Global relationships and European phylogeography in the Kindbergia praelonga complex (Brachytheciaceae, Bryophyta)

Variation in tRNA-Gly and ITS from 85 and 88 specimens, respectively, reveal that the widespread pleurocarpous moss Kindbergia praelonga (Hedw.) Ochyra sensu lato consists of three species. Kindbergia praelonga s. str. was sampled from Europe, Macaronesia, western North America, and the Southern Hemisphere. Low levels of haplotype variation and no unique haplotypes outside Europe-Macaronesia could potentially be explained by recent introductions outside this region. Most of the American specimens differ from K. praelonga s. str. in three ITS and six tRNA-Gly ‘missing’ haplotypes, and despite rather similar morphologies these most likely represent separate species. The included Chinese specimens deviate even more strongly from both K. praelonga s. str. and the American taxon. Kindbergia brittoniae (Grout) Ochyra and K. dumosa (Mitt.) Ignatov & Huttunen may be the correct names for the American and Asiatic taxa, but this requires further studies to be confirmed. In K. praelonga s. str. one complex of haplotypes is only found in Macaronesia and the central, western part of Europe. Since the variation within this complex is relatively smaller than among the remaining European-Macaronesian material despite that its position closer to the root of the network suggests a higher age, it is suggested that populations of this complex were strongly reduced during the last glaciation maximum and thereby lost a substantial portion of its haplotype variation.