Pollen morphology serves as a valuable tool for identification, phylogenetic analysis and evolutionary studies. The present study aims to investigate the pollen morphology of 12 species of the genus Ipomoea L. (a diverse and economically important genus within the family Convolvulaceae) from Garhwal Himalaya, India. Fresh flower buds were collected from the study area and pollen preparation completed using the acetolysis method. The morphology of the pollen grains were examined using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Pollen grains of all the studied species were apolar, spheroidal, pantoporate, subtectate with fine reticulation and echinate, but they differed from one another in their size, number of spines and pores, spine length and spine types. The size of grains ranged from 53.3 to 128.7µm. Cluster analysis was performed based on pollen characters to show the relationship among the species; a key was prepared and is discussed. The observed variation in pollen morphological traits gives important taxonomic information that is useful for distinguishing Ipomoea species and establishing taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships.

The Keresta Formation, located in the Volgograd–Volga region (the Volga–Caspian subregion of southwest Russia) has been dated as Middle Eocene, Lutetian, based on dinoflagellate cysts of the Enneadocysta arcuata Zone and nannofossils from the Lutetian subzones CP13c–CP14a. Within this interval, four new species of dinoflagellate cysts are described: Spiniferella grigorovichiae sp. nov., Impagidinium tuberculatum sp. nov., Hystrichostrogylon crassitunicatum sp. nov. and Hystrichosphaeropsis tenerum sp. nov. The new species present a high correlation potential for Middle Eocene stratigraphy over the southern part of the Russian Platform. Also, the assemblage of organic-walled microphytoplankton from the Keresta Formation indicates warm-water marine environments within the marginal part of the Paratethys Basin.

Cuticular remains of the phyllocarid crustaceans Caryocaris? and Ceratiocaris? obtained via maceration of macrofossil remains in hydrofluoric acid are compared with dispersed fragments isolated using both the low-manipulation HF extraction and the standard HCl–HF–HCl method. The studied specimens were obtained from Ordovician and Silurian shales of the ŠSárka and Požáry formations (Prague Basin, Barrandian area, Czech Republic). This methodological approach allows a direct comparison of macrofossil remains with microfossils in residue. The differences in residues obtained through the two bulk-rock extraction methods are also discussed.

Chitinozoan investigations on the late Middle to early Late Ordovician in South China are limited. Documented chitinozoan occurrences are mainly from the Miaopo Formation on the Upper Yangtze Platform. The present study reports new data from the Miaopo Formation at the Zhenjin section in the Yichang area. In total, 13 genera and 33 species are recognised, and three new species are described: Spinachitina? coronifera sp. nov., Lagenochitina yichangella sp. nov. and Pellichitina confragosa sp. nov. The Baltoscandian index species, Laufeldochitina striata, is documented in the lowermost part of the formation. This is the first report of this species in South China. The L. striata Biozone is suggested for the basal part of the formation due to the presence of the eponymous species. The index species of the Laufeldochitina stentor Biozone, the Armoricochitina granulifera and Cyathochitina megacalix subzones adopted in the Jieling section, are also observed in the Zhenjin section. However, according to the new data obtained at Zhenjin, the first appearance datum of C. megacalix and A. granulifera coincides with that of L. striata. Therefore, the C. megacalix Subzone is kept but moved to the L. striata Biozone. Armoricochitina granulifera has stable occurrences in almost the entire Miaopo Formation, corresponding to the Nemagraptus gracilis graptolite biozone. It is slightly older than Baltic records but could be useful for recognising this time interval in South China.

