Proceedings of the 7th and 8th Symposia on Collection Building and Natural History Studies in Asia and the Pacific Rim,
edited by Y. Tomida et al., National Science Museum Monographs, (34): 141–147, 2006.

Correlations between the Moss Floras of Japan and New Zealand
Masanobu Higuchi1 and Allan J. Fife2
1

Department of Botany, National Science Museum, 4–1–1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–0005 Japan(e-mail: higuchi@kahaku.go.jp)
2
Landcare Research, PO Box 69, Lincoln 8152, New Zealand(e-mail: fifea@landcareresearch.co.nz)

Abstract The moss floras of Japan and New Zealand are reviewed based on the literature. The twocountries have comparatively rich and unique moss floras for their land areas, which might be due toclimatic diversity, locally high precipitation, complicated topography, as well as geological history.
Japan and New Zealand also have in common many tectonically active hotspots with frequent volcanic activity and earthquakes. The moss floras of these two widely-separated areas have a total ofover 1,500 species. A comparison of the mosses recorded from Japan and New Zealand reveals that
the Japanese moss flora is richer than that of New Zealand, but that the endemism rate at the species
level in New Zealand is higher than that of Japan. Although their moss floras are different in their
species composition, nearly 90 species are common to both areas. Of the species with disjunctive
ranges, several might be considered more or less cosmopolitan with little geographical significance.
Others are extremely interesting, and require further studies and explanations.
Key words:

mosses, flora, Japan, New Zealand, phytogeography

Introduction
Japan and New Zealand consist of the main islands and many smaller islands, and are situated in the western region of the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese archipelago has a northeast/southwest orientation and consists of four main islands and many smaller islands, and stretches 3,000
km between 24°N and 45°N latitude. The highest peak is Mt. Fuji on Honshu Island at 3,776 m.
The total land mass is approximately 373,000 km2. On the other hand, New Zealand consists ofthree main islands and several smaller islands, and extends 3,000 km between 30°S and 53°S latitude. The highest peak of 3,764 m is Mt. Cook on the South Island. The total land mass is approximately 270,000 km2. Japan and New Zealand have basically temperate and oceanic climates,
but their mountainous topographies contribute to their widely varying climate. Additionally theyalso have in common many tectonically active hotspots with frequent volcanic activity and earthquakes.
Japan and New Zealand have rich and unique moss floras for their land areas. The moss floraof Japan has been compiled by Iishiba (1929), Sakurai (1954), Noguchi (1959, 1974), Iwatsuki &Noguchi (1973), Noguchi (1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994) and Iwatsuki (1991, 2004), and that of
New Zealand is described in detail in other article in this proceedings by Fife (2006).
This article aims to compare the moss flora of Japan with that of New Zealand based on updated data, and to discuss their relationship.

