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

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.

Resource partitioning in a snake assemblage from east-central Argentina.

Two dimensions of the ecological niche (diet and habitat) of a snake assemblage from an endemic rich area in east-central Argentina, the Sierras de Ventania mountain chain, were analyzed. Field data collection was performed in 15-week study periods between 2010 and 2014. Snakes were hand-captured using transect surveys.

First Natural Endocranial Cast of a Fossil Snake (Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina).

In this study, we describe a natural endocranial cast included in a partially preserved medium-sized skull of the Upper Cretaceous South American snake Dinilysia patagonica. The endocast is composed of sedimentary filling of the cranial cavity in which the posterior brain, the vessels, the cranial nerves, and the inner ear surrounded by delicate semicircular canals, are represented. It is simple in form, with little differentiation between the three main areas (Forebrain, Midbrain, and Hindbrain), and without flexures.