Biodiversity of vertebrates in Argentina: patterns of richness, endemism and conservation status

By

Bauni, Valeria
Bertonatti, Claudio
Giacchino, Adrián
Schivo, Facundo
Mabragaña, Ezequiel
Roesler, Ignacio
Rosso, Juan José
Teta, Pablo
Williams, Jorge D
Abba, Agustín M.
Cassini, Guillermo H.
Cousseau, María Berta
Flores, David A.
Fortunato, Damián M.
Giusti, María Emilia
Jayat, Jorge Pablo
Liotta, Jorge
Lucero, Sergio
Aguirre, Tomás Martínez
Pereira, Javier A.
Crisci, Jorge Victor

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022-02-04

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1085

Pages

101--127

Subjects

Amphibians , biological inventory , Birds , freshwater fish , Mammals , marine fish , Reptiles

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1085.76033

 

Abstract

Optimising conservation efforts requires an accurate record of the extant species as well as their geographic distributions. Nevertheless, most current conservation strategies start from an incomplete biodiversity inventory. Argentina has an extraordinary diversity of species, however, until now an updated inventory of its fauna has not been carried out. In this context, the main objective of this work is to present the results of the first national inventory of vertebrate species. Experts from each major vertebrate taxonomic group assembled and compiled its respective inventory. The information gathered included taxonomic rank, conservation status, endemism and geographic distribution. Species richness and representativeness were calculated for each taxonomic group, distinguishing between native, endemic and exotic, for each Argentinian province. Our results show Argentina harbours 3,303 species: 574 marine fish, 561 freshwater fish, 177 amphibians, 450 reptiles, 1,113 birds, and 428 mammals. Native species constitute 98.1% of the total taxa. The results achieved were spatially represented showing a pattern of higher richness from north to south and from east to west. Species considered as threatened account for 17.8% and 15.2% are endemic. There are five Extinct species. These results provide key information on developing strategies and public policies at the national and provincial levels and constitute a tool for the management and conservation of biodiversity.