Marsupella

Bakalin, Vadim A., Fedosov, Vladimir E., Fedorova, Alina V. & Nguyen, Van Sinh, 2019, Integrative taxonomic revision of Marsupella (Gymnomitriaceae, Hepaticae) reveals neglected diversity in Pacific Asia, Cryptogamie, Bryologie 20 (7), pp. 59-85 : 75

SECT. MARSUPELLA

This section bears four main lineages (based on analyzed taxa, but the real number may be higher). The basal branch is formed by Marsupella arctica — one of a few taxa that could be regarded as real arctic species in the global liverwort flora. This species does not go far from the tundra zone and does not occur even in higher mountains above timberline in the southern Hemiarctic. This species is a highly specialized taxon within the genus that is confirmed by entire or shallowly retuse leaves, absence of brown coloration and peculiarly cupped, imbricate leaves.

The clade M. alata-yakushimensis-koreana-pseudofunckii-patens has very distinct regional attribute: all taxa of this group are distributed in East Asian floristic Province, moreover in the areas adjacent to the Pacific Ocean. The most “continental” locality was found for M. pseudofunckii as far as c. 50 km from Ocean coast in Primorsky territory where climate has a monsoon character. All other localities are under strong influence of oceanic climates ( Váňa et al. 2010, recorded M. pseudofunckii for China, but we do not know which paper this report is based from). Within Korean-Japanese distribution these species exhibit regional differentiation: M. yakushimensis – the southernmost representative; M. alata – the northernmost in this group, extending area to the southern Kurils; M. pseudofunckii – oro-temperate taxon of middle Japan and south Sikhote-Alin Range; and M. koreana Bakalin & Fedosov , sp. nov. – strictly Korean taxon.

The clade M. apertifolia-aquatica-subemarginata-tubulosa exhibits distinct amphioceanic distribution patterns, with taxa distributed in the areas of distinct oceanic (or, at least nearly so) climates. Marsupella subemarginata Bakalin & Fedosov , sp. nov., is distributed in both amphi-Pacific and amphi-Atlantic areas (and probably the oldest taxon of the group due to strong malleability in morphology, the “intermediate” character of features between other species of the clade, presence of rusty pigmentation within absence of distinct purple color), other taxa show more distinct longitudinal patterns. Marsupella apertifolia and M. tubulosa are East Asian amphi-Pacific, although easily going northward to Hemiarctic (e.g. in Kamchatka Peninsula). Marsupella aquatica , if to simplify, is purple European analogue of East Asian M. apertifolia and may be the more recent derivate of something similar to M. subemarginata Bakalin & Fedosov , sp. nov., (if to regard red pigmentation as advanced feature).

The heterogeneous both in geographical and morphological sense in the clade that includes by now only two species: Marsupella emarginata Bakalin & Fedosov , sp. nov., and M. vietnamica Bakalin & Fedosov , sp. nov. Marsupella emarginata has very large arcto-boreal mountain circumpolar range (seems avoid “High Arctic”), and easily going southward by mountain ranges, where appropriate air moisture correspond to this taxon requirements. The only exception is in East Asia due to the substitution of this taxon by closely morphologically and ecologically related (but more sensitive to air moisture) M. tubulosa . Another taxon of this morphologically heterogeneous group, M. vietnamica Bakalin & Fedosov , sp. nov., likely exhibits a meta-Himalayan range. This species shows distinct parallelism with the morphological appearance of Apomarsupella that probably was stimulated by similar environmental conditions (the highest taxonomic diversity of Apomarsupella is in meta-Himalaya and adjacent areas).