Terpsichore A.R.Sm., Novon

Smith, Alan R., Kessler, Michael, León, Blanca, Almeida, Thaís Elias, Jiménez-Pérez, Iván & Lehnert, Marcus, 2018, Prodromus of a fern flora for Bolivia. XL. Polypodiaceae, Phytotaxa 354 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

Terpsichore A.R.Sm., Novon 3(4): 479. 1993.

As originally described by Smith (1993), this was a variable genus. In its new restricted sense, it is characterized by the presence of rather conspicuous hydathodes adaxially on the blade surfaces, castaneous to atropurpureous or whitish setae 0.5–3 mm long along the petioles, rachises, costae, and sometimes blade surfaces, absence of glandular paraphyses in the sori, absence of black clavate fungi, nonclathrate castaneous to atropurpureous rhizome scales with marginal or apical setae and often setulose surfaces, usually weakly dorsiventrally to radially symmetric rhizomes, free unbranched veins from the costae of segments, and often setose sporangia. In the original circumscription of the genus, Smith (1993) recognized five distinct species groups differentiated by characters of blade growth and orientation, rhizome symmetry, rhizome scales, presence or absence of setae in the sori, petiole length, presence or absence of black clavate fungal fruiting bodies of the ascomycete fungus genus Acrospermum on the blades, and presence or absence of calcareous secretions (lime dots) from the hydathodes. Molecular studies have shown that at least four of these species groups are not closely related to each other ( Ranker et al. 2004). Further studies in the last ten years have resulted in the segregation of several new genera previously making up part of the original circumscription of Terpsichore , and these new genera now include Alansmia (Group 3 of Smith 1993), Ascogrammitis (Group 2, in part, of Smith 1993), Galactodenia , and Mycopteris (Group 2, in part, of Smith 1993). We adopt all of these new segregate genera in our treatment for Bolivia, and restrict application of Terpsichore more narrowly to Group 1 of Smith (1993). Sundue (2010b) provided a cladistic analysis based on morphological characters of Terpsichore s.l., and this was used by him to support the molecular phylogenetic analyses then available. Sundue & Kessler (2008) also dealt with Terpsichore s.l., naming a number of new species and documenting range extensions for Bolivian taxa. However, all of the species described and keyed in that paper are no longer part of Terpsichore s.s.; rather they belong either to Ascogrammitis or Mycopteris . As defined here, Terpsichore is a neotropical genus comprising at least 12 species, only two in Bolivia; the genus lacks a modern revision.