Pleurocarpous Mosses Systematics and Evolution

About this book

Paperback reprint of a 2007 book.

The shift from traditional taxonomic methods to data-oriented, analytical cladistic methodologies has led to a better understanding of biological processes and more accurate classifications for a wide range of organisms, including mosses. Pleurocarpous Mosses: Systematics and Evolution explores the impact of these methods through recent breakthroughs in research on the evolution and phylogeny of pleurocarpous mosses.

This book emphasizes the use of cutting-edge analytical methods, morphological characters, and the use of morphological and molecular data in systematics. It investigates the interrelationships within various moss families in which pleurocarpous morphology appears and their related taxa. The authors examine higher-level relationships to construct the backbone phylogeny of the group and set up relations within subgroups. They present new results derived from molecular data, phylogenetic analyses, and a variety of analytical methods used to evaluate the processes of morphological evolution, including growth patterns, leaf structure, and other morphological features. The final chapters explore the fossil history of pleurocarpous mosses and discuss a proposed timeline for the evolution of critical nodes. They also address wider evolutionary questions relevant to the origin and maintenance of species diversity.

In addition to upgrading the current knowledge of this complex group of organisms, Pleurocarpous Mosses: Systematics and Evolution also raises the standards of analysis and offers a paradigm for resolving phylogenetic relationships and classifying lesser-known taxonomic groups.

Contents

- The History of Pleurocarp Classification: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
- The Phylogenetic Distribution of Pleurocarpous Mosses: Evidence from cpDNA Sequences
- Pleurocarpy in the Rhizogoniaceous Grade
- Reevaluation of the Phylogeny of the Hypopterygiaceae (Bryophyta) Based on Morphological and Molecular Data
- Growth Patterns in Calyptrochaeta Desv. (Daltoniaceae)
- Advances in Knowledge of the Brachytheciaceae (Bryophyta)
- Phylogenetic Relationships within the Moss Family Meteoriaceae in the Light of Different Datasets, Alignment and Analysis Methods
- The Amblystegiaceae and Calliergonaceae
- On the Relationships of Mosses of the Order Hypnales, with Special Reference to Taxa Traditionally Classified in the Leskeaceae
- Phylogeny of Hygrohypnum Lindb. Based on Molecular Data
- Morphological Characters and Their Use in Pleurocarpous Moss Systematics
- Character Reduction and Peristome Morphology in Entodontaceae: Constraints on an Information Source
- Homologies of Stem Structures in Pleurocarpous Mosses, Especially of Pseudoparaphyllia and Similar Structures
- Branching Architecture in Pleurocarpous Mosses
- Sympodial and Monopodial Growth in Mosses: Examples from the Lembophyllaceae (Bryopsida)
- Did Pleurocarpous Mosses Originate before the Cretaceous?
- Dating the Diversification of the Pleurocarpous Mosses
- Phylogenetic and Morphological Studies Within the Ptychomniales, with Emphasis on the Evolution of Dwarf Males
- Biogeography of Austral Pleurocarpous Mosses: Distribution Patterns in the Australasian Region

Index

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