Callialasporites trilobatus Assemblage zone, based on the first observed occurrence and the last observed occurrence of selected taxa. Moreover, the vertical distribution of dinoflagellate cysts allows the erection within this formation of one biozone, the Nannoceratopsis sp. cf. N. gracilis Interval zone. These biozones are compared with palynozones from approximately coeval strata in Iran and elsewhere. Abundance of ferns and cycadophytes in the parent floras implies that the host strata accumulated under a moist warm climate during the early Middle Jurassic in this locality. Based on various data of ecogroups in Chahrekhneh, it is considered that there were several environments of upland, warmer lowland, wetter lowland, rivers and delta. Furthermore, based on the occurrence of dinoflagellate cysts it can be concluded that Chahrekhneh is located at the south coastal boundary of the Iran Plate, along the Tethys Ocean.