Megaceros

Megaceros is a genus of hornworts in the family Dendrocerotaceae. The genus is found in the Old World tropics of east Asia and Australia.[2] Its name means 'big horn', and refers both to the exceptionally large size of the gametophyte thallus and to the large, horn-shaped sporophyte that the plants produce. Many species have a branching thallus that is more than two centimeters wide. The gametophytes are monoicous.

For the prehistoric deer, see Megaloceros.

Megaceros
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Anthocerotophyta
Class: Anthocerotopsida
Order: Dendrocerotales
Family: Dendrocerotaceae
Genus: Megaceros
Campbell[1]
Species

Megaceros aenigmaticus
Megaceros alatifrons Steph.
Megaceros denticulatus
Megaceros flagellaris (Mitt.) Steph.
Megaceros gracilis
Megaceros guatemalensis Steph.
Megaceros novae-zelandiae Steph.
Megaceros pallens (Steph.) Steph.
Megaceros pellucidus (Colenso) E.A. Hodgs.
Megaceros salakensis D. Campb.
Megaceros tjibodensis D. Campb.

The genus Megaceros is unusual among hornworts in that the sporophyte does not have stomata, and the spores are green because they contain chloroplasts, as does the related genus Dendroceros. The thallus cells often contain more than one chloroplast, as opposed to other hornwort genera. The elaters are helical.

The genus Megaceros was first recognized in 1907 by D. Campbell. More recently, the genera Nothoceros and Phaeomegaceros have been split off from this genus. The former genus includes all New World species previously included in Megaceros.[2]

References
  1. Campbell, D.H. (1907). "Studies on some Javanese Anthocerotaceae. I." (PDF). Annals of Botany. London. 21: 467–486.
  2. Villarreal, J.C.; Goffinet, B.; Duff, R.J.; Cargill, D.C. (2010). "Phylogenetic delineation of Nothoceros and Megaceros (Dendrocerotaceae)". The Bryologist. 113 (1): 106–113. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-113.1.106.
  • Parihar, N. S. (1961). An Introduction to Embryophyta, Volume I. Allahbad: Central Book Depot.
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