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''Tupinambis'' is a
lizard Lizards are a widespread group of Squamata, squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbae ...
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomencla ...
which belongs to the
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...
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 contains eight described
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...
. These large lizards are commonly referred to as
tegu Tegu is a common name of a number of species of lizards that belong to the families Teiidae and Gymnophthalmidae. Tegus are native to Central and South America. They occupy a variety of habitats and are known for their large size and predato ...
s (''teiús'' in
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
). '' T. merianae'' (Argentine black and white tegu), '' T. rufescens'' (red tegu), and '' T. teguixin'' (gold tegu) are popular in the pet trade. They are primarily found in South America, although ''T. teguixin'' also occurs in
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...
. In 2012, a number of tegu species were reclassified from ''Tupinambis'' to the previously used genus '' Salvator''. The newly proposed classification comes from a restructuring of the family Teiidae based upon the study of 137 morphological characteristics. The new classification is as follows: ''Salvator duseni'' (yellow tegu), ''Salvator rufescens'' (red tegu), ''Salvator merianae'' (Argentine black and white tegu), ''Tupinambis teguixin'' (gold tegu), ''Tupinambis longilineus'' (Rhondonia tegu), ''Tupinambis palustris'' (swamp tegu) and ''Tupinambis quadrilineatus'' (four-lined tegu).


Names

''Tupinambis'' lizards are called teiú in Portuguese. The lizards are also called tishiriú in the extinct
Tuxá language Tuxá (Tusha; also ''Todela ~ Rodela, Carapató, Payacú'') was the eastern Brazilian language of the Tuxá people, who now speak Portuguese. The language ceased being spoken in the late 19th century, but in the 1960s a research team found two w ...
of
Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest by ...
, Brazil,Pompeu Sobrinho, Thomaz. 1958. ''Línguas Tapuias desconhecidas do Nordeste: Alguns vocabulários inéditos''. Boletim de Antropologia (Fortaleza-Ceará) 2. 3-19. and dzižuảsu in the extinct
Potiguara language Potiguara is an extinct Tupi language formerly used by the Potiguara people of Brazil. Vocabulary Potiguára words collected from an elderly male rememberer living in São Francisco, Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in ...
of
Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...
, Brazil. As with many other animals from tropical South America (e.g. the
Cariamae Cariamiformes (or Cariamae) is an order of primarily flightless birds that has existed for over 60 million years. The group includes the family Cariamidae (seriemas) and the extinct families Phorusrhacidae, Bathornithidae, Idiornithidae and A ...
), ''Tupinambis'' owes its scientific name to the pioneering accounts given by Piso & Marcgrave in their ''
Historia Naturalis Brasiliae ''Historia Naturalis Brasiliae'' ( en, Brazilian Natural History), originally written in Latin, is the first scientific work on the natural history of Brazil, written by Dutch naturalist Willem Piso and containing research done by the German ...
'' (1648). However, a misinterpretation (by
Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
) of the Latin text occurred, which reads "TEIVGVACV ..Tupinambis", 'to the Tupinambá ndigenous groupTEIVGVACU'. ''Tupinambis'' was merely a metalinguistic term meaning 'to/for the Tupinambá,' whereas the intended, indigenous name for the animal was ''teiú-guaçú'' izard-big lit. 'big lizard'.


Description

The ''Tupinambis'' species have
heterodont In anatomy, a heterodont (from Greek, meaning 'different teeth') is an animal which possesses more than a single tooth morphology. In vertebrates, heterodont pertains to animals where teeth are differentiated into different forms. For example, ...
dentition consisting of four different types of teeth. Incisor-type—tricuspid—teeth reside at the tip of the mouth. Recurved canine-type teeth occur further back on the tooth row. Behind those reside a separate set of incisor-like teeth (though flattened in a perpendicular plane to the first set of incisors). The rearmost teeth are blunt, rounded, peg-shaped teeth. The rearmost two tooth classes only occur in sexually mature individuals, thus indicating an
ontogenetic Ontogeny (also ontogenesis) is the origination and development of an organism (both physical and psychological, e.g., moral development), usually from the time of fertilization of the egg to adult. The term can also be used to refer to the stu ...
shift in tooth morphology. Along with changes in tooth type, the frequency of each tooth type also changes with ontogeny, without an overall change in tooth count (approximately 70 teeth). Rather than increase tooth count, the teeth themselves increase in size as the jaw grows from hatchling to adult. This ontogenetic shift in tooth morphology suggests a shift in diet with age; however, few dietary studies have been done to support this claim and limited stomach content observations do not show much variability between hatchlings and juveniles.


