''Dirina approximata'' is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling),

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...

in the family Roccellaceae. It was formally described by

Alexander Zahlbruckner Alexander Zahlbruckner (31 May 1860, Svätý Jur – 1938, Vienna) was an Austrian- Hungarian botanist who specialized in the study of lichens. Johann Babtist Zahlbruckner, an earlier Austrian botanist, was his grandfather. From 1878 to 1883 ...

in 1931. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

, where it grows on the bark of various trees and shrubs. Its sister species is '' Dirina sorocarpa'', which is endemic to the

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

Islands; Anders Tehler suggests that the large

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

between the two is the result of "ancient long distance dispersal event".

References

approximata Lichen species Lichens described in 1931 Taxa named by Alexander Zahlbruckner Lichens of the Galápagos Islands {{Arthoniomycetes-stub