Identifying Endemism Areas: An Example Using Neotropical Lizards

Abstract

Abstract. Areas of endemism are central to biogeography. They are used as study units by analytical biogeographic methods and as a criterion to identify areas for conservation. Liolaemidae is one of the most diverse groups of lizards in terms of species richness and environmental diversity. Over the last decade, the number of new species recorded for the genera Liolaemus and Phymaturus has increased exponentially. Most of them have restricted distributions, low population density, and high extinction risk. These features make this family one of the main environmental components of the ecosystems they inhabit. Furthermore, it has been long recognized that Liolaemidae species, especially within Phymaturus, are endemic, but that recognition was made intuitively and mostly equating endemic with “having a restricted distribution.” In this study, we provide methodological confirmation of the high degree of endemism of the species of Liolaemus and Phymaturus, with endemic species defined as those “having congrue...