Cochlearidium aymaranum, a strange new genus and species of Cochlearidiaceae (fam. nov.) from Chile

Abstract

A new genus, species and family are proposed for a unique aquatic moss, lacking sporophytes, of uncertain affinity. Cochlearidium aymaranum was found at a single locality at an altimontane elevation in the Andes in the Province of Parinacota in north-eastern Chile. A unique set of characters renders this moss distinct from any other known species. The Cochlearidiaceae is tentatively placed in the Dicranales next to the Dicnemonaceae on the basis of the similarity of the cochleariform leaves to those of some species of Dicnemon.