Herpetofauna of the Argentinean impenetrable Great Chaco

Abstract

The Great Chaco is a region of nearly 1,000,000 km2 extended through the plains of Northern and central Argentina, Western Paraguay, Southeastern Bolivia, and the extreme Western edge of Mato Grosso do Sul state in Brazil (Pennington et al. 2000). Originally dominated by xerophytic semi-deciduous forests, the area has been extensively cleared for timber production and agriculture over the last century; only small patches of native vegetation remain (Zak and Cabido 2002). The Impenetrable region (Northern region of the Chaco and Santiago del Estero Provinces and Eastern part of Salta Province, Argentina) is one of the biggest remnant patches of native dry forest (Bertonatti and Corcuera 2000). Most of the Impenetrable woodlands are found in the Chaco Province, and are legally protected by two fairly new Provincial Parks (P. P.): The “Fuerte Esperanza” P. P. (283 km2), created in 2001 (SGPC 2001), and the “Loro Hablador” P. P. (175 km2), created in 2004 (SGPC 2004).