Taxonomy

Species listed alphabetically by specific name. * ''
Tupinambis cryptus ''Tupinambis cryptus'', the cryptic golden tegu, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. It is found in Venezuela, French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an ...
'' Murphy, Jowers, Lehtinen, Charles, Colli, Peres Jr., Hendry, & Pyron, 2016 – cryptic golden tegu * ''
Tupinambis cuzcoensis ''Tupinambis cuzcoensis'', the Cusco tegu, is a species of lizard Lizards are a widespread group of Squamata, squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. ...
'' Murphy, Jowers, Lehtinen, Charles, Colli, Peres Jr., Hendry, & Pyron, 2016 – Cusco tegu * ''
Tupinambis longilineus ''Tupinambis longilineus'', the Rhondonia tegu, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. It is endemic to Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both Sou ...
'' Ávila-Pires, 1995 - Rhondonia tegu * ''
Tupinambis matipu ''Tupinambis matipu'' is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. It is endemic to Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin Amer ...
'' Silva, Ribeiro-Junior, & Ávila-Pires, 2018 * ''
Tupinambis palustris ''Tupinambis palustris'', the swamp tegu, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. It is endemic to Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South Ame ...
'' Manzani & Abe, 2002 - swamp tegu * '' Tupinambis quadrilineatus'' Manzani & Abe, 1997 - four-lined tegu * ''
Tupinambis teguixin The gold tegu, also known as the golden tegu, common tegu, black tegu, Colombian black and white tegu and tiger lizard (in Trinidad), is a species of tegu. Its old scientific name (synonym) was ''Tupinambis nigropunctatus'', but it has since ren ...
'' (
Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
,
1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoological ...
)
– gold tegu (formerly ''T. nigropunctatus'') * '' Tupinambis zuliensis'' Murphy, Jowers, Lehtinen, Charles, Colli, Peres Jr., Hendry, & Pyron, 2016 – Maracaibo Basin tegu


Evolution

Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicates a deep divergence between a northern clade (containing ''T. teguixin'', ''T. palustris'' and ''T. quadrilineatus'') and a southern clade (containing ''T. duseni''). The northern and southern clades are morphologically distinct, with the northern clade possessing a single pair of loreal scales between the eye and the nostril and a smooth texture to the scales on the body and the southern clade possessing two pairs of loreal scales and a bumpy texture to the scales on the body. At least one review of the morphology of the family Teiidae has placed the tegus of the southern clade in the genus '' Salvator.'' Subsequent studies support the paraphyletic status of ''Tupinambis'', though further research will be necessary to determine if the split will gain wider acceptance among the herpetological community. Comparative analysis of hemipenial anatomy also provides support for the split between ''Tupinambis'' and ''Salvator''. Tegus probably originated sometime during the Cenozoic era. ''Tupinambis'' fossils from Argentina date back to the Late
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...
. Fossils of the extinct tegu ''Paradracaena'' can be found in earlier Miocene deposits.


References


Further reading

* Boulenger GA. 1885. ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. ...Teiidæ ...'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Genus ''Tupinambis'', pp. 334–335). * Daudin FM. 1802. ''Histoire Naturelle, Génerale et Particulière des Reptiles; Ouvrage faisant suite à l'Histoire Naturelle générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon, et rédigé par C.S. Sonnini, membre de plusieurs Sociétés savantes. Tome Troisième'' olume 3 Paris: F. Dufart. 452 pp. (''Tupinambis'', new genus, pp. 5–6). (in French).


External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2106822 Reptiles of South America Lizard genera Taxa named by François Marie Daudin