Biogeographical revision of Argentina (Andean and Neotropical Regions): an analysis using freshwater fishes

Abstract

The following zoogeographic provinces are proposed for Argentine freshwater fish fauna following the International Code of Area Nomenclature: Andean Cuyan, Patagonian, Aymaran, Great Rivers and Pampean. The former two are placed within the Andean Subregion of the Austral Region, and the latter three within the Neotropical Subregion of the Holotropical Region. These provinces, based on results coinciding with PAE and cluster analysis, represent the first classification of Argentine provinces based on objective methods. Some small regions of endemism and some localities remain separated from the proposed regions. The new scheme includes valuable empirical information from previous schemes, and is in agreement with ecological zones and other environmental arrangements proposed earlier.