Discovery of a simple thalloid liverwort Metzgeriites kujiensis (Metzgeriaceae), a new species from Late Cretaceous Japanese amber

Abstract

  An extinct liverwort species Metzgeriites kujiensis T.Katag., sp. nov. is described from the Late Cretaceous (Santonian, ca. 85 Ma) amber from the Kuji district, northern Honshu, Japan. It is characterized by thalloid plants with a distinct midrib and lamina, narrow thalli of 0.6–0.8 mm wide, regularly 1-pinnate ramification pattern, and presence of discoid branches. The new species represents the first record of the liverwort family Metzgeriaceae (Metzgeriales, Marchantiophyta) from the Late Cretaceous from East Asia.