The leafy liverwort genus Lejeunea (Porellales, Jungermanniopsida) in Miocene Dominican amber

Abstract Lejeunea is a morphologically diverse subcosmopolitan genus of predominantly epiphytic leafy liverworts. We describe three Lejeunea fossils preserved in Miocene Dominican amber, Lejeunea hamatiloba sp. nov., L. resinata sp. nov. and L. urbanioides sp. nov., thereby increasing the Lejeunea fossil record to four species. The overall similarity of the fossils and extant species suggests the conservation of the generic composition of Caribbean epiphyte communities since the early Miocene, a pattern that was also confirmed for mosses and ferns.