Latitudinal variation in patagonian lizards of the Liolaemus petrophilus species group and the roleof geographic barriers.

NATALIA FELTRIN; IGNACIO MINOLI; SARAH PREECE; LUCIANO J. AVILA; JACK W. SITES, JR.; MARIANA MORANDO

University of Idaho. Moscow, Idaho, USA.

Congreso; Evolution 2009. Annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB), and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN).; 2009

Department of Biological Sciences. University of Idaho.

The petrophilus group is part of the Liolaemus elongatus-kriegi clade, as morphologically defined by Avila et al. (2003); presumed monophyly was molecularly supported by Morando et al. (2003). Three species of this group are distributed in Patagonia and are the focus of this work: L. petrophilus, L. gununakuna & L. austromendocinus.With mtDNA, Morando et al. (2003) found two reciprocally monophyletic groups within L. petrophilus, north and south of Somuncurá Plateau (Río Negro & Chubut provinces). Avila et al. (2004) described a new species from this group: L. gununakuna distributed in central Neuquén Province between the Neuquén & Limay rivers, some populations geographically close to L. austromendocinus. Populations of L. austromendocinus extends south of the Colorado river and between this and the Atuel River in Mendoza Province.