The lichens of Marion and Prince Edward Islands

Abstract

A total of 100 lichen species are listed for the islands. Six species
are described as new to science: Arctomia subantarctica Øvstedal, Arthothelium
evanescens Øvstedal, Coccotrema stellata Øvstedal, Ramonia subantarctica Øvstedal, Thelocarpon
subantarcticum Øvstedal and Verrucaria umbilicata Øvstedal. Four
new combinations are made: Amandinea subplicata (Nyl.) Øvstedal, Poeltinula
cerebrinella (Nyl.) Øvstedal, Verrucaria nigra (Müll. Arg.) Øvstedal
(from Cape Horn) and Verrucaria tesselata (Dodge) Øvstedal (from Heard
Island). One third of the islands' lichen species also occur in the Northern
Hemisphere. Of the Southern Hemisphere species, 24 are exclusively known from
areas to the east of the islands (Kerguelen Province Islands, Australia, New
Zealand, contrasting to only six species recorded exclusively to the west (South
Georgia, Antarctic Peninsula). This suggests a distribution against the present
predominantly westerly winds. The large number of seemingly endemic species
is suggested to indicate the incomplete knowledge of the lichen floras of the
sub-Antarctic islands.

South African Journal of Botany 67 (4) 2001, 552-572