A key to the lichens of Terra Nova Bay (Victoria Land, Continental Antarctica)

After a brief summary of precious Italian lichenological research in Antartica, a key is provided for the identification of the 57 species of lichens and lichenicolous fungi which were hitherto recorded form the Terra Nova Bay area (Victoria Land, Continental Antarctica). The key is based on the analysis of the samples collected during the Italian Antarctic expeditions, and preserved in the TSB lichen herbarium. Due to the high incidence of broad-ranging, often bipolar or subcosmopolitan species, the lichen flora of the survey area seems to be a young one, which mainly originated by long-distance dispersal in the Quaternary period.