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Tegu is a
Tegu is a common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
of a number of species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of lizards that belong to the families Teiidae
Teiidae is a family of autarchoglossan lizards native to the Americas. Members of this family are generally known as whiptails or racerunners; however, tegus also belong to this family. Teiidae is sister to the Gymnopthalmidae, and both famili ...
and Gymnophthalmidae
Gymnophthalmidae is a family of lizards with at least 250 species, sometimes known commonly as spectacled lizards or microteiids. They are called "spectacled" because of their transparent lower eyelids, which allow them to still see with closed ...
. Tegus are native to Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. They occupy a variety of habitats and are known for their large size and predatory habits.
Description
Tegus are usually mainly black and some have yellow, reddish or white bands along their backs. Others have lines going down their bodies and unique markings along their top. Their body shape is aerodynamic with long tails and strong legs. Most tegus grow to about a metre long but theblack and white tegu
The Argentine black and white tegu (''Salvator merianae''), also known as the Argentine giant tegu, the black and white tegu, the huge tegu, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is the largest of the "tegu lizards". It is an ...
(''T. Merianae'') can grow to about 1.3 metres. Tegus use their tongues and vomeronasal organ
The vomeronasal organ (VNO), or Jacobson's organ, is the paired auxiliary olfactory (smell) sense organ located in the soft tissue of the nasal septum, in the nasal cavity just above the roof of the mouth (the hard palate) in various tetrapods. T ...
to find chemical cues associated with their prey and other lizards. A vomeronasal organ is an organ of chemoreception located in the main nasal chamber. Tegus can survive in rainforests, savannas, swamps, meadows, and open fields. Tegus are omnivores
An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...
and eats seeds
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...
, berries
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
, fruits
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...
, small rodents
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are nat ...
, insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
, eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
, amphibians
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...
, mollusks
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
and birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
. The average lifespan of a tegu is 15-20 years. Tegus can regulate their own body temperature and raise their body temperature by 10 degrees celsius above their surroundings so they can survive in and out of the warm climate. They tend to live on the edge of rainforests so they can get access to light and water. Tegus seek out food with more protein so they mainly eat seeds
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...
, berries
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
, fruits
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...
, small rodents
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are nat ...
, insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
, amphibians
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...
, mollusks
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
and birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
so the rainforest floor is the perfect place for them to get their food as berries
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
, fruits
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...
e.g fall from trees onto the floor and the forest floor is filled with dead birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
and rodents
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are nat ...
. They have very strong jaws due to their short thick skulls that are very well muscled so protecting themselves isn't very hard. To show other animals that they are angry they stomp their feet, lashing its tail and huffing loudly.
Although they resemble monitor lizards
Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recogn ...
, they are only distantly related to them; the similarities are a result of convergent evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...
.
Some species are of economic importance as food and pets
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...
.
Some species have become invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
in the US states of Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and southern Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
Genera
"Tegu" generally refers to species of lizard in the genus ''Tupinambis
''Tupinambis'' is a lizard genus which belongs to the family Teiidae and contains eight described species. These large lizards are commonly referred to as tegus (''teiús'' in Portuguese). '' T. merianae'' (Argentine black and white tegu), '' T ...
'', which belongs to the family Teiidae
Teiidae is a family of autarchoglossan lizards native to the Americas. Members of this family are generally known as whiptails or racerunners; however, tegus also belong to this family. Teiidae is sister to the Gymnopthalmidae, and both famili ...
. Not all lizards known as tegus belong to the same genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
. The word "tegu" may refer to species in any of the following genera:
* '' Callopistes'': "dwarf tegus" (2 species)
* ''Crocodilurus
''Crocodilurus'' is a lizard genus that belongs to the family Teiidae. It is monotypic, with only a single described species, ''Crocodilurus amazonicus'', the crocodile tegu. It is locally known as the jacarerana. This semiaquatic lizard has a ...
'': the "crocodile tegu" (1 species)
* '' Dicrodon'': "desert tegus" (3 species)
* '' Dracaena'': "caiman tegus", also known as "caiman lizards" (2 species)
* ''Euspondylus
''Euspondylus'' is a genus of lizards in the family Gymnophthalmidae.
Geographic range
The genus ''Euspondylus'' is endemic to northern South America. www.reptile-database.org.
Species
The following 10 species are recognized as being valid.
*' ...
'': "sun tegus" (11 species)
* '' Proctoporus'': "sun tegus" (17 species)
* ''Salvator
Salvator, original spelling of Salvador, may refer to:
* Paulaner Salvator, the original doppelbock brand
* Salvator (lizard), ''Salvator'' (lizard), a genus of lizards
* Salvator (horse) (1886–1909), an American thoroughbred racehorse
* Salvato ...
'' (3 species, including the Argentine black and white tegu
The Argentine black and white tegu (''Salvator merianae''), also known as the Argentine giant tegu, the black and white tegu, the huge tegu, is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Teiidae. The species is the largest of the "tegu l ...
)
* ''Teius
''Teius'' is a genus of lizard that belongs to the family Teiidae.
Classification
Listed alphabetically.Tupinambis
''Tupinambis'' is a lizard genus which belongs to the family Teiidae and contains eight described species. These large lizards are commonly referred to as tegus (''teiús'' in Portuguese). '' T. merianae'' (Argentine black and white tegu), '' T ...
'' (8 species)
References
{{Animal common name Teiidae