Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 752 No. 1: 17 Apr. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-17
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.752.1.2
Page range: 38-50
Abstract views: 0
PDF downloaded: 0

Clusia mocopetraea, a rupicolous new species of Clusiaceae from Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, C. P. 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de São João del Rei, Praça Dom Helvécio, 74, 36301-160, São João del Rei, MG, Brazil
Rua Dr. Mario de Nucci 500, 13083-290, Campinas, SP, Brazil
Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, C. P. 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas – UNICAMP, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil
campos rupestres integrative taxonomy niche modelling Eudicots

Abstract

Serra do Cabral is an isolated massif in north-central Minas Gerais, part of the Espinhaço Range, a region renowned for its high biodiversity and endemism in Brazil. The predominant vegetation belongs to the Cerrado domain, especially rocky outcrop ecosystems. Recent fieldwork led to the discovery of a new Clusia (Clusiaceae) species, morphologically similar to C. diamantina. Based on morphological analyses and ecological niche modelling, we here describe and illustrate this new species, highlighting the importance of the Serra do Cabral as a centre of diversity and a priority area for the conservation of Neotropical flora.

References

  1. Azevedo, A.A. & Machado, R.B. (2008) Cadeia do Espinhaço: avaliação do conhecimento científico e prioridades de conservação. Conservação Internacional, Belo Horizonte, 276 pp.
  2. Bachman, S., Moat, J., Hill, A.W., de la Torre, J. & Scott, B. (2011) Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT: geospatial conservation assessment tool. ZooKeys 150: 117–126. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.150.2109
  3. Bittrich, V. (1996) Três novas espécies do gênero Clusia (Guttiferae) do Brasil. Boletim de Botânica da Universidade de São Paulo 15: 73–76. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9052.v15i1p73-82
  4. Bittrich, V. & Amaral, M.C.E. (1997) Floral biology of some Clusia species from Central Amazonia. Kew Bulletin 52: 617–635. https://doi.org/10.2307/4110290
  5. Broennimann, O., Fitzpatrick, M.C., Pearman, P.B., Petitpierre, B., Pellissier, L., Yoccoz, N.G., Thuiller, W., Fortin, M.J., Randin, C., Zimmermann, N.E., Graham, C.H. & Guisan, A. (2012) Measuring ecological niche overlap from occurrence and spatial environmental data. Global Ecology and Biogeography 21: 481–497. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00698.x
  6. Bueno, V.R. & Nakajima, J.N. (2020) Two new species of Heliantheae (Asteraceae) from Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Phytotaxa 472: 41–48. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.472.1.5
  7. Cambessèdes, J. (1828 [‘1825’]) Guttiferae. In: Saint-Hilaire, A. (Ed.) Flora Brasiliae meridionalis. Apud A. Belin, Paris, pp. 314–321. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.45474
  8. Colli-Silva, M., Vasconcelos, T.N. & Pirani, J.R. (2019) Outstanding plant endemism levels strongly support the recognition of campo rupestre provinces in mountaintops of eastern South America. Journal of Biogeography 46: 1723–1733. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13585
  9. Dagnino, D., Minuto, L. & Casazza, G. (2017) Divergence is not enough: the use of ecological niche models for the validation of taxon boundaries. Plant Biology 19: 1003–1011. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.12600
  10. Di Cola, V., Broennimann, O., Petitpierre, B., Breiner, F.T., D’Amen, M., Randin, C., Engler, R., Pottier, J., Pio, D., Dubuis, A., Pellissier, L., Mateo, R.G., Hordijk, W., Salamin, N. & Guisan, A. (2017) ecospat: An R package to support spatial analyses and modeling of species niches and distributions. Ecography 40 (6): 774–787. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02671
  11. Dray, S. & Dufour, A.B. (2007) The ade4 package: implementing the duality diagram for ecologists. Journal of Statistical Software 22 (4): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v022.i04
  12. Engler, A. (1888) Guttiferae et Quiinaceae. In: Martius, C.F.P., Eichler, A.G. & Urban, I. (Eds.) Flora brasiliensis, vol. 12, pars 1. Frid. Fleischer, Leipzig, pp. 381–486, tabs 79–108.
  13. Fick, S.E. & Hijmans, R.J. (2017) WorldClim 2: new 1-km spatial resolution climate surfaces for global land areas. International Journal of Climatology 37 (12): 4302–4315. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5086
