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.
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