Catalogue of the Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of Colombia

Since the appearance of the „Catalogue of the Hepaticae of Colombia“ (Gradstein & Hekking, 1979), 164 species were newly reported for Colombia and about two hundred species were reduced to synonymy, excluded or renamed. This new catalogue accepts 840 species (in 36 families and 136 genera): 832 species of Hepaticae and 8 species of Anthocerotae. The following new synonyms are proposed: Crossotolejeunea angulata S. Winkler = Cheilolejeunea (subgen. Strepsilejeunea ) spec., Metzgeria bialata S. Winkler = Riccardia andina (Spruce) Herz., Plagiochila guilleminiana Mont. = P. raddiana Lindenb. The Colombian hepatic flora is a very rich one. About 60% of all the species of tropical America and one sixth of the world? s hepatics occur in Colombia. The country has more species than the whole of Africa south of the Sahara and almost twice as many as Europe. Highest diversity is at elevations between 2000-3000 m, lowest above 4000 m. The largest number of species has been recorded from the Andean region (especially Depts. Cundinamarca, Risaralda, Magdalena), the lowest from the Llanos orientales and the Caribbean coastal region which are the poorest regions of Colombia for hepatics. The lowland rain forests of the Pacific coastal region and Amazonia are also poorly known, in spite of the rather high number of hepatic species reported from these lowlands. With large tracts of lowland rain forest remaining in Colombia, exploration of these forests should be a priority for future research.