Campylopus is a large genus of mosses comprising roughly 180 to over 350 recognized species (counts vary by checklist), placed in the family Leucobryaceae within the order Dicranales and class Bryopsida. The genus belongs to the haplolepideous mosses, a group within the subclass Dicranidae. It was described by the bryologist Samuel Élisée Bridel in 1818, in his Muscologiae Recentiorum Supplementum.
The genus name derives from the Greek campylos ("curved") and pous ("foot"), referring to the setae (the stalks bearing the moss capsules), which curve downwards — a distinguishing feature of the group.
Campylopus has a worldwide distribution, with species recorded across North America, Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the Pacific Islands, and Australia (for example, Campylopus bicolor in Australia). Taxonomic treatment of the genus has shifted over time: the North American species list was substantially revised by bryologist Jan-Peter Frahm in 1980 following study of more than 1,000 herbarium specimens, and current checklists continue to be refined — the most recent North American checklist lists 18 species, though only 17 are currently accepted in the region due to a past misidentification.
Etymology
The genus name Campylopus comes from the Greek campylos ("curved") and pous ("foot"), referring to the setae (capsule-bearing stalks), which curve downwards.
Distribution
Campylopus occurs worldwide, with species recorded in North America, Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Atlantic Islands, the Pacific Islands, and Australia.
Taxonomy Notes
Campylopus Brid. was published in 1818 and is placed in the family Leucobryaceae, order Dicranales (GBIF backbone); some older or regional checklists have alternatively placed it in Dicranaceae. Species counts vary widely by source (roughly 180 per a general Wikipedia estimate vs. 357 accepted taxa in the GBIF backbone), reflecting ongoing regional revisions — for example, Jan-Peter Frahm's 1980 revision of the North American species list, based on over 1,000 herbarium specimens.