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Materials and Methods
The comparison was mainly based on the checklists of Japan (Iwatsuki, 2004) and New
Zealand (Fife, 1995). Recent taxonomic treatments and new records on the moss floras were also
adopted. The data of distribution were from Noguchi (1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994), Wijk et al.
(1959, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969) and recent floral and revisional studies.
Results and Discussion
Comparison between the moss floras of Japan and New Zealand
Iwatsuki (2004) and Fife (1995) listed 1,135 species of mosses from Japan and 523 fromNew Zealand respectively (Table 1). The two countries have comparatively rich moss floras fortheir land areas, which might to due to climatic diversity, locally high precipitation, complicatedtopography, as well as geological history. In New Zealand, however, the rich moss flora might be
attributed to climatic and topographic diversity rather than geological age.
In the number of species, Japanese moss flora is richer than that of New Zealand, whichmight be due to close relationship with Asian continent. On the other hand, the number of endemic species in Japanese and New Zealand moss floras is 101 (9%) and 108 (21%) respectively.
The endemism rate at the species level in New Zealand is distinctly higher than that of Japan.
The reason why the endemism rate is so high in New Zealand is not clear, but it should be notedthat New Zealand is more isolated from a continental land mass than Japan.
Twelve families are present in Japan but absent from New Zealand, such as Bryoxiphiaceae(Bryoxiphium norvegicum subsp. japonicum), Disceliaceae (Discelium nudum), Fontinalaceae(Fontinalis antipyretica and F. hypnoides), Leucodontaceae (Dozya japonica, Felipponea esquirolii and Leucodon spp.), Pleuroziopsidaceae (Pleuroziopsis ruthenica), Prionodontaceae (Taiwanobryum speciosum), Rhachitheciaceae (Rhachithecium), Schistostegaceae (Schistostega pennata), Symphyodontaceae (Symphyodon perrottetii), Takakiaceae (Takakia lepidozioides, Fig. 1)
and Trachypodaceae (Duthiella spp., Pseudospiridentopsis horrida, Trachypus bicolor and T. humilis). The families absent from Japan but present in New Zealand are twelve mainly differentiated in the Southern Hemisphere, such as Calomniaceae (Calomnion complanatum and C.
brownseyi), Cyrtopodaceae (Cyrtopus setosus), Daltoniaceae (Catharomnion ciliatum, Crosbya
nervosa, C. straminea and Daltonia splachnoides), Dicnemonaceae (Dicnemon spp. and Mesotus
celatus), Echinodiaceae (Echinodium spp.), Ephemeropsaceae (Ephemeropsis trentepohlioides),Gigaspermaceae (Gigaspermum repens), Lepyrodontaceae (Lepyrodon australis and L. lagurus),
Mittenicaceae (Mittenia plumula), Phyllogonicaceae (Catagonium nitens and Orthorrhynchium
elegans), Pleurophascaceae (Pleurophascum grandiglobum var. decurrens) and Ptychomniaceae(Cladomnion ericoides, Dichelodontium nitidum, Glyphothecium sciuroides, Hampeella spp.,
Ptychomnion aciculare (Fig. 2), P. densifolium and Tetraphidopsis pusilla).
Table 1.

Comparisons of moss floras of Japan and New Zealand.

Families
GeneraSpecies
Taxa

Japan

New ZealandCommon

Total

60
301
1135
1272

61
211
523
549

48
130
94
96

73
413
1564
1725

Correlations between the Moss Floras of Japan and New Zealnd

Fig. 1.

Habit of Takakia lepidozioides.

Fig. 2.

Habit of Ptychomnion aciculare.

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Analysis of the species common to Japan and New Zealand
Among a total of 1,564 species recognized from Japan and New Zealand, 93 species are common to both regions. This is 8% of the Japanese and 18% of New Zealand moss floras.
Species Common to Japan and New Zealand
Amblystegium serpens (N)Amblystegium varium (N)Aulacomnium palustre (N)Barbula convoluta (C)Barbula unguiculata (C)Brachymenium exile (PAL)
Brachythecium campestre (N)Brachythecium plumosum (N)Brachythecium rutabulum (C)Brachythecium salebrosum (N)Brachythecium velutinum (N)Bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum (C)Bryum algovicum (N)Bryum argenteum (C)Bryum caespiticium (N)Bryum coronatum (PAN)
Bryum dichotomum (O)Bryum pachytheca (O)Bryum pallescens (C)Bryum pseudotriquetrum (C)Bryum radiculosum (O)Bryum rubens (N)Buxbaumia aphylla (N)Campyliadelphus stellatus (N)Campylopodium medium (PAL)
Campylopus introflexus (C)Ceratodon purpureus (C)Climacium dendroides (N)Cratoneuron filicinum (C)Dicranella heteromalla (N)Dicranum scoparium (N)Distichium capillaceum (C)Drepanocladus aduncus (C)Eccremidium minutum (O)Encalypta rhaptocarpa (N)Encalypta vulgaris (N)Ephemerum serratum (N)Fissidens adianthoides (N)Fissidens curvatus (O)Fissidens dubius (N)Fissidens oblongifolius (PAN)
Fissidens taxifolius (C)Funaria hygrometrica (C)Gymnostomum calcareum (C)Haplohymenium pseudotriste (PAL)
Hedwigia ciliata (C)Hennediella heimii (O)Hylocomium splendens (N)Hypnum cupressiforme (C)Isopterygiopsis pulchella (N)Isopterygium albescens (PAL)
Isopterygium minutirameum (PAL)
Kindbergia praelonga (C)Leptobryum pyriforme (C)Leptodictyum riparium (C)Limprichtia revolvens (N)Micromitrium tenerum (O)Neckera pennata (C)Plagiopus oederiana (N)Pohlia camptotrachela (N)Pohlia cruda (C)Pohlia elongata (N)Pohlia nutans (C)Pohlia wahlenbergii (C)Polytrichastrum formosum (C)Polytrichum commune (C)Polytrichum juniperinum (C)Pseudephemerum nitidum (O)Racomitrium lanuginosum (C)Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (N)Rosulabryum billardieri (PAN)
Rosulabryum capillare (C)Saelania glaucescens (C)Sanionia uncinata (N)Sarmenthypnum sarmentosum (O)Schistidium apocarpum (C)Schistidium rivulare (O)Sphagnum compactum (C)Sphagnum squarrosum (N)Sphagnum subnitens (O)Correlations between the Moss Floras of Japan and New Zealnd

