Plants to 2 cm tall. Leaves ovate-spathulate, acuminate, to 3.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide; margin typically entire, rarely serrulate, reflexed in mid-leaf, decurrent by 1 or 2 rows of cells; costa c. 140 µm wide, ending c. 6–10 cells below apex in lower leaves and short-excurrent in upper leaves, with an awn to 1.2 mm long, green or more commonly red, at least in older leaves. Laminal cells bulging; marginal cells rectangular at the base and quadrate toward apex, 60–150 × 15–30 µm; inner basal cells long-rectangular (except the most basal cells), 75–180 × 20–40 µm; upper cells 45–110 × 20–45 µm.

Perigonia bulbous, terminal; perigonial leaves ovate, abruptly contracted into a long acumen. Perichaetial leaves larger than vegetative leaves and with a long-excurrent costa. Calyptra to 1.2 mm long. Setae straight to flexuose, to 11 mm long and 0.1 mm thick, orange-yellow. Capsules fusiform, to 4.5 mm long and 0.5 mm wide, yellowish green to reddish brown; mouth narrow; urn urceolate, to 1.1 mm long, usually dark reddish brown; neck well differentiated, to 4 mm long, gradually tapered to seta, concolorous with the urn or paler, occasionally arcuate, hollow and with a pseudocolumella at maturity; exothecial cells of urn short-rectangular to quadrate to wider than long; walls strongly thickened; lumina quadrate to irregular or narrowly oblate towards mouth; columella protruding from urn at maturity. Stomata few, in upper part of neck. Operculum conical or more rarely nearly flat, to 0.3 mm long. Exostome teeth yellow to orange, inserted well below capsule mouth, recurved when dry, completely closing in the capsule mouth when moist, to 180 µm long and 135 µm wide; OPL thick, papillose-vermicular; PPL thin, smooth. Spores 9–12 µm diameter.

Known from W.A., S.A., south-eastern Qld, N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic. and Tas.; mainly in Eucalyptus forests, from sea level to 1600 m. Also in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Campbell Is., Chatham Is., Aucklands Is. and Macquarie Is.

The species tends to be coprophilous, with many populations sampled from cattle dung or other animal remains. However, numerous collections refer to tree trunks, soil and even rocks as substrata. Although this may suggest that T. octoblepharum is a facultative coprophile, it is possible that the original “animal” substratum was simply no longer obvious at the time of collection.

Splachnum octoblepharum Hook., Musc. Exot. 2: 167 (1819); Eremodon octoblepharum (Hook.) Hook.f., Fl. Nov.-Zel. 2: 94 (‘1855’) [1854]; Tayloria octoblepharum (Hook.) Mitt., Trans. & Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria 19: 65 (1882); Dissodon octoblepharum (Hook.) Paris, Index Bryol. 385 (1896).
Type: “In truncis arborum emortuarum in Insula Van Diemen” [Tas.], R.Brown; lectotype: BM, fide B.Goffinet, Fl. Australia 51: 410 (2006) [2 duplicates]; isolectotype: BM, E, G.

Taxonomic synonyms

Splachnum octoblepharum Hook. var. pyriforme Hook.f. & Wilson, Fl. Antarct. 1: 123 (1844); Dissodon plagiopus (Mont.) Müll.Hal. var. pyriformis (Hook.f. & Wilson) A.Jaeger, Ber. Tätigk. St. Gallischen Naturwiss. Ges. 1872–73: 194 (1874); Tayloria octoblepharum (Hook.) Mitt. var. pyriformis (Hook.f. & Wilson) Watts & Whitel., Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 30 (Suppl.): 108 (1906).
Type: Campbell’s Island, [J.D.]Hooker; lectotype: NY, fide B.Goffinet, Fl. Australia 51: 410 (2006).

