Fighting biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene: the INALI snake collection as a key resource for natural history in the Global South

Abstract In the Anthropocene, accelerating biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and social instability are profoundly affecting tropical and subtropical regions in South America. Argentina exemplifies the intersection of global and national crises, facing chronic underfunding of science, limited research infrastructure, and low political prioritization of conservation. In this context, Natural History Collections (NHCs) are critical yet often undervalued resources for documenting and preserving biodiversity. The INALI snake collection, founded in the 1990s, housing over 5100 specimens, has supported more than 100 scientific publications and projects, despite systemic neglect. Over more than three decades, research based on the collection has evolved from descriptive inventories to integrative, multiscale analyses linking evolutionary and ecological processes, and conservation planning. The INALI collection actively counters the erosion of scientific capacity, the devaluation of natural heritage, and societal ignorance of biodiversity. The collection serves as a dynamic infrastructure that preserves biological heritage, advances research and conservation, and relies on ongoing scientific engagement to safeguard these irreplaceable resources for future discoveries in this megadiverse region of the Global South. Its survival depends on sustained national investment and structural support. The INALI snake collection symbolizes the resilience of knowledge and conservation, safeguarding a biological–cultural heritage for the future.