Sphagnum teres (N)Straminergon stramineum (N)
Tetrodontium brownianum (N)Thuidium cymbifolium (PAL)
Timmia norvegica (O)Tortella fragilis (N)145

Tortula mucronifolia (N)Tortula muralis (C)Trichostomum brachydontium (N)Warnstorfia exannulata (N)Warnstorfia fluitans (C)Weissia controversa (C)The species common to Japan and New Zealand include several elements of distribution.
They are classified roughly into the following floristic groups: circumboreal-like species (N; 37
spp., 40%), cosmopolitan (C; 35 spp., 38%), palaeotropical species (PAL; 6 spp., 7%), pantropical species (PAN; 3 spp., 3%), or others (O; 12 spp., 13%).
The circumboreal-like species, widely occurring in the Northern Hemisphere and New
Zealand, are represented by Aulacomnium palustre and Climacium dendroides (Fig. 3). The cosmopolitan species, occurring widely without relation to any continent or vegetation types, includes Bryum argenteum, etc. The palaeotropical species, occurring in tropical regions except
America, are represented by Isopterygium albescens. Japan and New Zealand are often the northern and the southern limit of distribution for palaeotropical species. The pantropical species, occurring on all continents in tropical regions, are represented by Campylopodium medium (Fig. 4).
Tropical storms which blow from the equator region to north and south might contribute to theirrange extensions. Eccremidium minutum, an example of the others, has been known from throughAustralia and the North Island of New Zealand. Subsequently this species was recorded fromJapan by Iwatsuki & Takaki (1979), who considered that this was introduced and long-distancedispersal by wind is not possible because of large spores.
The bipolar distribution is considered to be one of the most interesting disjunctive patterns inplants. According to Du Rietz (1940), the taxa with bipolar distribution are defined as taxa “distributed both in the boreal and austral zone but absent from the tropical lowlands, with or without
intermediate populations in tropical mountain areas.” Schofield (1974) discussed the bipolar disjunctive mosses mainly occurring in New Zealand. He pointed out that fourteen species have

Fig. 3.

Distribution of Climacium dendroides (after Schofield 1974).

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Masanobu Higuchi and Allan J. Fife

Fig. 4.

Distribution of Campylopodium medium (after Giese & Frahm 1985).

been introduced into New Zealand since the colonization of these islands by Europeans. Amongthem the species common to Japan are as follows: Barbula convoluta, B. unguiculata, Bryumrubens, Campylopus introflexus and Psudephemerum nitidum. Although long-distance dispersal
is one possible reason for the remarkable disjuncts, there has no direct evidence to support it. The
origin of the distribution in these “bipolar” species could be investigated using molecular techniques.
Acknowledgments
This study was carried out under a research program, “Collection Building and Natural History Studies in Asia and the Pacific Rim,” of the National Science Museum, Tokyo. Financial assistance from the National Science Museum, Tokyo, is acknowledged.
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