Abstract
Studies on the bryophyte flora of the Southern Ocean islands and in the Antarctic are briefly reviewed and the current state of knowledge of the moss flora of Îles Kerguelen is discussed. <em>Macrocoma tenue</em> (Hook. &amp; Grev.) Vitt is recorded from the Îles Kerguelen archipelago and this constitutes the first record of the genus <em>Macrocoma</em> (Müll. Hal.) Grout from the Subantarctic. The local plants of the species are characterized and illustrated and their ecology is discussed. Global distribution of <em>M. tenue</em> is reviewed and mapped. It is suggested that the type subspecies of <em>M. tenue</em> is a Gondwanan relictual taxon, which could have evolved on this supercontinent prior to its break-up and, subsequently, it reached Îles Kerguelen where it survived during the Pleistocene glacial epoch.
Highlights
The cool and cold areas in the Southern Hemisphere centered on the South Pole consist of the largely ice-covered Antarctic continent and a number of small and highly isolated islands or groups of islands widely scattered in the vast Southern Ocean
The northern limit of the Antarctic biome is delimited by the Antarctic Convergence or Polar Frontal Zone, a seasonally varying oceanic boundary encircling Antarctica, where cold northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet and sink below the relatively warmer waters of the Subantarctic
The type subspecies is restricted to Africa and East African Indian Ocean islands, southeastern Australia, and New Zealand and it is generally characterized by having shorter leaves
Summary
The moss flora of the islands in the Kerguelen Biogeographical Province in the South Indian Ocean is still inadequately studied, they are phytogeographically the most interesting in the Subantarctic. These small specks of land are very isolated and logistically not accessible, but this province is a significant center of endemism with some 20 taxa [50,51,52,53,54,55] and one genus [56] of moss endemic to this region. Macrocoma tenue (Hook. & Grev.) Vitt, is added to the moss flora of the Îles Crozet archipelago and represents the first report of the genus in the Subantarctic biome
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