Tubanova, D.Ya., O.D. Tumurova & E.A. Ignatova. The genus Mielichhoferia
(Mielichhoferiaceae, Bryophyta)
in Russia
Arctoa (2017) 26: 166–180
doi: 10.15298/arctoa.26.16
A revision of the genus
Mielichhoferia in
Russia is performed basing on morphological and molecular phylogenetic
study. Specimens were found in
two major clades, corresponding to M. mielichhoferiana s.l. and M. elongata s.l. Each of these
clades includes subclades corresponding to cryptic species.
Interesting is that almost all
cryptic species discovered in the
analysis of Shaw (2000) for North America and
Europe were also found in
Russia. Mosses of two clades
nested within the M. elongata s.l. major clade
were found to be well
delimited morphologically. One of them
corresponds to M. japonica, which is characterized by strongly reduced peristome and narrowly
acute leaves with recurved marginal
teeth. Another morphotype, which is characterized by thick-walled cells, is described as
a new species,
M. asiatica. The latter is known
only in Eastern
Siberia and Sakhalin.