Abstract
In a Nature Reserve called Reserva Natural Río Nambí (Nariño, Colombia), a platyrhacid millipede population of Psammodesmus bryophorus Hoffman, Martínez & Flórez, 2011 was discovered with 10 epizoic bryophyte species from five families: Fissidentaceae, Lejeuneaceae, Metzgeriaceae, Leucomiaceae and Pilotrichaceae. The inspected sample included 22 P. bryophorus individuals of which 15 were carrying mosaics of different bryophyte species on their dorsa, principally Lepidopilum scabrisetum, Lejeunea sp. 1 and Fissidens weirii. This finding constitutes the first record of epizoic plants on Diplopoda.
Highlights
Plants that live on living animals are known as epizoic plants
We show in detail the richness and abundance of epizoic bryophytes on the platyrhacid Psammodesmus bryophorus Hoffman, Martínez and Flórez, 2011 and report three bryophyte families previously unreported as epizoic plants
During the process of sorting and identifying the diplopods, it was found that several specimens of Psammodesmus bryophorus (Polydesmida, Platyrhacidae), recently described by Hoffman et al (2011), were carrying complex mosaics of bryophyte species on their backs (Table 2)
Summary
Plants that live on living animals are known as epizoic plants. This type of plant has normally been found on tropical vertebrates and is unusual among terrestrial organ-Copyright S. Concerning arthropods, a few epizoic plants have been reported on some weevils and on a single harvestman species from tropical countries (Gradstein et al 1984, Gressitt 1966, Gressitt et al 1968, Gressitt and Sedlacek 1970, Machado and Vidal 2001). These authors have reported epizoic bryophytes belonging to the Hookeriaceae, Lejeuneaceae and Metzgeriaceae families found in cloud and rain forests in New Guinea, México, and Brazil
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