  14. Font Quer, P. (1975) Diccionario de botánica. Labor, Barcelona, 1244 pp.
  15. Giulietti, A.M., Pirani, J.R. & Harley, R.M. (1997) Espinhaço Range region, eastern Brazil. In: Davis, S.D., Heywood, V.H., Herrera-MacBride, O., Villa-Lobos, J. & Hamilton, A.C. (Eds.) Centres of Plant Diversity: A Guide and Strategy for Their Conservation. World Wide Fund for Nature/World Conservation Union, Cambridge, pp. 397–404.
  16. Gleason, H.A. (1931) Botanical Results of the Tyler-Duida Expedition (Continued). Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 58: 403.
  17. Guarçoni, E.A.E. & Sartori, M.A. (2020) Checklist of the Bromeliaceae of the Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais, Brazil, with a description of a new species. Phytotaxa 443 (1): 38–50. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.443.1.4
  18. Gustafsson, M.H.G. & Bittrich, V. (2003) Evolution of morphological diversity andres in secretion in flowers of Clusia L. (Clusiaceae): insights from ITS sequence variation. Nordic Journal of Botany 22: 183–203. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-1051.2002.tb01364.x
  19. Gustafsson, M.H.G., Winter, K. & Bittrich, V. (2007) Diversity, phylogeny and classification of Clusia. In: Lüttge, U. (Ed.) Clusia: A Woody Neotropical Genus of Remarkable Plasticity and Diversity (Ecological Studies 194). Springer, Heidelberg, pp. 95–116.
  20. Hatschbach, G., Guarçoni, E.A.E., Sartori, M.A. & Ribas, O.S. (2006) Aspectos fisionômicos da vegetação da Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais, Brasil. Boletim do Museu Botânico Municipal 67: 4–32.
  21. IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, Version 3.1. Second edition. IUCN, Gland & Cambridge, 32 pp. Available from: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ (accessed 3 January 2026)
  22. IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee (2024) Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, Version 16. IUCN, Gland & Cambridge. Available from: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ (accessed 3 January 2026)
  23. Linnaeus, C. (1753) Species Plantarum, vol. 1. Imprensis Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, 560 pp.
  24. Lopes, T.C., Leite, M.M., Martins, M.S., Uhlein, A., Karfunkel, J., Fonseca, A., Uhlein, G.J. & Freire, G.R. (2014) Geologia e recursos minerais da folha Serra do Cabral SE.23-X-C-V, estado de Minas Gerais. Serviço Geológico do Brasil (CPRM), Belo Horizonte, 72 pp.
  25. Menezes, E.S., Mucida, D.P., França, L.C.J., Aguilar, M.V.M. & Pereira, I.M. (2019) Análise temporal de focos de calor na Reserva da Biosfera Serra do Espinhaço. Nativa 7: 256–261. https://doi.org/10.31413/nativa.v7i3.6877
  26. Meyer, G.F.W. (1818) Primitiae Florae Essequeboensis. Henrici Dieterich, Gottingae, 316 pp.
  27. Nascimento Jr., J.E. & Alencar, A.C. (2025) Clusia in Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. Available from: https://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/FB6830 (accessed 5 June 2025)
  28. Oswald, C.B., Magalhães, R.F., Pezzuti, T.L., Moura, F.R., Leite, F.S.F., Nascimento, B.T.M. & Silva, S.R. (2024) Knowledge status, endemism, and conservation of anuran amphibians from Espinhaço Range, Brazil: what we know and what are the main opportunities for future studies? Biota Neotropica 24 (4): e20241640. https://doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2024-1640
  29. Pangaio, L. & Seda, P. (2016) Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais: um patrimônio arqueológico e ambiental ainda em busca de preservação. In: Anais do IV Seminário de Preservação de Patrimônio Arqueológico. Guadalupe Campos, 465 pp.
  30. Phillips, S.J. (2021) maxnet: Fitting ‘Maxent’ species distribution models with ‘glmnet’. R package version 0.1.4. Available from: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=maxnet (accessed 19 February 2026)
  31. Phillips, S.J., Anderson, R.P., Dudík, M., Schapire, R.E. & Blair, M.E. (2017) Opening the black box: an open-source release of Maxent. Ecography 40 (7): 887–893. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03049
  32. Planchon, J.E. & Triana, J. (1860) Clusiaceae. In: Études sur la famille des Guttifères. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Botanique, sér. 4, 13: 349.
  33. Prata, E.M.B., Sass, C., Rodrigues, D.P., Domingos, F.M.C.B., Specht, C.D., Damasco, G., Ribas, C.C., Fine, P.V.A. & Vicentini, A. (2018) Towards integrative taxonomy in Neotropical botany: disentangling the Pagamea guianensis species complex (Rubiaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 188 (2): 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boy051
