Taxacom: New subclass (or class or phylum) of early land plants intermediate between bryophytes and tracheophytes

[Tony Rees]

Dear Taxacomers,

The following paper came to my notice this morning:
Dianne Edwards et al., 2021 (or 2022?): "Piecing together the eophytes – a
new group of ancient plants containing cryptospores". New Phytologist 233:
1440-1455, doi: 10.1111/nph.17703

It is not often that a completely new plant group is described, although
its existence had been suspected for some time as the producers of
"crytospores", apparently land-produced spores that did not belong to
either bryophytes or other known land plants. Edwards et al. erect their
new group "Eophytidae" at subclass level, so as to be consistent with the
treatment of Chase & Reveal, 2009 in which groups such as bryophytes,
liverworts, etc. are recognised only at subclass level, although in other
treatments (for example Ruggiero et al., 2015) such groups are recognised
as phyla (=Divisions im botanical-speak).

Just mentioning this since in the general world of biodiversity I see it as
pretty significant... you can find a commentary on the Edwards et al.
paper, written by Alexandru Tomescu, also in New Phytologist at
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1111%2Fnph.17876&data=04%7C01%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C609fcf1543434c3b77c508da15178e4d%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C637845488158381889%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=4yWr3LAW1KlEfmLEzeXlTDPvUPAAbvAszFHVuYydMB8%3D&reserved=0, entitled: "Mysteries of the
bryophyte–tracheophyte transition revealed: enter the eophytes".

Regards to all - Tony

Tony Rees, New South Wales, Australia
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