@ARTICLE{TreeBASE2Ref19392, author = {Bernard Goffinet and Jessica M. Budke and Leah C Newman}, title = {Micromitriaceae a new family of highly reduced mosses}, year = {2011}, keywords = {Bryophyte phylogeny, Ephemeraceae, Micromitrium, morphological reduction, neoteny}, doi = {}, url = {http://}, pmid = {}, journal = {Taxon}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, abstract = {Morphological complexity tends to increase at a macroevolutionary scale among land plants, but reversals or loss of previously acquired complex traits occurs across various lineages and in particular in bryophytes. In mosses reduction may pertain to the leafy gametophyte and the architecture of the sporophyte, and is often considered linked to shifts in habitats. Reduction in morphological complexity may obscure the phylogenetic affinities of the taxa, in particular when multiple derived characters are lost. The Ephemeraceae comprise two genera, Ephemerum and Micromitrium, growing typically on disturbed, seasonally moist soils. The hypothesis of a shared ancestry of these genera is drawn from the similarity in their highly reduced morphology: their ephemeral gametophytes are tiny, bearing few leaves composed of typically smooth cells, and their capsules that lack a differentiated lid and are nearly sessile. The family was historically included in the Funariideae, but recent phylogenetic inferences revealed that the Ephemeraceae likely arose within the Dicranideae and may be of polyphyletic origin. Phylogenetic inferences based on eight loci confirms that both genera belong to the Dicranidae, and reconstructions of the familial relationships within this subclass corroborate the independent origins of the ephemeral life history and associated character losses, with Ephemerum diverging from a Pottiaceous ancestor and Micromitrium sharing a unique common ancestor with the Leucobryaceae (Dicranales). Micromitrium is thus excluded from the Ephemeraceae and accommodated within its own newly described family, the Micromitriaceae.} }

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