The leafy liverwort Notoscyphus balticus sp nov (Jungermanniales) in Eocene Baltic amber

Abstract

We describe a sterile gametophyte fragment of a leafy liverwort in a piece of Eocene Baltic amber possessing clustered rhizoids, succubously inserted, alternating, entire leaves, papillose stem and lamina cells, and bifid underleaves not coadunate to the leaves. The fossil is assigned to the extant genus Notosgphus and treated as Notoscyphus balticus sp. nov. It differs from extant representatives of Notoscyphus by its uniformly brown colour, rhizoids with a diameter of 15-23 pm and small leaf cells (ca. 17-25 mu m x 17-30 mu m at midpoint). Putative septate rhizoids of the fossil are more likely unicellular rhizoids covered with thin fungal hyphae that can easily be confused with septa. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.