The Lower Devonian Rhynie and Windyfield cherts from Scotland contain a remarkable diversity of microscopic fungal propagules and reproductive units; however, only relatively few of these fossils are described. One of them is Windipila spinifera, an unusual reproductive unit from the Windyfield chert that consists of a walled spheroid (~ 100 µm in diam.) surrounded by a mantle of interlaced hyphae; prominent spines and otherwise shaped projections, produced by these hyphae, extend out from the mantle. Here, we present W. wimmervoecksii sp. nov., also from Windyfield, which differs from W. spinifera in that the mantle hyphae produce vesicle-like inflations instead of spines. Narrow processes arising from the inflations connect the persistent inner mantle tier with a probably ephemeral outer tier of irregularly inflated hyphae. There is some evidence to suggest that W. wimmervoecksii was a member of the Glomeromycota; however, the precise systematic affinities remain unresolved. This discovery broadens our understanding of the patterns of mantle formation that were present in fungi by the Early Devonian.

来自苏格兰的下泥盆统Rhynie和Windyfield石含有大量的微观真菌繁殖体和生殖单位。然而，这些化石中只有相对较少的描述。其中之一是Windipila spinifera，一种来自Windyfield cher的不寻常的生殖单位，由壁状球状体（直径约100 µm）组成，周围环绕着交错的菌丝。这些菌丝产生的突出的刺和其他形状的突起从地幔中伸出。在这里，我们介绍W. wimmervoecksii sp。11月，也来自Windyfield，与W. spinifera不同因为地幔菌丝会产生囊泡状的膨胀，而不是刺状的。由通货膨胀引起的狭窄过程将持续的内地幔层与不规则膨胀的菌丝的可能短暂的外层相连。有证据表明，Wimmer weckervecksii是glomeromycota的成员。但是，精确的系统亲和力仍未解决。这一发现拓宽了我们对泥盆纪早期真菌中存在的地幔形成模式的理解。