MOSSES IN DOMINICAN AMBER
1993 Volume 74 Pages 249-259
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1993 Volume 74 Pages 249-259
Fifteen specimens of fossil mosses in Dominican amber have been studied. These are the first mosses from Dominican amber to be investigated and probably the first records of fossil mosses from the tropics. This is also the first critical study of mosses from amber in general. The fossils belong to nine species. Four species can be tentatively attributed to extant species, all of which are still widespread in the neotropics. The remaining species can be attributed to extant genera. This shows a remarkable constancy in the moss flora of the Carribbean over then past 25-40 million years. All representatives of the identified fossils are about 50% smaller than present-day specimens.
