''Cryptothallus'' is a previously recognized

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

liverworts The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of ge ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Aneuraceae Aneuraceae (sometimes Riccardiaceae) is a family (biology), family of thallose Marchantiophyta, liverworts in the Order (biology), order Metzgeriales. Most species are very small with narrow, branching thalli. Taxonomy Aneuraceae is the largest ...

. The plants are small, and are white to pale green as a result of lacking

chlorophyll Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words , ("pale green") and , ("leaf"). Chlorophyll allow plants to a ...

. This feature led to the creation of a separate genus. The

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

of species assigned to ''Cryptothallus'' is very similar to that of '' Aneura''. As a result, Karen Renzaglia in 1982 suggested that the only species then placed in the genus, ''Cryptothallus mirabilis'', may be considered "merely as an achlorophyllous species of ''Aneura''." Wickett and Goffinet argued the same position on the basis of sequences of nuclear, mitochondrial, and plastid DNA, and moved ''Cryptothallus mirabilis'' to ''Aneura''. A 2010

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study confirmed the position of ''Cryptothallus'' within ''Aneura''. This was accepted in the 2016 world checklist of hornworts and liverworts.

Species

Two species were formerly placed in the genus. *''Cryptothallus mirabilis'' Malmb., now a synonym of ''

Aneura mirabilis ''Aneura mirabilis'' is a species of liverworts in the family Aneuraceae. It was first described in 1933, as ''Cryptothallus mirabilis''. Plants of this species are white as a result of lacking chlorophyll, and their plastids do not differentiate ...

'' (Malmb.) Wickett & Goffinet *''Cryptothallus hirsutus'' H.A.Crum, now a synonym of ''

Aneura crumii ''Aneura'' may refer to: * ''Aneura'' (fly), a genus of insects in the family Mycetophilidae * ''Aneura'' (plant), a genus of liverworts in the family Aneuraceae {{genus disambiguation ...

'' L.Söderstr.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5191074 Metzgeriales Parasitic plants Historically recognized plant genera