Diversification and geological history of the Liolaemus ornatus group (Squamata: Iguania) of Argentina including the recognition of a new species

Abstract

Andean orogeny is one of the main factors that promoted the diversification of many groups of animals. Among them are the lizards of the Liolaemidae family and within this, Liolaemus is the genus with the most described species up to date, with approximately 277 species. One of the groups within the genus is the Liolaemus ornatus group, distributed in the south of Central Andes mountain chain. In this work, we describe a new species belonging to the L. ornatus group, using an integrative approach, analyzing both morphological (lepidosis, morphometric, coloration and hemipenes characters) and molecular evidence. We made a divergence analysis of the representatives of the L. ornatus group. Furthermore, we correlated the ages of the geological events with the distribution areas for the L. ornatus group. This newly described species shows character states (morphological and molecular) that allow its clear distinction from the other members of the L. ornatus group, as well as from the rest of Liolaemus. The divergence analysis places the new species in the L. ornatus group and allows us to infer the successive geological events that served as physical barriers for the diversification of the group, besides explaining the current distribution of the group.