| Abstract Detail
Bryology and Lichenology CRANDALL-STOTLER, BARBARA [1]. Notes on wetland and riverine species of the liverwort Fossombronia Raddi. Most of the currently recognized species of Fossombronia form small rosettes or loose mats on moist, open to shaded soil, often in seasonally dry habitats, where they may survive as short-lived annuals, i.e., they produce sporophytes seasonally, and then temporarily "disappear" from the landscape. In contrast to this life strategy, there are a few perennial, more persistent species that are restricted to the continuously wet environs of the Andean parámos (2 species), low elevation wetlands of Australia, New Zealand and subantarctic islands (1 species), and disjuncted riverine habitats of North and South America (3 species). With expanded exploration of such habitats in Latin America, two new species of Fossombronia have been discovered, one from the high elevation Venezuelan parámo and one from the low elevation Río Anzu Reserve in the Pastaza Watershed of Ecuador. A combination of phylogenetic and morphological studies have shown that the parámo species is phylogenetically related to F. peruviana, a widespread element of the Andean parámos; that extend from Colombia to Argentina, but differs morphologically from it in several androecial and sporophytic characters. The Río Anzu taxon has not been included in molecular phylogenetic studies, but has a unique assemblage of morphological characters and to date, is the only riverine species described from South America; in its restriction to a limestone, riverine habitat, it is ecologically similar to F. texana, a common species of the Texas Hill Country, and F. wrightii, a species known only from its Cuban type. The diagnostic features of the two new species will be discussed, with a review of related taxa in similar habitats. Future explorations of similar wetland and riverine habitats, worldwide, will doubtless expand our knowledge of species-level diversification in Fossombronia.
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1 - Southern Illinois University, Department Of Plant Biology, 1125 Lincoln Avenue, CARBONDALE, IL, 62901-6509, USA
Keywords:
parámo
limestone habitats
Pastaza Watershed Ecuador
Fossombronia peruviana
Fossombronia texana
new species.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 5, Bryology and Lichenology (ABLS) I
Location: Sundance 2/Omni Hotel
Date: Monday, June 26th, 2017
Time: 9:30 AM
Number: 5003
Abstract ID:206
Candidate for Awards:None |
