Pleurozia is the only genus of liverworts in the family Pleuroziaceae, which is now classified in its own order Pleuroziales, but was previously included in a broader circumscription of the Jungermanniales.[3] The genus includes twelve species,[4][5] and as a whole is both physically distinctive and widely distributed.[6]
| Pleurozia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pleurozia purpurea | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Marchantiophyta |
| Class: | Jungermanniopsida |
| Subclass: | Metzgeriidae |
| Order: | Pleuroziales Schljakov |
| Family: | Pleuroziaceae (Schiffn.) Müll.Frib.[2] |
| Genus: | Pleurozia Dumort.[1] |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The lower leaf lobes of Pleurozia species are fused, forming a closed water sac covered by a movable lid similar in structure to those of the angiosperm genus Utricularia. These sacs were assumed to play a role in water storage, but a 2005 study on Pleurozia purpurea found that the sacs attract and trap ciliates, much in the same way as Utricularia. Observations of plants in situ also revealed a large number of trapped prey within the sacs, suggesting that the species in this genus obtain some benefit from a carnivorous habit. After Colura, this was the second report of zoophagy among the liverworts.[7]
Taxonomy
The genus Pleurozia has been subdivided into three subenera:
- Pleurozia subg. Pleurozia
- Pleurozia gigantea (Weber) Lindberg
- Pleurozia subg. Constantifolia Thiers
- Pleurozia purpurea Lindberg
- Pleurozia conchifolia (Hooker & Arnott) Austin
- Pleurozia subg. Diversifolia Thiers
- Pleurozia acinosa (Mitten) Trevisan
- Pleurozia articulata (Lindberg) Lindberg & Lackström
- Pleurozia caledonica (Gottsche ex Jack) Stephani
- Pleurozia curiosa Thiers
- Pleurozia heterophylla Stephani ex Fulford
- Pleurozia johannis-winkleri Herzog
- Pleurozia paradoxa (Jack) Schiffner
- Pleurozia subinflata (Austin) Austin
- Unplaced
- Pleurozia pocsii Müller