Abstract
Lejeuneaceae Rostovzev is the largest family among liverworts, comprising a tropical and subtropical group of leafy species with considerable morphological diversity. These species can be found on a wide range of substrates and across all Phytogeographic Domains in Brazil. Among the representatives of this family, Lejeunea Libert. is the most diverse genus, with a Neotropical, Paleotropical, and Holarctic distribution. As part of a floristic survey of bryophytes conducted in the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, a species with unique characteristics was found and is here described as a new to Science. Identification was carried out using a stereomicroscope and light microscope, considering gametophytic characters, particularly the underleaf and lobule shape, the apex and margins of the leaf lobes, the cell shape, and stem cross-section. Therefore, Lejeunea tridenticulata A.V.Tourinho P. & D.F.Peralta, sp. nov., is known only from a single specimen collected in the Central-West region of Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso, in plateau areas, within the gallery forest vegetation of the Cerrado Phytogeographic Domain, at an altitude of 513 meters. It was found associated with eight other bryophyte species, growing on twigs. This species is mainly distinguished by its underleaves, which are bifid to trifid with markedly toothed margins bearing 1 to 4 teeth—features not found in any other species of the family or genus. This highlights the importance of floristic surveys for advancing our knowledge of biodiversity.
References
- Bastos, C.J.P. & Gradstein, S.R. (2020) The genus Lejeunea Lib. (Lejeuneaceae, Marchantiophyta) in Brazil. Phytotaxa 453 (2): 55–107. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.453.2.1
- Bastos, C.J.P. & Gradstein, S.R. (2025) Lejeuneaceae. In: Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available from: https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB97355 (accessed 14 June 2025)
- Bastos, C.J.P. & Gradstein, S.R. (2025) Lejeunea. In: Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available from: https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB97355 (accessed 14 June 2025)
- Bastos, C.J.P. & Yano, O. (2009) O gênero Lejeunea Libert (Lejeuneaceae) no Estado da Bahia, Brasil. Hoehnea 36: 303–320. https://doi.org/10.1590/S2236-89062009000200008
- Costa, D.P. & Peralta, D.F. (2015) Bryophytes diversity in Brazil. Rodriguésia 66: 1063–1071. https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-7860201566409
- Gradstein, S.R. & Costa, D.P. (2003) The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of Brasil. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden Press 87: 19–65.
- Gradstein, S.R. (2013) A classification of Lejeuneaceae (Marchantiophyta) based on molecular and morphological evidence. Phytotaxa 100 (1): 6–20. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.100.1.2
- Libert, M.A. (1820) Annales Générales des Sciences Physiques. Annales Générales des Sciences Physiques 6: 372.
- Montagne, J.P.F.C. (1838) Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, sér. 2, 9: 47.
- Nees von Esenbeck, C.G.D. & Montagne, J.P.F.C. (1842) Histoire Physique, Politique et Naturelle de l'Île de Cuba, Botanique, Plantes Cellulaire. Histoire Physique, Politique et Naturelle de l'Île de Cuba, Botanique, Plantes Cellulaire 469.
- Reiner-Drehwald, M.E. (2000) Las Lejeuneaceae (Hepaticae) de Misiones, Argentina VI. Lejeunea y Taxilejeunea. Tropical Bryology 19: 81–131. https://doi.org/10.11646/bde.19.1.14
- Reiner-Drehwald, M.E. & Goda, A. (2000) Revision of the genus Crossotolejeunea (Lejeuneaceae, Hepaticae). The Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory 89: 1–54.
- Rostovzev, S.I. (1913) Morfologiya i Sistematika Pechenochnikov i Mkhov. I.N. Kushnerev, Moscow, 215 pp.
- Siregar, E.S., Hannum, S. & Pasribu, N. (2017) Lejeuneaceae (Marchantiophyta) of sicike-cike natural park, North Sumatra Indonesia. Taiwania 62 (4): 356.
- Söderström, L., Hagborg, A., von Konrat, M., Bartholomew Began, S., Bell, D., Briscoe, L., Brown, E., Cargill, D.C., Costa, D.P., Crandall-Stotler, B.J., Cooper, E.D., Dauphin, G., Engel, J.J., Feldberg, K., Glenny, D., Gradstein, S.R., He, X-L, Heinrichs, J., Hentschel, J., Ilkiu-Borges, A.L., Katagiri, T., Konstantinova, N.A., Larraín, J., Long, D.G., Nebel, M., Pócs, M., Puche, F., Reiner-Drehwald, E., Renner, M.A.M., Sass-Gyarmati, A., Schäfer-Verwimp, A., Moragues, J.G.S., Stotler, R.E., Sukkharak, P., Thiers, B.M., Uribe, J., Váña, J., Villarreal, J.C., Wigginton, M., Zhang, L. & Zhu, R.-L. (2016) World Checklist of hornworts and liverworts. Phytokeys 59: 1–828. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.59.6261