1 



Introduction 



Argentinian snakes have received much attention since the last decades of the nineteenth century. 

 Contributions from Burmeister (1861), Koslowsky (1898) and Serie (1915, 1921 and 1936) are still useful in 

 spite of the elapsed time. Several of their statements on the occurrence or the distribution of different species 

 in Argentina had been rejected by more recent authors, but today we are confirming that the former authors 

 had been right all along. 



Five recent papers are extremely important: Peters & Orejas Miranda (1970), Abalos & Mischis (1975); 

 Cei (1986 and 1993) and Williams & Francini (1991). The Catalogue of Peters & Orejas Miranda is a 

 keystone in the history of South American herpetology that marked a turning point in the study of ophidians. 

 The influence of this work is clear in Argentina, and The Catalogue [considerably improved by Vanzolini's 

 addenda (1986)] is still required reading. Abalos & Mischis (1975) gave a list of the Argentinian snakes, 

 updating the nomenclature and distribution of many species. Cei's contributions, specially his books on 

 Argentinian reptiles, are major references for herpetologists and amateurs working in Argentina. They are of 

 exceptional quality. The checklist of Williams & Francini (1991) furnished the complete list of Argentinian 

 snakes and a quick reference for nomenclature and distribution. 



All the above references were relied on during the preparation of this study. They will be mentioned only 

 when necessary. To avoid repetition, citations include those contributions subsequent to Williams & Francini 

 (1991) and Cei (1993). 



This annotated checklist includes a great amount of unpublished information obtained by the authors 

 through collecting trips and the examination of thousands of specimens in collections. Although not all are 

 mentioned in the text, the collections examined are: Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales (MACN), 

 Buenos Aires; Museo de La Plata (MLP), La Plata, Buenos Aires; Fundacion Miguel Lillo (FML), 

 Tucuman; Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNAM), Posadas, Misiones; Centro de Investigaciones 

 Ecologicas Subtropicales del Parque Nacional Iguazu (CEES), Iguazii, Misiones; Universidad Nacional del 

 Nordeste (UNNEC), Corrientes; Museo Provincial de Ciencias Naturales "Florentino Ameghino" (MFA), 

 Santa Fe; Coleccion Comparativa of Mario R. Cabrera in Departamento de Diversidad Biologica and 

 Ecologia, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas and Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba (AC); 

 Museo de Historia Natural "Capao de Imbuia" (MHNCI), Curitiba, Brazil; Museo Nacional de Historia 

 Natural del Paraguay (MHNP), Asuncion, Paraguay; Museo de la Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Rio 

 Grande do Sul (MPC), Brazil; Museo Municipal de Obera, Obera, Misiones (CHMO); Museo de Ciencias 

 Naturales de Salta (MCN), Salta; Vivero Forestal Itaipu Binacional (IBR), Alto Parana, Paraguay; 

 Serpentario "Antonio Ruiz de Montoya" (SARM), Posadas, Misiones; Centro Nacional de lologia (CENAl), 

 Buenos Aires, and Coleccion Felix de Azara, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientiTicas and Tecnicas 

 (CFA), Buenos Aires. At present the last two collections are housed at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias 

 Naturales. 



Despite the short time elapsed from the last publications on Argentinian snakes (Cei, 1993), there have 

 been several taxonomic changes that warrant an update. At the end of each description, changes and other 

 information are given when necessary, in "Comments" section. Synonymies include only the first author that 

 used the name in the literature. When a species was revalidated after its inclusion in the synonymy of 

 another, the revisor's name is mentioned. 



Bearing in mind the importance that this kind of work has for conservation, management, and ecology, we 

 refer to phytogeographic as well as geographic distribution (Fig.l). We followed Cabrera (1976) and Cabrera 

 & Willink (1980) up to province level, and, when we are certain, the district is included (see Appendix 1 and 

 Fig. 2). It is important to note that our contribution likely will be amended in the future because some areas of 

 Argentina have not yet been explored. Many species are represented by few records, and there are many 

 transitional areas between phytogeographic provinces. 



SHIS 132|2()()2| ( iiraudo and Scrocchi: Checklist of ArgciUinran Snakes 