Southeastern Australia's marine waters are notably warming, surpassing global averages. This region has emerged as a strategic location for researching planktic microfossils, particularly dinoflagellate cysts, in modern and Late Quaternary sediments, offering crucial insights into the biophysical properties of mid-latitude waters. This study examined cyst distribution in marine sediment cores near Maria Island, Tasmania, southeastern Australia, up to 9000 years before present (kyrs BP). Dominant cysts included Protoceratium reticulatum, Protoperidinium spp. (P. avellana, P. conicum, P. oblongum, P. subinerme, P. shanghaiense), and Spiniferites spp. (S. bulloideus, S. hyperacanthus, S. membranaceus, S. mirabilis, S. pachydermus, and S. ramosus). Inshore, Spiniferites spp. constituted a higher proportion (up to 61%), while offshore was dominated by P. reticulatum (up to 80%). Impagidinium spp. and Nematosphaeropsis labyrinthus were exclusively found offshore and displayed increased abundance from ∼6 kyrs BP, suggesting a shift from a shallow to a deep-water habitat. Alexandrium tamarense species complex cysts were present over 140 years inshore and approaching 9 kyrs BP offshore, indicating a longstanding endemic presence. Gymnodinium catenatum cysts were detected exclusively inshore from ∼50 years ago, indicating a relatively recent bloom phenomenon. The East Australian Current's limited southward reach is suggested by the absence of the warm-water cyst-producing taxon Lingulodinium polyedra. Similarly, the non-detection of the cold-water species Spiniferites antarctica and Impagidinium pallidum reflects Subtropical Front boundaries against subantarctic incursions from the south. In contrast to coccolithophores in the same core, no noticeable shift from cold to warm-water dinoflagellate cyst species was observed. This documentation of dinoflagellate cysts aids in predicting environmental impacts on local communities and beyond.

This contribution marks the achievements made in the past decades by a group of mainly Egyptian palynologists. The data generated covers a long-time span from the Precambrian to the Holocene of Egypt. Previously published results are devoted primarily to the study of many exploration wells and outcrop sections. Comprehensive studies were carried out on a range of palynomorph groups including spores and pollen, algae and prasinophytes, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, scolecodonts, chitinozoans, and other miscellaneous forms as well as palynofacies. Particular attention is given to the history of palaeopalynology. This study has identified three main phases. The results of the first phase were limited, as the knowledge of palynology in Egypt was poorly known from 1959 until 1979. Between 1980 and 2000, which represents the second or shaping phase, an intensive study of surface and subsurface material was carried out. The third phase (2000 until now) provides the academic and commercial expansion of palynological research in Egypt, where palynology can have immediate application in petroleum exploration studies. In the first phase, the application of palynology was seriously hampered by the limited extent of the published data. Only 27 works emerged by the end of 1979. A considerable acceleration was noted in the second phase when palynological research was established in many national institutions and started to play a considerable role in petroleum exploration. Beyond academia, some of the operating oil companies started to set up palynological laboratories and staff as part of biostratigraphy teams. These included, for example, GPC, Khalda Petroleum Company with a focus on the north Western Desert, and GUPCO with a focus on the Gulf of Suez, and most of the results obtained were incorporated with the internal data on the well files. During the period 2000–2009, especially when palynofacies studies were incorporated, the progress and the direction of palynological research changed. This allowed for a more accurate reconstruction of the depositional process and eventually a palaeobiogeographical history mainly for the Cretaceous, which is an important target for hydrocarbon exploration in Egypt. From 2010 onwards, the number of publications has clearly grown and reached 23 publications in 2020. Such a high pace of development seems to have been at the expense of basic research comprising taxonomy and biostratigraphy, something that might negatively impact the quality of research and also researchers, especially early career researchers. The change brought about through this phase by integrating organic geochemistry, sedimentology, and other disciplines may, however, have left a positive impact, principally in terms of international collaborations and expansion of palynological applications beyond the standard academic cluster. Important highlights and outputs, and prospective forthcoming developments and recommendations pertaining to Egyptian palynology generally (and in each phase) are discussed.

