Silver hair moss (Fabronia pusilla) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 4

Distribution

Global range

Fabronia pusilla has a western North American – western Europe/North African distribution, principally in Mediterranean-type climates. It has been found in western North America, Mexico, Europe, and North Africa (Buck 1994). Crum and Anderson (1981) report that it is also present in the Dominican Republic, but this is in error (Buck 1994). In western North America it has been reported from southern British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California (Lawton 1971, Grout 1928 – 1940, Koch 1950; Fig. 2). The Canadian populations appear to be at the northern limit of the distribution of this species; the species is more widespread and more plentiful southwards.

Canadian range

Fabronia pusilla is restricted to southern British Columbia where it has been found at two locations: at the west end of Sumas Mountain east of Abbotsford in the south-western part of the province, and at Deer Park near Lower Arrow Lake in the Kootenay Valley in the south-central part of the province. The Arrow Lake site is now submerged behind a dam, and F. pusilla has not been collected from the area since Macoun’s collections in the late 1800s. It was last collected from the Abbotsford site in March 1968.

If still extant in the Sumas Mountain site, its total range of occurrence is less than 0.1 square kilometers.

Figure 2. Approximate distribution of Fabronia pusilla in North America and Mexico(gray area approximates the distribution in the United States, the black dot is the Sumas Mountain Canadian location and the circle is the extirpated Lower Arrow Lake location).

Figure 2. Approximate distribution of Fabronia pusilla in North America and Mexico(gray area approximates the distribution in the United States, the black dot is the Sumas Mountain Canadian location and the circle is the extirpated Lower Arrow Lake location)

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