Biogeographical affinities
BIOGEOGRAPHICAL AFFINITIES OF NEW ZEALAND LICHENS
Of the 1706 taxa treated in this account, the following biogeographic groupings are recognised.
Endemic taxa: [388 taxa (23%)]. Confined to New Zealand only, and including the subantarctic islands. Only two endemic genera are known, viz. Labyrintha and Rhizolechia, both monospecific.
Australasian taxa: [304 taxa (18%)]. Occurring in New Zealand and Australia. Three subgroups are known in this element: (1) New Zealand, Tasmania and the subantarctic islands; (2) New Zealand and Australia and the subantarctic islands; (3) subantarctic islands and Tasmania.
Austral taxa: [175 taxa (10%)]. Occurring in New Zealand, the subantarctic islands and southern South America.
Cosmopolitan taxa: [367 taxa (22%)]. Occurring on all known landmasses.
Bipolar taxa: [171 taxa (10%)]. Occurring in New Zealand (usually in highalpine habitats) and in boreal (high altitude, high latitude) localities in the Northern Hemisphere. Also present in high-altitude, high-latitude habitats in southern South America.
Western Pacific (Indo-Malesian) taxa: [27 taxa (2%)]. Occurring on the Asiatic seaboard: Japan, China, Malesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, the E coast of Australia and New Zealand.
Pantropical taxa: [117 taxa (7%)]. Occurring in all major tropical areas of the world.
Palaeotropical taxa: [114 tax (7%)]. Occurring E of and including Easter I., to St Helena – most of the Pacific Islands are included here.
Circum-Pacific taxa: [10 taxa (0.6%)]. Occurring on the seaboards of North and South America, and of Asia and including Australia and New Zealand.
Southern Xeric taxa: [4 taxa (0.2%)]. Occurring in South Africa, Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand, usually defined by winter-rainfall, summer-drought conditions.
