Varicellaria velata occurs in the Alps

Varicellaria velata in its current circumscription has a worldwide distribution and is common in tropical and subtropical habitats but also extends into the temperate zone. In Europe it has a subatlantic distribution and has also been recorded from a single locality in Austria for the Alps. This record has recently been interpreted as dubious and consequently, the species was not listed in recent checklists of the Alps and Austria. We here report a new collection of this species from Austria and confirm the identity of the previous record of Varicellaria velata confirming its presence in the Alps.

Automated summary

Varicellaria velata is a widely distributed species globally, commonly found in tropical and subtropical habitats but also extending into temperate zones. In Europe, it is considered to have a subatlantic distribution and there have been records of its presence in the Alps in Austria. However, there have been recent doubts about these records, but our new collection in Austria confirms the presence of Varicellaria velata in the Alps.