Reptiles of the Auca Mahuida Natural Protected Area, Argentina

Reptiles are among the most threatened vertebrates worldwide. Habitat loss and fragmentation, human overexploitation, introduced invasive species, emerging diseases, environmental pollution and global warming, severely increase the risk of extinction and population decline of this taxon. A key strategy for protecting reptiles' biodiversity has been the creation and maintenance of protected areas. The focus of this work will be on the Auca Mahuida Natural Protected Area (AM), located in northern Patagonia Argentina. Here, we provide a checklist of reptiles' species found along five years of field surveys made within the AM' current limits. The effectiveness of the sampling effort was estimated and extrapolated based on rarefaction curves shown as the sample completeness curve. We recorded within AM' boundaries a total of 16 species of reptiles, 14 species of lizards, and two species of snakes. In relation to the completeness of our sampling, AM was well represented in our surveys (0.98 sample coverage). Regarding the results of this work, we can highlight the following reptile species as endemic to the region: Liolaemus crandalli , L. cyaneinotatus , L. sitesi , Phymaturus sitesi , and P. timi , indicating that the AM might indeed be isolated for many species, and that makes these environments vulnerable and vital for conservation.