A New Species of Phymaturus (Squamata: Liolaemidae) from the Auca Mahuida Natural Protected Area, Neuquén, Argentina, Based on Morphological and DNA Evidence Thomas N. Hibbard¹*, Santiago J. Nenda², Fernando Lobo¹ ¹ Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noa, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Avenida Bolivia 5150, Salta 4400, Argentina. ² División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Avenida Ángel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR Buenos Aires, Argentina. * Corresponding author. Email: thomashibbard89@gmail.com Abstract. The number of species of the genus Phymaturus has increased consistently since 1995, when only 10 species had been described. Over the last two decades, this number has risen to 46. This group of lizards is characterized by a flattened body and spiny tail; they are viviparous and herbivorous and inhabit rocky regions, using crevices as refuges. For the present study, an integrative taxonomy approach was used with the aim of rigorously assessing the taxonomic status of a population occupying the Auca Mahuida volcanic field. Evidence from genetics, morphology, and biogeography suggests that this population is a separate lineage from all described species. This new species can be distinguished from close relatives by a longitudinal white dorsal line along the midline at the base of the tail. Special emphasis was put on determining if this taxon presented differences from the nearest relatives of the palluma group: P. roigorum and P. tromen. Consistent differences were found. Keywords. Biogeography; Integrative taxonomy; Lizards; Phylogenetic relationships; Systematics. Resumen. El número de especies del género Phymaturus se ha incrementado constantemente desde 1995, cuando sólo diez especies habían sido descriptas. En las últimas dos décadas, este número se incrementó a 46. Este grupo de lagartos se caracteriza por tener un cuerpo ancho y achatado, una cola con espinas, ser herbívoros y vivíparos y habitar regiones rocosas, usando grietas como refugio. Para este trabajo se tomó una perspectiva desde la taxonomía integrativa para poder llegar a una evaluación rigurosa sobre el estatus taxonómico de la población que ocupa el campo volcánico Auca Mahuida. Evidencias genéticas, morfológicas y biogeográficas sugieren que esta población es un linaje separado de todas las especies descriptas hasta el momento. Esta nueva especie se distingue por una línea longitudinal en la línea media dorsal en la base de la cola. Se puso especial énfasis en determinar si este taxón presenta diferencias con los parientes más cercanos del grupo de P. palluma: P. roigorum y P. tromen. Se encontraron diferencias consistentes. mus Wiegmann 1834 and Ctenoblepharys Tschudi 1845. Phymaturus is exclusively saxicolous, herbivorous, and viviparous, occupying an area that extends between the Argentine provinces of Catamarca and Chubut, following the Andes mountain range and adjacent areas in Chile. It occupies an altitudinal gradient from 460–4,200 m above sea level (asl; Boretto et al., 2007; Lobo et al., 2012a, 2016). Phymaturus is distinguished morphologically from other liolaemid genera by having a flat and widened body and head, lateral nuchal skin folds with fat-filled pouches, and a tail with regular rows of spiny scales (Etheridge, 1995). The phylogeny and taxonomy of Phymaturus have been the focus of active research in the past 20 years. Its taxonomic history began in the 18 th century, with the de- scription of Lacerta palluma Molina, 1782; until 1995, the INTRODUCTION Species are fundamental units in systematic studies and, as such, their identification is important to address any kind of biological studies, including phylogenetic, ecological, and conservation analyses. Many studies fo- cusing on the genus Phymaturus Gravenhorst 1837, have added “terminals” to the tree that were not formally de- scribed species (i.e., Lobo and Quinteros, 2005; Morando et al., 2013; Lobo et al., 2016). Identifying species as such will help us interpret the phylogenetic history of the ge- nus better. In this contribution, we identify one of these terminals as indeed being a separate lineage from all the other Phymaturus species. The genus Phymaturus is a member of Liolaemidae Frost and Etheridge 1989 (Iguania), together with Liolae- South American Journal of Herpetology, 14(2), 2019, 123–135 © 2019 Brazilian Society of Herpetology Submitted: 11 August 2017 Accepted: 28 May 2018 Available Online: 02 July 2019 Handling Editor: Juan Diego Daza http://doi.org/10.2994/SAJH-D-17-00067.1 ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C98AA4B6-D897-4620-A21A-0AEAE38DD420 How to cite this article: Hibbard T.N., Nenda S.J., Lobo F. 2019. A new species of Phymaturus (Squamata: Liolaemidae) from the Auca Mahuida Natural Protected Area, Neuquén, Argentina, based on morphological and DNA evidence. South American Journal of Herpetology 14:123–135. http://doi.org/10.2994/SAJH-D-17-00067.1 Downloaded From: https://bioone.org/journals/South-American-Journal-of-Herpetology on 10 Jul 2019 Terms of Use: https://bioone.org/terms-of-use Access provided by American Museum of Natural History