Statistical Evaluation of the Clade “Rhabdoweisiaceae”

Two previously published molecular analyses of the Dicranaceae and related families that supported as a taxonomic entity the clade “Rhabdoweisiaceae” as a segregate of the Dicranaceae s.lat. were subjected to a nine-step statistical analysis. The first study did not well support the Rhabdoweisiaceae but, in combination with the second, reliable support was obtained demonstrating that Rhabdoweisiaceae are both monophyletic and not merely a basal branch of the Dicranaceae. Although such molecular conclusions may guide taxonomy, there is no satisfactory morphological definition of the Rhabdoweisiaceae, and that uncertainty may lead to a paraphyletic classification of the Dicranaceae to include Rhabdoweisiaceae as simply one or more basal lineages.