SUMMARY The moss flora of Europe and Macaronesia comprises 278 genera, 1292 species, 46 subspecies and 118 varieties. Of the total 1292 species, 53 are confined to Macaronesia and 21 are thought to be non-native. The checklist was derived from those for the various component countries and regions. It is based on results published up to the end of 2005. Subspecies and varieties are included; hybrids are omitted. The taxonomic hierarchy is based on one published by Goffinet & Buck in 2004. While it has been strongly influenced by results of modern molecular methods, there are still many remaining uncertainties, even at family level. Because of these uncertainties, taxonomic innovation has generally been avoided. There are four new combinations and one change of status.

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An annotated checklist of the mosses of Europe and Macaronesia

This review summarizes data on the biogeography and dispersal of bacteria, microfungi and selected protists, such as dinoflagellates, chrysophytes, testate amoebae, and ciliates. Furthermore, it introduces the restricted distribution and dispersal of mosses, ferns and macrofungi as arguments into the discussion on the postulated cosmopolitism and ubiquity of protists. Estimation of diversity and distribution of micro-organisms is greatly disturbed by undersampling, the scarcity of taxonomists, and the frequency of misidentifications. Thus, probably more than 50% of the actual diversity has not yet been described in many protist groups. Notwithstanding, it has been shown that a restricted geographic distribution of micro-organisms occurs in limnetic, marine, terrestrial, and fossil ecosystems. Similar as, in cryptogams and macrofungi about, 30% of the extant suprageneric taxa, described and undescribed, might be morphological and/or genetic and/or molecular endemics. At the present state of knowledge, micro-organism endemicity can be proved/disproved mainly by flagship species, excluding sites (e.g., university ponds) prone to be contaminated by invaders. In future, genetic and molecular data will be increasingly helpful. The wide distribution of many micro-organisms has been attributed to their small size and their astronomical numbers. However, this interpretation is flawed by data from macrofungi, mosses and ferns, many of which occupy distinct areas, in spite of their minute and abundant means of dispersal (spores). Thus, I suggest historic events (split of Pangaea etc.), limited cyst viability and, especially, time as major factors for dispersal and provinciality of micro-organisms. Furthermore, the true number of species and their distribution can hardly be estimated by theories and statistics but require reliable investigations on the number of morphospecies in representative ecosystems. Generally, the doubts on Beijerinck's famous metaphor "in micro-organisms everything is everywhere" can be focussed on a simple question: If the world is teeming with cosmopolitan unicells, where is everybody?

Biogeography and Dispersal of Micro-organisms: A Review Emphasizing Protists

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.

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World checklist of hornworts and liverworts.

2939 moss taxa are listed for sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent islands, with distribution by country. Each distribution record is supported by a literature reference. The following new combinations are made: Calyptrochaeta cristata (Hedw.) O’Shea, Groutiella elimbata (Ther) O’Shea, Meiothecium undulatum (Ren. & Card.) O’Shea, Orthodontium ruwenzorensis (Ther. & Nav.) O’Shea, Pohlia lacouturei (Ther.) O’Shea, Sematophyllum corticolum (Aongstr.) O’Shea, Sematophyllum dixonii (Ther.) O’Shea, Sematophyllum nanopyxis (Geh.) O’Shea, Sematophyllum rigescens (Card.) O’Shea, and Thamnobryum malgachum (Card.) O’Shea.

/pdf/checklist-of-the-mosses-of-sub-saharan-africa-19z6vz1gbz.pdf

Checklist of the mosses of sub-Saharan Africa

Plants on Plants – The Biology of Vascular Epiphytes

The Liverworts, Mosses and Ferns of Europe

http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-662-57607-6.pdf

Biologie der Moose

Bryophyte phytomass in tropical ecosystems

Lexikon deutschsprachiger Bryologen

Recent phylogenetic analyses challenged the traditional generic concept of the Bartramiaceae (apple mosses), especially with regard to the largest genus Bartramia . Although molecular analyses revealed the three Bartramia sections ( Bartramia , Strictidium and Vaginella ) to be monophyletic, they appeared in different parts of the inferred phylogenies and thus rendered the genus itself polyphyletic. In addition, Anacolia laevisphaera , a tropical montane species, appeared in the section Strictidium , weakening its character as a typical Mediterranean element. Although morphologically similar to members of the section, such as B. stricta , A. laevisphaera has been generally treated within the genus Anacolia based on sporophytic characters. In fact, Anacolia laevisphaera is often confused with B. stricta in sterile condition. A thorough analysis revealed another surprise, in placing A. laevisphaera sister to the Southern South American samples of Bartramia stricta, while the Mediterranean populations of “ B. stricta ” cluster with the Australian B. breutelii . Subsequent morphometric studies revealed three morpho-species in accordance with the polyphyletically resolved B. stricta . Here we describe the new species Bartramia rosamrosiae to accommodate the Mediterranean and western North American populations of what was traditionally treated as B. stricta .

Common but new: Bartramia rosamrosiae , a “new” widespread species of apple mosses (Bartramiales, Bryophytina) from the Mediterranean and western North America

Jan-Peter Frahm

Papers

The Liverworts, Mosses and Ferns of Europe

Biologie der Moose

Bryophyte phytomass in tropical ecosystems

Lexikon deutschsprachiger Bryologen

Common but new: Bartramia rosamrosiae , a “new” widespread species of apple mosses (Bartramiales, Bryophytina) from the Mediterranean and western North America