Additions to the Bryophyte Flora of the Neotropics

New and remarkable records of bryophytes from Venezuela, Brazil, Costa Rica and Ecuador are reported. Diphyscium chiapense and Hedwigia ciliata var. leucophaea are new to South America. New to Venezuela are Grimmia reflexidens, Metzgeria claviflora, Pilopogon peruvianus and Racomitrium subsecundum; Grimmia navicularis and G. trichophylla are firstly reported for Brazil; Aphanolejeunea microscopica var. africana, A. minuta, A. sintenisii, Cololejeunea bischleriana, Metalejeunea cucullata, and Hyophila nymaniana represent new records for Costa Rica, and new to Ecuador are Diphyscium longifolium, Erpodium beccarii, Macrocolura sagittistipula, and (for continental Ecuador) Marchantia berteroana. Further new records to the states of that countries and rarely collected species are listed. All specimens are deposited in the private herbaria of the authors, duplicates in different herbaria as indicated

Orthotrichum (Orthotrichaceae, Bryopsida) in Pakistan

A first critical survey of the genus Orthotrichum in Pakistan is provided. The currently known geographical distributions of the species and their ecologies within Pakistan are discussed. The bryophyte collection from Pakistan contains eight species of the genus Orthotrichum. One of these, O. obtusifolium, is reported here for the first time from that country, whilst the occurrence of the other seven species is confirmed. Pseudoleskeella tectorum, associated with O. crenulatum, is also reported here from Pakistan for the first time. Comments on the specimens and a key to allow identification of all eleven species presently known from Pakistan are provided

On the presence of Mittenothamnium reduncum (Hypnaceae) in Argentina

Mittenothamnium reduncum, un nuevo registro para la flora briológica de Argentina, se describe, ilustra y comenta brevemente. Se presentan las diferencias morfológicas entre este taxón y M. reptans, la especie más frecuente en el áreaMittenothamnium reduncum is recorded for the first time for the bryological flora of Argentina. A brief description, illustration, and discussion of the species are provided. Morphological differences between this taxon and M. reptans, the most frequent species in the area, are presented.Fil: Colotti, Maria T.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Suarez, Guillermo Martin. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Schäfer verwimp, Alfons. Mittlere Letten 11, 88634 Herdwangen-schãnach, German; Alemani

Molecular and Morphological Evidence Challenges the Records of the Extant Liverwort Ptilidium pulcherrimum in Eocene Baltic Amber

Preservation of liverworts in amber, a fossilized tree resin, is often exquisite. Twenty-three fossil species of liverworts have been described to date from Eocene (35-50 Ma) Baltic amber. In addition, two inclusions have been assigned to the extant species Ptilidium pulcherrimum (Ptilidiales or Porellales). However, the presence of the boreal P. pulcherrimum in the subtropical or warm-temperate Baltic amber forest challenges the phytogeographical interpretation of the Eocene flora. A re-investigation of one of the fossils believed to be P. pulcherrimum reveals that this specimen in fact represents the first fossil evidence of the genus Tetralophozia, and thus is re-described here as Tetralophozia groehnii sp. nov. A second fossil initially assigned to P. pulcherrimum is apparently lost, and can be reassessed only based on the original description and illustrations. This fossil is morphologically similar to the extant North Pacific endemic Ptilidium californicum, rather than P. pulcherrimum. Divergence time estimates based on chloroplast DNA sequences provide evidence of a Miocene origin of P. pulcherrimum, and thus also argue against the presence of this taxon in the Eocene. Ptilidium californicum originated 25-43 Ma ago. As a result, we cannot rule out that the Eocene fossil belongs to P. californicum. Alternatively, the fossil might represent a stem lineage element of Ptilidium or an early crown group species with morphological similarities to P. californicum

A Caribbean epiphyte community preserved in Miocene Dominican amber

Fossil tree resins preserve a wide range of animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms in microscopic fidelity. Fossil organisms preserved in an individual piece of amber lived at the same time in Earth history and mostly even in the same habitat, but they were not necessarily parts of the same interacting community. Here, we report on an in situ preserved corticolous community from a piece of Miocene Dominican amber which is composed of a lichen, a moss and three species of leafy liverworts. The lichen is assigned to the extant genus Phyllopsora (Ramalinaceae, Lecanoromycetes) and is described as P. magna Kaasalainen, Rikkinen & A. R. Schmidt sp. nov. The moss, Aptychellites fossilis Schaf.-Verw., Hedenas, Ignatov & Heinrichs gen. & sp. nov., closely resembles the extant genus Aptychella of the family Pylaisiadelphaceae. The three leafy liverworts comprise the extinct Lejeuneaceae species Cheilolejeunea antiqua (Grolle) Ye & Zhu, 2010 and Lejeunea miocenica Heinrichs, Schaf.-Verw., M. A. M. Renner & G. E. Lee sp. nov. and the extinct Radulaceae species Radula intecta M. A. M. Renner, Schaf.-Verw. & Heinrichs sp. nov. The presence of five associated extinct cryptogam species, four of which belong to extant genera, further substantiates the notion of a stasis in morphotype diversity, but a certain turnover of species, in the Caribbean since the early Miocene.Peer reviewe

The Moss Macromitrium Richardii (Orthotrichaceae) with Sporophyte and Calyptra Enclosed in Hymenaea Resin from the Dominican Republic

Abstract Dominican amber is an important source for Early Miocene bryophytes. We report the moss Macromitrium richardii Schwägr., an extant representative of the Orthotrichaceae, from the Dominican amber collection of the American Museum of Natural History. This species is currently a widespread Neotropical epiphyte. The specimen includes several gametophytes and sporophytes, and represents the first fossil record of Orthotrichaceae. Alongside the Macromitrium shoots we observed several fragments of the liverworts Cheilolejeunea antiqua and Frullania sp. The unusual thermal behavior of the resin sample initially led to doubts about the Miocene age of the specimen, but chemical analyses of the Hymenaea resin provides evidence that the specimen represents a highly oxidized sample of Miocene Dominican amber rather than an artificially thermally-treated subfossil resin (copal). Our inclusion demonstrates the exceptional preservation potential of tree resin, but our observations also suggest that provenance (including any possibility that a modern resin has been thermally treated to make it appear older) should be scrutinized when single pieces with atypical thermal behavior and exceptionally well-preserved extant morphotypes come to light

World checklist of hornworts and liverworts

A working checklist of accepted taxa worldwide is vital in achieving the goal of developing an online flora of all known plants by 2020 as part of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. We here present the first-ever worldwide checklist for liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and hornworts (Anthocerotophyta) that includes 7486 species in 398 genera representing 92 families from the two phyla. The checklist has far reaching implications and applications, including providing a valuable tool for taxonomists and systematists, analyzing phytogeographic and diversity patterns, aiding in the assessment of floristic and taxonomic knowledge, and identifying geographical gaps in our understanding of the global liverwort and hornwort flora. The checklist is derived from a working data set centralizing nomenclature, taxonomy and geography on a global scale. Prior to this effort a lack of centralization has been a major impediment for the study and analysis of species richness, conservation and systematic research at both regional and global scales. The success of this checklist, initiated in 2008, has been underpinned by its community approach involving taxonomic specialists working towards a consensus on taxonomy, nomenclature and distribution