Cryptothallus is a previously recognized genus of liverworts in the familyAneuraceae. The plants are small, and are white to pale green as a result of lacking chlorophyll. This feature led to the creation of a separate genus.[1] The morphology of species assigned to Cryptothallus is very similar to that of Aneura. As a result, Karen Renzaglia in 1982 suggested that the only species then placed in the genus, Cryptothallus mirabilis, may be considered "merely as an achlorophyllous species of Aneura."[2] Wickett and Goffinet argued the same position on the basis of sequences of nuclear, mitochondrial, and plastid DNA, and moved Cryptothallus mirabilis to Aneura.[3] A 2010 molecular phylogenetic study confirmed the position of Cryptothallus within Aneura.[4] This was accepted in the 2016 world checklist of hornworts and liverworts.[5]
Cryptothallus mirabilis Malmb., now a synonym of Aneura mirabilis (Malmb.) Wickett & Goffinet
Cryptothallus hirsutus H.A.Crum, now a synonym of Aneura crumii L.Söderstr.
References
^Crum, Howard; James Bruce (1996). "A new species of Cryptothallus from Costa Rica". The Bryologist. 99 (4): 433–438. doi:10.2307/3244107. JSTOR3244107.
^Renzaglia, Karen S. (1982). A comparative developmental investigation of the gametophyte generation in the Metzgeriales (Hepatophyta). Bryophytorum Bibliotheca. Vol. 24. Vaduz: J. Cramer.
^Preussing, M.; Olsson, S.; Schäfer-Verwimp, A.; Wickett, N.J.; Wicke, S.; Quandt, D. & Nebel, M. (2010). "New insights in the evolution of the liverwort family Aneuraceae (Metzgeriales, Marchantiophyta), with emphasis on the genus Lobatiriccardia". Taxon. 59 (5): 1424–1440. doi:10.1002/tax.595009.