Articles | Volume 20, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-201-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-201-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
27 Jul 2017
Research article |
| 27 Jul 2017
A Burmese amber fossil of Radula (Porellales, Jungermanniopsida) provides insights into the Cretaceous evolution of epiphytic lineages of leafy liverworts
Julia Bechteler
Department of
Biology and GeoBio-Center, Ludwig Maximilian University, Menzinger Straße 67, 80638 Munich, Germany
Alexander R. Schmidt
Department of Geobiology, Georg August University, Goldschmidtstraße 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Matthew A. M. Renner
Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney,
NSW 2000, Australia
Bo Wang
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing
Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.39,
East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China
Oscar Alejandro Pérez-Escobar
Department of
Biology and GeoBio-Center, Ludwig Maximilian University, Menzinger Straße 67, 80638 Munich, Germany
Department of Identification and Naming, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew,
Richmond, TW9 3AB, UK
Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp
Mittlere Letten 11, 88634 Herdwangen-Schönach, Germany
Kathrin Feldberg
Department of
Biology and GeoBio-Center, Ludwig Maximilian University, Menzinger Straße 67, 80638 Munich, Germany
Department of
Biology and GeoBio-Center, Ludwig Maximilian University, Menzinger Straße 67, 80638 Munich, Germany
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Short summary
DNA-based divergence time estimates suggested major changes in the composition of epiphyte lineages of liverworts during the Cretaceous; however, evidence from the fossil record is scarce. We present the first Cretaceous fossil of the liverwort genus Radula in ca. 100 Ma old Burmese amber. Our analyses support origins of most extant subgenera of Radula by the end of the Cretaceous and diversification of their crown groups in the Cenozoic.
DNA-based divergence time estimates suggested major changes in the composition of epiphyte...
