An updated Bryophytes Check-list of the Region of Murcia (Southeastern Spain)


The first bryophyte checklist of the Region of Murcia (Cano et al. 2004) consisted of 200 taxa (74 genera) of mosses and 32 taxa (20 genera) of liverworts. In the last six years there has been a considerable increased in the knowledge of Southeastern bryophytes, mostly due to the publication of the taxonomic treatments, carried out for Spanish and Portuguese bryologists within the "Flora Briofítica Ibérica" project (Guerra et al. 2006, Brugués et al. 2007, Guerra et al. 2010). In addition, the project PEPLAN: Recursos fitogenéticos (subproject S5-E005-7: "Libro Rojo de la flora vascular Amenazada") from the Consejería de Universidades, Empresa e Innovación from Regional Goverment of Murcia give us an opportunity to collect in unexplored or poorly collect areas in the study territory. The result has been a considerable number of additions, nomenclatural changes or exclusion of previous reported species. The aim of this work is to update the catalogue of bryophytes for the Region of Murcia. This checklist will be the first step for carrying out a Bryophytic Flora of Murcia as well as the red list of bryophytes and the designation of prioritary areas of conservation in the Region of Murcia in which our research group are involved.

Material and Methods

This checklist is based on intensive field-work in poorly collected areas in the studied territory. In addition we have checked herbarium specimens, and compiled the recent bibliography references.The resulting list is arranged in alphabetic order of genus and species. For the generic circumscription and synonyms of mosses, we have mainly followed Hill et al. (2006), with those modifications later established. For liverworts, we have mainly followed Grolle & Long (2000). In Cano et al. (2004) a list of representative material of each species was published. In order to avoid unnecessary repetitions, we have summarized the studied material in a single collection by taxa. If possible, this collection is represented by new material. The main habitats where the species occur are provided. When the taxon was reported under a different name, this is indicated. Excluded or doubtful records and a list of synonyms are provided at the end of the checklist. New records are marked with asterisk.