The biodiversity exploration project team from Sun Yat-sen University at Danxiashan National Geopark recently delved deeper into the remote areas and discovered a new plant species endemic to the region, Asplenium guodanum (Aspleniaceae).

Following the discoveries of Dryopteris shiakeana, Selaginella orientali-chinensis, and Asplenium danxiaense, Asplenium guodanum marks the fourth new species of fern discovered at Danxia Mountain. It is also the 24th unique plant species and the 43rd species discovered within the past decade at Danxia Mountain.

Initially spotted by Guo Jianqiang, a Danxia Mountain science popularization volunteer and local forestry expert, Asplenium guodanum was then researched collaboratively by Professor Liao Wenbo's team from the School of Life Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University and Associate Professor Xu Kewang's team from the College of Biology and Environment at Nanjing Forestry University. Their findings were published jointly in the international botanical journal PhytoKey.

Currently, Asplenium guodanum has only been found in a small population in Danxia Mountain, with no more than 50 mature plants. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Categories and Criteria, it is recommended to be classified as a critically endangered (CR) species. This discovery once again underscores the uniqueness of the "Danxia flora" and highlights the urgency of protecting the biodiversity of Danxia Mountain, especially for species with fragile resilience that may disappear before being discovered.

The naming of Asplenium guodanum is a tribute to the late Professor Chen Guoda, a former professor at Sun Yat-sen University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, commemorating his significant contributions to the study of Danxia landforms. In 1939, Professor Chen Guoda first proposed the concept of "Danxia landforms" and used it as a criterion for identifying Danxia strata.

In recent years, not only have numerous geologists and geomorphologists kept focusing on the study of Danxia landforms, but also an increasing number of ecologists and biologists are turning their attention to Danxia Mountain.

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

韶关丹霞山发现蕨类植物新种——国达铁角蕨

中山大学丹霞山国家公园生物多样性科考项目组近日继续深入丹霞山无人区考察，又发现了丹霞山1个特有的植物新种——国达铁角蕨。

国达铁角蕨是继霞客鳞毛蕨、东方卷柏、丹霞铁角蕨后，在丹霞山发现的第4种蕨类植物新种，也是在丹霞山近10多年来发现的第24个特有植物和第43个新物种。

国达铁角蕨最早由丹霞山科普志愿者、广东林业乡土专家、“植物达人”郭剑强在野外发现并提供线索，经中山大学生命科学学院廖文波教授课题组、南京林业大学生物与环境学院许可旺副教授课题组合作研究，最终他们联名发表在国际植物分类学刊物《PhytoKey》上。

目前，国达铁角蕨仅在丹霞山发现有一个小型种群，成年植株不超过50株，根据国际自然保护联盟(IUCN)的红色名录标准，被建议列为极度濒危物种(简称：CR)。这一新物种的发现再次证明了“丹霞区系”的独特性，也提醒对丹霞山生物多样性的保护具有紧迫性，尤其是对生存力脆弱的种系而言，很可能尚未被发现就已消失。

国达铁角蕨的命名是对已故中山大学教授、中国科学院院士陈国达先生致敬，以纪念他在丹霞地貌研究领域作出的重要贡献。1939年，陈国达先生首次提出了“丹霞地形”的概念，并将这种地形作为判断丹霞地层的标志。

据悉，近年来，不仅众多地质地貌学家、地理学家持续关注丹霞地貌的研究，越来越多的生态学家和生物学家也在聚焦丹霞山。

来源 | 中国新闻网
翻译 | 刘佳慧