Cephalozia catenulata
Cephalozia catenulata (Huebener) Lindb.
Cephaloziaceae
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(iii)].
Morphology and biology. Perennial leafy liverwort forming dark green mats. Shoots prostrate, sparsely branched, up to 1 cm long and 0.5 cm wide. Leaves obliquely inserted, ovate quadrate to broadly ovate, divided into 2 acute lobes to the middle. Bisexual, often with sporophytes. Forms oval unicellular gemmae on the tips of specialized small-leaved branches.
Habitats and populations. Grows on wet decaying coniferous (rarely beech) wood in shady forests and on peat in the higher parts of the mountains. The populations have restricted distribution and low density.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Western – Vitinya), Vitosha Region (Vitosha Mt), Rila Mts (below Musala peak).
General distribution. Balkan peninsula, W Europe, Caucasus, W Asia, Siberia, Japan, North America, Macaronesia. Sub-oceanic/mountain species.
Threats. The species is sensitive to the decrease of air humidity as a consequence of clear-felling and thinning of forests. Strongly dependent upon the continuous presence of suitable substrates in the forest habitats.
Conservation measures taken. The population in Vitosha Mt. is within Vitosha Nature Park, and that in Rila Mts is in Rila National Park. The localities are in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. To study the dynamics of numbers and areas of the populations, as well as the biology and ecology of the species in Bulgaria, to elucidate the threatening factors and monitor the populations.
References. Podpéra 1911; Mickiewicz et al. 1966.
Author: Rayna Natcheva
