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Crotalines (pitvipers) in the Americas are distributed from southern Canada to southern Argentina, and are represented by 13 genera and 163 species that constitute a monophyletic group. Their phylogenetic relationships have been assessed mostly based on DNA sequences, while morphological data have scarcely been used for phylogenetic inquiry. We present a total‐evidence phylogeny of New World pitvipers, the most taxon/character comprehensive phylogeny to date. Our analysis includes all genera, morphological data from external morphology, cranial osteology and hemipenial morphology, and DNA sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear genes. We performed analyses with parsimony as an optimality criterion, using different schemes for character weighting. We evaluated the contribution of the different sources of characters to the phylogeny through analyses of reduced datasets and calculation of weighted homoplasy and retention indexes. We performed a morphological character analysis to identify synapomorphies for the main clades. In terms of biogeography, our results support a single colonization event of the Americas by pitvipers, and a cladogenetic event into a Neotropical clade and a North American/Neotropical clade. The results also shed light on the previously unstable position of some taxa, although they could not sufficiently resolve the position of Bothrops lojanus, which may lead to the paraphyly of either Bothrops or Bothrocophias. The morphological character analyses demonstrated that an important phylogenetic signal is contained in characters related to head scalation, the jaws and the dorsum of the skull, and allowed us to detect morphological convergences in external morphology associated with arboreality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The examination of 93 specimens of the Phalotris bilineatus group housed in the major Argentinian collections allowed us to recognize three additional species of this group. We propose the resurrection of two names, Phalotris spegazzinii and Phalotris suspectus, previously placed in the synonymy of P. bilineatus, and describe a new species from northwestern Argentina. The new species is recognized based on a unique combination of morphological characters. In addition, we redescribe the resurrected taxa (providing variation in color patterns, meristic and morphometric characters) and present new data on their geographic distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bothrops ammodytoides is a pitviper species endemic to Argentina that inhabits arid and semiarid areas from sea level to more than 3000 m, reaching the southernmost latitude for snakes. According to previous studies, the species is placed in the Bothrops alternatus group. We redescribe Bothrops ammodytoides based on examination of 101 specimens and provide new data on lepidosis, hemipenial morphology, cranial osteology, variation in coloration, and distribution. We compare Bothrops ammodytoides with representative species of the genus and related genera. Morphological comparisons reveal considerable affinities between Bothrops ammodytoides, Bothrops pictus, Bothrops andianus, and Bothrocophias microphthalmus, suggesting that the current taxonomy for Bothrops ammodytoides requires to be reassessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phalotris sansebastiani is recorded for the first time in Argentina based on five specimens from Jujuy and Salta provinces, and its characters are compared with Argentinean specimens of P. tricolor [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liolaemus goetschi Müller and Hellmich, 1938 is a poorly known Patagonian lizard. Two specimens were collected in the central-western portion of Río Negro Province, Argentina, located 82 km west and 110 km south of the known distribution for the species in its type locality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]