Entodon obtusatus Brotherus (1923: 216)

Yi, Zhao-Qin, Mu, Li-Qiang & Jia, Yu, 2022, Notes on Glossadelphus M. Fleisch. (Hypnaceae, Bryophyta) in China, Phytotaxa 541 (3), pp. 225-239 : 233-234

4-1. Entodon obtusatus Brotherus (1923: 216) ( Fig. 6 )

Protologue:— CHINA. Hunan, Handel-Mazzetti 11123 (holotype: H-BR) .

Taxithelium isopterygioides Dixon, J. Bot. 53: 295. pl. 540: f. 9. 1915. ≡ Glossadelphus isopterygioides (Dixon) Broth., Nat. Pflanzenfam. (ed. 2) 11: 444. 1925. ≡ Entodon isopterygioides (Dixon) Dixon , Hong Kong Naturalist, Suppl. 2: 27. 1933. ≡ Taxiphyllum isopterygioides (Dixon) W.R. Buck, Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 45: 521. 1987. Type:— SRI LANKA.Udapassellawa:near stream, 4 March 1913, C.H. Binstead 415 (holotype: BM[BM000662670]!). (fide Zhu et al. 2010, confirmed by this manuscript).

The detailed morphological description, habitat and distribution of Entodon obtusatus are seen by Zhu et al. (2010).

Comment:— Glossadelphus isopterygioides was originally published as Taxithelium isopterygioides Dixon (1915: 295) . Subsequently, it underwent a complex history of nomenclature changes. It was placed into Entodon by Dixon (1933), then to Taxiphyllum by Buck (1987). Finally, it was placed in synonymy with Campylodontium flavescens ( Hooker 1819: 155) Bosch & Sande Lacoste in Dozy & Molkenboer (1866: 128) by Tixier (1988). In 1980, C. flavescens was transferred to Mesonodon , i.e. Mesonodon flavescens (Hook.) W.R. Buck (1980: 117) , because the genus Campylodontium Dozy & Molkenboer (1844: 301) was proposed to discard ( Buck 1980). Morphologically, Mesonodon flavescens has julaceous branches and plicate leaves, distinctly differing from G. isopterygioides . Glossadelphus isopterygioides is similar to Taxiphyllum in foliose pseudoparaphyllia and complanate plant, but differs from the latter in more conspicuous alar cells.

Glossadelphus isopterygioides is distinguished by (1) complanate plants, (2) oblong-ovate leaves with broadly acute apices, strongly constricted at the bases, (3) ecostate, (4) serrate upper leaf margins, (5) prominent alar regions with numerous large, hyaline rectangle cells, and (6) elongate and smooth laminal cells. These features well match with the concept of Entodon .

Ochyra and Ireland (2009) confirmed Taxithelium isopterygioides ’s status in Entodon as E. isopterygioides (Dixon) Dixon (1933: 27) , and pointed out a mistake in Index Muscorum ( Wijk et al. 1962) of treating E. isopterygioides as a nomen nudum. Zhu et al. (2010) placed E. isopterygioides in synonymy with E. obtusatus as a nomen nudum. After careful examination of literatures and type materials, we recognized E. isopterygioides as a validly published name and a synonym of E. obtusatus . Entodon obtusatus differs from all other Chinese Entodon species in its rather small plants, dimorphic leaves, and lingulate and obtuse dorsal leaves.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Entodon obtusatus. A: Plants; B: Branch; C: Branch leaves; D, G: Pseudoparaphyllia and primordia; E–F: Base of laminal cells; H: Median laminal cells; I–J: Leaf apex.All from holotype of Taxithelium isopterygioides. Scale bars: a for B; b for C; c for E–F; d for D, G, I–J; e for H.