# Two hitchhiker mosses



## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

I know IDing mosses is almost impossible, but maybe someone with a great knowledge of mosses has nothing to do...

I bought a clumb of Riccardia a year back and know I redid my tank I noticed these 2. The first I've multiple strings from, doesn't split much and is a litlle bigger than the second. The second, I got only 1 unbranched string, pictures below:


























The second:


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

The 1st is a foliose liverwort, and probably _Heteroscyphus zollingeri_.
Compare with the entry here:
http://www.flowgrow.de/pflanzen/Heteroscyphus-zollingeri-404.html
and that article in the German journal "Amazonas":
Wilstermann-Hildebrand, Maike & Muth, Heiko (2011): Vom „Perlenmoos" - zwei foliose Lebermoose sind identifiziert. Amazonas 35, May/June 2011.

2nd: a true moss, maybe any Taxiphyllum. Hard to tell.


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## h4n (Dec 23, 2005)

1st: looks like Notocyphus lutescens (NL) Moss*

2nd: looks like large form of willow moss.
Is it look larger then other mosses?
Might be just regular willow moss.

-Sent from my Samsung Note, a "Phablet"


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

Ummzz... though one, both sugestions on the first moss look quite a like. But from what I can find, the Notocyphus lutescens is larger than the first, so I guess it would be Heteroscyphus zollingeri.

The second moss is not willow moss, it is way smaller. My moss is smaller than regular java moss. I'll grow it in 2 tanks now, maybe the different circumstances would reveal it's true identity. Thank you both!


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## miremonster (Mar 26, 2006)

@h4n:To which source do You refer with the name Notocyphus lutescens?
In the rather few cases where aquarium mosses/liverworts were reliably identified by bryologists, mostly it turned out that the plants were first presented under erroneous scientific names in the trade and hobby. And also misspellings are frequent in the trade, e.g. Notocyphus instead of Noto*s*cyphus.
The liverwort expert Prof. Gradstein IDed the liverwort shown in the flowgrow database as Heteroscyphus zollingeri, it was sold as "Homalia spec., Flachmoos" and also as "Blepharostoma trichophyllum" in Germany. [edit: H. zollingeri is also in the "Aquarienpflanzen" book from C. Kasselmann, 2010.]
The "Notocyphus lutescens" here: http://www.aquaforum.ua/showthread.php?t=96633 is IMO likely Heteroscyphus zollingeri as well.

Rather scientific sources show under the name Noto*s*cyphus lutescens a quite compact liverwort with different leaf form: http://tropical-bryology.org/pic/Moose_der_Welt/Bildergallerie/Selection/photo322.htm

But in general liverwort ID is often very tough indeed, because of huge species number, often only subtle microscopic characters, and literature that is hard to get.


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