''Colura'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

type of

liverwort Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...

s and consists of approximately 80-90 species, that are distributed generally in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

. Species in this genus are no larger than a couple millimetres in size and may possess small water sac organs formed from fused leaf margins that trap small

ciliate The ciliates are a group of alveolates characterized by the presence of hair-like organelles called cilia, which are identical in structure to flagellum, eukaryotic flagella, but are in general shorter and present in much larger numbers, with a ...

s. It is because of this trapping mechanism that some species have been suspected of

carnivory A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

, even as early as 1893. One such species, '' Colura zoophaga'', was the subject of a study that aimed to investigate the assumed carnivorous habit among liverworts. The results confirmed that ciliates were captured and died within the water sac traps, which are not unlike the bladder traps of ''

Utricularia ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, B ...

''. Whether the species attract, digest, or absorb the prey has not been confirmed, however. The epiphytic habit of the genus, requiring all nutrients to be acquired from rainwater, is similar to the habit of known carnivorous plants.Barthlott, W., Porembski, S., Seine, R., and Theisen, I. (2007). ''The Curious World of Carnivorous Plants: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Biology and Cultivation''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. pp. 180-181.Barthlott, W., Fischer, E., Frahm, J.-P., and Seine, R. (2000)
First experimental evidence for zoophagy in the hepatic ''Colura''
''Plant Biology (Stuttgart)'', 2: 93-97.

Species

98 species are accepted by

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

(as of June 2023); *'' Colura acroloba'' *'' Colura amboinensis'' *'' Colura andoi'' *'' Colura apiculata'' *'' Colura ari'' *'' Colura australiensis'' *'' Colura benoistii'' *'' Colura berghenii'' *'' Colura bicornis'' *'' Colura bisvoluta'' *'' Colura brevistyla'' *'' Colura bulbosa'' *'' Colura calderae'' *'' Colura calyptrifolia'' *'' Colura clavigera'' *'' Colura clementis'' *'' Colura conica'' *'' Colura corniantha'' *'' Colura corynephora'' *'' Colura corynophora'' *'' Colura crenulata'' *'' Colura crispiloba'' *'' Colura cristata'' *'' Colura cylindrica'' *'' Colura cymbalifera'' *'' Colura denticulata'' *'' Colura digitalis'' *'' Colura dusenii'' *'' Colura fastigiata'' *'' Colura fistulosa'' *'' Colura galeata'' *'' Colura greig-smithii'' *'' Colura hattoriana'' *'' Colura hedbergiana'' *'' Colura heimii'' *'' Colura hemisphaerica'' *'' Colura herzogii'' *'' Colura hirta'' *'' Colura humbertii'' *'' Colura imperfecta'' *'' Colura inflata'' *'' Colura inornata'' *'' Colura inuii'' *'' Colura involvens'' *'' Colura irrorata'' *'' Colura itatyana'' *'' Colura javanica'' *'' Colura jovet-astiae'' *'' Colura junghuhniana'' *'' Colura karstenii'' *'' Colura kilimanjarica'' *'' Colura koponenii'' *'' Colura leratii'' *'' Colura lingua'' *'' Colura mauritiana'' *'' Colura maxima'' *'' Colura medusa'' *'' Colura meijeri'' *'' Colura mizutanii'' *'' Colura mosenii'' *'' Colura naumannii'' *'' Colura norrisii'' *'' Colura obesa'' *'' Colura obvoluta'' *'' Colura ornata'' *'' Colura ornithocephala'' *'' Colura palawanensis'' *'' Colura pallida'' *'' Colura patagonica'' *'' Colura pluridentata'' *'' Colura pseudocalyptrifolia'' *'' Colura pulcherrima'' *'' Colura queenslandica'' *'' Colura rhynchophora'' *'' Colura saccophylla'' *'' Colura saroltae'' *'' Colura schusteri'' *'' Colura siamensis'' *'' Colura simplicior'' *'' Colura speciosa'' *'' Colura streimannii'' *'' Colura strophiolata'' *'' Colura superba'' *'' Colura tenuicornis'' *'' Colura thomeensis'' *'' Colura tixieri'' *'' Colura tortifolia'' *'' Colura tutuilana'' *'' Colura ulei'' *'' Colura undulata'' *'' Colura usambarica'' *'' Colura valida'' *'' Colura verdoornii'' *'' Colura vietnamensis'' *'' Colura vitiensis'' *'' Colura zoophaga''

References

Porellales genera Lejeuneaceae {{Bryophyte-stub