A Noteworthy Disjunction of the Epiphytic Moss Lewinskya graphiomitria

Abstract

Lewinskya graphiomitria (Müll. Hal. ex Beckett) F. Lara, Garilleti & Goffinet, hitherto considered a New Zealand endemic species, has recently been repeatedly found at different localities in China, thereby representing an intriguing example of a remote intercontinental disjunction among the bryophytes. Herein, the current distribution of this species is reviewed and mapped and its disjunct occurrence in the two widely separated areas is discussed. Maps showing the quantification of extrapolated projection areas for L. graphiomitria are also presented. A possible way of its migration from New Zealand to Asia or vice versa is explained.