Disentangling the diversity and taxonomy of Hymenophyllaceae (Hymenophyllales, Polypodiidae) in the Comoros

  • Ahamada H. Saïd Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPMC, EPHE, Herbier National, 57 rue Cuvier, CP39, 75005 Paris
  • Sabine Hennequin Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris
  • Germinal Rouhan Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Universités, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPMC, EPHE, Herbier National, 57 rue Cuvier, CP39, 75005 Paris
  • Jean-Yves Dubuisson Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, MNHN, CNRS, EPHE, 57 rue Cuvier, CP48, 75005 Paris
Keywords: Comoros archipelago, ferns, Hymenophyllaceae, pteridophytes, western Indian Ocean, Xper

Abstract

The inventory of biodiversity in the Comoros archipelago is still in progress. We propose here to contribute to this effort by assessing the diversity of the Hymenophyllaceae family, which forms one of the most diverse and emblematic fern communities in rainforests of the region. Data were extracted from floras, literature, recent collects and observations, and from an exhaustive investigation of the Paris herbarium collection. We also completed an online knowledge database including a computer-aided identification (CAI) tool by using the Xper platform. Our checklist recognizes 21 taxa involving 1 endemic and 7 species newly reported for the archipelago. The taxonomy and discrimination of each taxon is discussed and a dichotomous key is provided. We also defined 80 morphological characters and their corresponding states into the Xper database and CAI that could be easily enriched for neighbouring areas and additional taxa.

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Published
2017-04-28
How to Cite
Saïd, A. H., Hennequin, S., Rouhan, G., & Dubuisson, J.-Y. (2017). Disentangling the diversity and taxonomy of Hymenophyllaceae (Hymenophyllales, Polypodiidae) in the Comoros. European Journal of Taxonomy, (313). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2017.313