Splachnum octoblepharum Hook. var. major Hook.f. & Wilson, Fl. Antarct. 1: 124 (1844); Dissodon plagiopus (Mont.) Müll.Hal. var. major (Hook.f. & Wilson) A.Jaeger, Ber. Tätigk. St. Gallischen Naturwiss. Ges. 1872–73: 194 (1874); Tayloria octoblepharum (Hook.) Mitt. var. major (Hook.f. & Wilson) Watts & Whitel., Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 30 (Suppl.): 108 (1906).
Type: Campbell’s Island, [J.D.]Hooker; lectotype: NY, fide B.Goffinet, Fl. Australia 51: 410 (2006).

Dissodon cuspidatus Müll.Hal., Syn. Musc. Frond. 1: 142 (1848), nom. illeg., based on the same type as T. octoblepharum.

Dissodon plagiopus var. minor Müll.Hal. & Hampe, Linnaea 26: 491 (1855).
Type: “Irish Town”; nom. inval. n.v.

Dissodon novae-valesiae Müll.Hal., Genera Musc. Frond. 124 (1900); Tayloria novae-valesiae (Müll.Hal.) Watts & Whitel., Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 30 (Suppl.): 107 (1906).
Type: “Östliche Australien, von der Provinz Victoria durch die Provinz Neu-Süd-Wales bis nach Queensland”; syntype: n.v.

Dissodon nanocarpus Müll.Hal., Genera Musc. Frond. 124 (1900), nom. inval.

Dissodon pallescens Müll.Hal. ex Watts & Whitel., Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 30 (Suppl.): 108 (1906); Tayloria pallescens Watts & Whitel., Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 30 (Suppl.): 108 (1906), nom. inval. (in synon.).
Type: Murrumbeena, Vic., 1886, F.M.Reader; syntype: CHR.

W.A.: Cannington, S of Perth, G.E. & G. DuRietz 4676: 5 (WELT).

S.A.: NW of Mt Gambier, K.Stove 975 (CANB).

Qld: Palling Yard Ck, Stanthorpe, H.Streimann 52935 (NY).

N.S.W.: Central Tablelands, W.W.Watts 10141 (NSW).

A.C.T.: Brindabella Ra., H.Streimann 1354 (CANB).

Vic.: Bonang, H.Streimann 35420 (MICH).

Tas.: Arthurs L., Central Highlands, A.Moscal 17248 (HO).

Tayloria octoblepharum is by far the most common of the Australian species, and thus, not surprisingly, the most variable, particularly in the shape and size of the leaves. However, spathulate leaves, broadly reflexed margins, the filiform acumen and fusiform capsules with recurved peristome teeth are diagnostic. One specimen (Streimann 53094, NY) was found with two setae rather than one emanating from a single perichaetium. The variety pyriforme was distinguished by the narrow apophysis, a feature that is common and not particularly stable within populations, hence the variety is not recognised here. Similarly, var. major is placed in synonymy with the typical variety. This was defined by the 16 teeth being paired but not fused, a character that the only type material uncovered at NY failed to reveal, since all capsules were immature.

Buck et al. (2002, p. 107) referred to this species as T. octoblepharis, rather than T. octoblepharum. The use of “octoblepharum” as an adjective rather than a noun may, however, be erroneous. Indeed, as pointed out by Buck (pers. comm.), Hooker compared the peristome of this Tayloria to that of the genus Octoblepharum. Consequently, it appears that he is using the epithet “octoblepharum” as a noun in apposition, rather than an adjective. Thus it should remain unchanged in Tayloria as “octoblepharum”.

J.H.Willis, Victorian Naturalist 67: 31, fig. G (1950); G.A.M.Scott & I.G.Stone, The Mosses of Southern Australia 266, pl. 50 (1976); R.D.Seppelt, The Moss Flora of Macquarie Island 265, fig. 103 (2004).

Buck, W.R., Vitt, D.H. & Malcolm, W.M. (2002). Key to the genera of Australian mosses. Flora of Australia Supplementary Series 14. (Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra).

Goffinet, B. (2012). Australian Mosses Online 53. Splachnaceae. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Version 22 June 2012.