Reptiles of Chubut province, Argentina: richness, diversity, conservation status and geographic distribution maps.

Ignacio Minoli,Luciano Javier Avila,Mariana Morando

doi:10.3897/zookeys.498.7476

Abstract

An accurate estimation of species and population geographic ranges is essential for species-focused studies and conservation and management plans. Knowledge of the geographic distributions of reptiles from Patagonian Argentina is in general limited and dispersed over manuscripts from a wide variety of topics. We completed an extensive review of reptile species of central Patagonia (Argentina) based on information from a wide variety of sources. We compiled and checked geographic distribution records from published literature and museum records, including extensive new data from the LJAMM-CNP (CENPAT-CONICET) herpetological collection. Our results show that there are 52 taxa recorded for this region and the highest species richness was seen in the families Liolaemidae and Dipsadidae with 31 and 10 species, respectively. The Patagónica was the phytogeographic province most diverse in species and Phymaturus was the genus of conservation concern most strongly associated with it. We present a detailed species list with geographical information, richness species, diversity analyses with comparisons across phytogeographical provinces, conservation status, taxonomic comments and distribution maps for all of these taxa.

Highlights

Precise estimation of species’ geographic ranges based on accurate taxonomic identification is central for species-focused studies and conservation and management plans (Feeley and Silman 2011, Katzner et al 2011)
The northern and central areas of Patagonia have changed since the 1890s and have undergone steady change as a result of human activity, but there has been no clear understanding of the resulting effects on biodiversity
The locality in which Daciuk and Miranda (1980) cited a specimen identified as L. melanops was subsequently recognized to harbor populations of L. canqueli (Cei and Scolaro 1980, 1983). We considered these records of L. kingii, L. lineomaculatus and L. melanops as potentially erroneous, based on the taxonomic and distributional updates reviewed and considered in this work

Summary

Introduction

Precise estimation of species’ geographic ranges based on accurate taxonomic identification is central for species-focused studies and conservation and management plans (Feeley and Silman 2011, Katzner et al 2011). Sheep overgrazing (Bisigato and Bertiller 1997, Cesa and Paruelo 2011) has led to a desertification process in the Monte and Patagonian Steppe ecoregions (Ares et al 1995, Aguiar et al 1996). Another factor that may affect the diversity and ecological dynamics of large xerophytic areas like this one (e.g., Schulze et al 1996), is the creation of hydroelectric dams which implies anthropic management of regional water availability and seasonal changes in rainfall (Paruelo et al 1998) or rivers flow rates (Masiokas et al 2008). An overall analysis of reptile diversity and accurate species distributional data is essential information for understanding the impact and consequences of these types of human activity (Böhm et al 2013, Cook et al 2013)

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Conclusion