''Skottsbergia'' is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

,''Skottsbergia paradoxa''.
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. of haplolepideous

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es (

Dicranidae The Dicranidae are a widespread and diverse subclass of mosses in class Bryopsida, with many species of dry or disturbed areas. They are distinguished by their spores; the peristome Peristome (from the Greek ''peri'', meaning 'around' or 'about', ...

) in the family

Ditrichaceae Ditrichaceae is a family of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae) in the order Dicranales. Genera The family Ditrichaceae contains over twenty genera: *'' Astomiopsis'' *'' Bryomanginia'' *'' Ceratodon'' *'' Cheilothela'' *'' Cladastomum ...

containing the single species ''Skottsbergia paradoxa''. 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 ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, where it is an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

known from just a few locations. It occurs in the southernmost parts of Argentina, growing on South Georgia and

Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (English: ''Big Island of the Land of Fire'') also formerly ''Isla de Xátiva''setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

and it grows up to 10 centimeters tall in some conditions. The genus was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

Jules Cardot Jules Cardot (18 August 1860 – 22 November 1934) was a French people, French botany, botanist and bryology, bryologist considered in his time one of the world's leading experts on the mosses of Antarctica. He was the son-in-law of botanist Lou ...

in Rev. Bryol. vol.32 on page 47 in 1905. The genus name of ''Skottsbergia'' is in honour of

Carl Johan Fredrik Skottsberg Carl Johan Fredrik Skottsberg (1 December 1880 – 14 June 1963) was a Swedish botanist and explorer of Antarctica. Life Skottsberg was born in Karlshamn on 1 December 1880 the son of Carl Adolf Skottsberg a schoolmaster and his wife, Maria L ...

(1880–1963), who was a Swedish botanist and explorer of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

References

Dicranales Endemic flora of Argentina Endangered plants Monotypic moss genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Bryophyte-stub