  34. Rocha, M.I.S. & Nascimento, D.T.F. (2022) Ocorrência de focos de queimadas em áreas legalmente protegidas do bioma Cerrado. Ateliê Geográfico 16 (2): 122–145. https://doi.org/10.5216/ag.v16i2.70801
  35. Rödder, D. & Engler, J.O. (2011) Quantitative metrics of overlaps in Grinnellian niches: advances and possible drawbacks. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20: 915–927. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00659.x
  36. Rodrigues, C.C., Mariano, R.F., Silveira Junior, W.J., Leite, L.H., Carvalho, V.C., Souza, F.J., Moura, A.S., Rocha, L.F. & Fontes, M.A.L. (2022) Histórico de incêndios em campos rupestres disjuntos: um estudo de caso em Carrancas, Minas Gerais. Biodiversidade Brasileira 12 (2): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.37002/biobrasil.v12i2.1866
  37. Romeiro, C.M. & Gontijo, B.M. (2019) A aplicação da metodologia GTP (geossistema, território e paisagem) como subsídio à compreensão dos conflitos socioambientais na região da Serra do Cabral (MG). Geografia em Atos 3 (10): 113–146. https://doi.org/10.35416/geoatos.v3i10.6099
  38. Romero, R. (2020) Uma nova espécie de Microlicia (Melastomataceae) do estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Rodriguésia 61 (Suppl.): S15–S18. https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-7860201061125
  39. Romero, R., Caetano, A.P.S., Santos, K.F. & Versiane, A.F. (2021) Three new species of Microlicia (Melastomataceae) from Minas Gerais, Brazil, with notes on leaf anatomy. Systematic Botany 46 (1): 109–121. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364421X16128061189585
  40. Sant’Anna-Santos, B.C., Carvalho, L.F.L. & Soffiatti, P. (2023a) A new rupicolous palm from the campos rupestres, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 80: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.24823/ejb.2023.1974
  41. Sant’Anna-Santos, B.C., Micheli, R., Carvalho, L.F.L. & Soffiatti, P. (2023b) A new bluish-leaved Syagrus (Arecaceae) from an overlooked OCBIL in the Espinhaço Range (Brazil). Plant Ecology and Evolution 156 (2): 129–145. https://doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.101027
  42. Silveira, F.A.O., Negreiros, D., Barbosa, N.P.U., Buisson, E., Carmo, F.F., Carstensen, D.W., Conceição, A.A., Cornelissen, T.G., Echternacht, L., Fernandes, G.W., Garcia, Q.S., Guerra, T.J., Jacobi, C.M., Lemos-Filho, J.P., Stradic, S.L., Morellato, L.P.C., Neves, F.S., Oliveira, R.S., Schaefer, C.E., Viana, P.L. & Lambers, H. (2016) Ecology and evolution of plant diversity in the endangered campo rupestre: a neglected conservation priority. Plant and Soil 403: 129–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2637-8
  43. Sobrado, S.V., Carmo, J.A.M., Simões, A.O. & Salas, R.M. (2022) Two new species of Psyllocarpus (Spermacoceae, Rubiaceae) from the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. European Journal of Taxonomy 806: 161–176. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2022.806.1713
  44. Stevens, P.F. & Bittrich, V. (2017) Descriptions of Clusia favus sp. nov. and C. nigrolineata P.F. Stevens and a new name for C. arrudea: C. mexiae (Clusiaceae: Clusieae). Brittonia 69: 525–534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-017-9484-2
  45. Thiers, B.M. (2025 [updated continuously]) Index Herbariorum. Available from: https://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ (accessed 5 June 2025)
  46. Vasconcelos, T.N.C., Alcantara, S., Andrino, C.O., Forest, F., Reginato, M., Simon, M.F. & Pirani, J.R. (2020) Fast diversification through a mosaic of evolutionary histories characterizes the endemic flora of ancient Neotropical mountains. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287: 20192933. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.2933
  47. Warren, D.L., Glor, R.E. & Turelli, M. (2008) Environmental niche equivalency versus conservatism: quantitative approaches to niche evolution. Evolution 62: 2868–2883. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00482.x
  48. Wied-Neuwied, M. zu (1820) Ueber ein noch unbeschriebenes Säugthier aus der Familie der Nager. Isis von Oken 1820 (1): 43.

How to Cite

Alencar, A.C., Nascimento-Jr, J.E.D., Bittrich, V. & Amaral, M.D.C.E.D. (2026) Clusia mocopetraea, a rupicolous new species of Clusiaceae from Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Phytotaxa 752 (1): 38–50. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.752.1.2