Bees are the main pollinators of terrestrial ecosystems and, among them, we can highlight oil-collecting bees, which show different morphological and behavioral adaptations associated with plants that offer this floral resource. Floral oils are used in provisioning, building, and lining the brood cell and nests. The genus Epicharis has a neotropical distribution and females are closely associated with plants of the Malpighiaceae family, with the highest number of records in species of the genus Byrsonima. However, due to the strong seasonality of adult activity and solitary behavior, knowledge about important floral resources to Epicharis bees is still scarce. In order to identify important resource sources for a widely distributed species, the current work aimed to analyze the pollen spectrum of Epicharis flava Friese in an urban area in the Atlantic Forest domain. For this, females of E. flava were captured during five days while visiting flowers of Byrsonima sericea DC. (Malpighiaceae) in an urban area, and the pollen load in their scopae was submitted to acetolysis processing for further analysis under the microscope. In total, 71 pollen types were found, with emphasis on Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Bignoniaceae, and Malpighiaceae, considered sources of nectar, pollen, and floral oils. This study made it possible, through the analysis of pollen in the scopae, to identify a list of potentially important species for the maintenance of E. flava populations. This information is necessary for the management of urban green areas, aiming at increasing biodiversity. In addition, these data can serve as a base for further research on oil-collecting bees in the Neotropics.

Verbenaceae is an important element of Neotropical flora, and Stachytarpheta is the second largest genus in the family. Whereas pollen morphology has helped in the differentiation of several taxonomic groups, palynological data on Stachytarpheta are still scarce, especially for Brazil, where its greatest species richness is concentrated. The present work aimed to analyze the pollen morphology of selected species of Stachytarpheta sect. Stachytarpheta, to aid in the taxonomy of the group. Pollen grains from 11 species were analyzed before and after chemical treatment, measured and treated statistically; multivariate analyses were also performed. The pollen grains of S. sect. Stachytarpheta are large or very large monads, that are radially symmetric and isopolar, with amb varying among triangular, subtriangular, subcircular, and quadrangular, and shape among subspheroidal, oblate-spheroidal, prolate-spheroidal, and subprolate. The three or four apertures are of the colpus type and narrow. The ornamentation is verrucate, with perforations at the base of the verrucae and isolated granules. The pollen grains also possess a margin and an anapertural membrane, which are the main characteristics useful for differentiating the species of the section. The size, amb, shape, apertural type, and ornamentation are also important for morphological differentiation, but multivariate analyses did not support the groups formed based on pollen characterization. An identification key is provided to distinguish the 11 studied species based on pollen morphology.

We extracted pollen from historical honeycomb specimens of beeswax to highlight the potential of beeswax as a source for palynological studies. The pollen composition was explored as a proxy for honeybee foraging in the past. Additionally, we wanted to illuminate the potential of the palynological analysis to provenance the specimens. Danish honeycomb samples from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, dating from the late 19^th, early twentieth century were processed and analysed for pollen identification. We used Ellenberg values to represent functional traits for the identified taxa and applied these as explanatory variables to study the variation in foraging environment and plant preference of the honeybees. Our results indicate variations of an agricultural landscape, with bees foraging on plants that are high in nutritional value. We found that information gained from palynological analysis of museum samples may be useful in illuminating details of historical apiology. We present our study in light of the importance of environmental biodiversity in Denmark and its vitality for bees as key pollinators in our ecosystem.

A palynological study of the uppermost Cretaceous–lowermost Paleocene sequences of the Deccan volcanic province in the Mandla Lobe of central India was carried out to understand floral diversity, palaeoecology and palaeoclimate during Deccan volcanic activity (67.4–62.5 Ma). The study involved 17 intertrappean sedimentary beds at 13 stratigraphical levels. The analysis shows the presence of a rich and diverse palynoflora represented by 47 genera and 61 species of pteridophytes, gymnosperms, algae and fungi. Among these, we recognised three new genera and 10 new species. At the lower stratigraphical levels (582–602 m above sea level), Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age marker palynomorphs, namely Azolla cretacea, Farabeipollis minutus, Jiangsupollis striatus and J. intertrappea sp. nov., and the dominance of Gabonisporis vigourouxii and Aquilapollenites bengalensis were recorded. At the higher stratigraphical levels (698–858 m above sea level), Early Paleocene (Danian) age marker palynomorphs, such as Haloragacidites amolosus, Longapertites vaneendenburgii, Mulleripollis bolpurensis, Palmaepollenites nadhamunii and P. eocenicus, were recorded. The palynoassemblages and associated clay minerals indicate the deposition of intertrappean beds in a fluctuating climate, ranging from humid and semiarid to arid, and the prevalence of estuarine to freshwater depositional environments at the time of deposition. The palynofloral assemblages suggest the prevalence of a warm, humid tropical climate with high precipitation during the deposition of the intertrappean beds.

Dual nomenclature in dinoflagellates is supported under the current nomenclatural code for algae, fungi and plants and allows a fossil-defined (usually cyst) species to bear a name other than that of its equivalent non-fossil species, as established for example by incubation experiments. Two names can then apply to the same cyst morphotype, reflecting the separate but overlapping concepts and criteria used for fossil- and non-fossil taxa. Fossil-species are normally and logically assigned to fossil-genera and non-fossil species to non-fossil genera, a practice that facilitates dual nomenclature. Inconsistencies and ambiguities arise when binomials combine the names of fossil- with non-fossil taxa. Examples of this hybridised nomenclature and its consequences are examined, with problems identified and potential solutions discussed. Accordingly, a new non-fossil genus Lingulaulax is proposed with Lingulaulax polyedra (von Stein 1883) comb. nov. as its type and equivalent to the fossil-species Lingulodinium machaerophorum (Deflandre & Cookson 1955) Wall 1967, along with the new combination Lingulaulax milneri (Murray & Whitting 1899); the genus Lingulodinium Wall 1967 is retained in its exclusively fossil status. The non-fossil name Gonyaulax ellegaardiae Mertens et al. 2015 is validly published herein.

Çanakkale, Turkey, which straddles the continents of Europe and Asia, is a settlement centre with natural beauty divided by the Dardanelles Strait. This study determined the diversity, chemical composition, total antioxidant activity and antibacterial activity of fresh bee pollen obtained from 11 stations in Çanakkale in April–May 2017. The Louveaux (1978) method was modified and used to determine the botanical origin of pollen samples. It was determined that the most prevalent families in the pollen samples were Brassicaceae (23.1%), Cistaceae (22.5%), Rosaceae (11.06%), Papaveraceae (5.36%), Oleaceae (7.52%) and Fabaceae (7.31%). A maximum of 47 and a minimum of 31 components were detected in the chemical composition of bee pollen extracts (BPE) by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and it was determined that the main components varied depending on the location. Regarding the total antioxidant capacity of BPE, 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) reduction was 100% for all locations except Yenice. Also, the antibacterial activity of BPE against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 could not be determined. These findings showed high bee pollen diversity, chemical composition, and antioxidant capacity in the Çanakkale region. The bee pollen from this area is a natural product that can be used as a food supplement.

The cyst-defined extant Spiniferites elongatus Reid 1974 and Spiniferites membranaceus (Rossignol 1964) Sarjeant 1970 are environmentally significant fossil-species of the Quaternary, the former often dominating polar and subpolar assemblages. Following cyst incubation experiments and the establishment of cultures, these species were emended to incorporate information on their motile stages, and transferred to the non-fossil genus Gonyaulax Diesing 1866, as Gonyaulax elongata (Reid 1974) Ellegaard et al. 2003 and Gonyaulax membranacea (Rossignol 1964) Ellegaard et al. 2003. This unified approach to dinoflagellate nomenclature severs an important link with the fossil-genus Spiniferites Mantell 1850. We have applied dual nomenclature, as sanctioned by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants, in returning these species to their previous assignments as Spiniferites elongatus and Spiniferites membranaceus, and we propose Gonyaulax ovum (Gaarder 1954) comb. nov., emend. and Gonyaulax lewisiae sp. nov., respectively, as their equivalent non-fossil species. A distinctive morphotype initially described as Rottnestia amphicavata var. amphicavata Dobell & Norris in Harland et al. 1980 is proposed as Spiniferites elongatus forma amphicavata stat. nov.