Argentine black and white tegu: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Argentine black and white tegu lives – recorded in 5 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Salvator merianae
Group	Lizards, geckos & tuatara
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	5 countries
Continents	South America
Class	Reptile
Order	Squamata
Family	Teiidae

Where does the Argentine black and white tegu live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Argentine black and white tegu in 5 countries and territories across South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Canaã dos Carajás.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Argentine black and white tegu endangered?

The Argentine black and white tegu’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Argentine black and white tegu?

The Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae) is a reptile in the order Squamata and the family Teiidae, genus Salvator. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Argentine black and white tegu

The Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae), also commonly known as the Argentine giant tegu, the black and white tegu, the blue tegu, and the huge tegu, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is the largest of the "tegu" lizards. It is an omnivorous species, which inhabits the tropical rain forests, savannas, and semideserts of eastern and central South America. It is native to south and southeastern Brazil, Uruguay, eastern Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina.

Tegu lizards are sometimes kept as pets, being notable for their unusually high intelligence and their relatively gentle nature. Like some reptiles, tegus enter brumation in autumn when ambient temperature drops. They exhibit a high level of activity during their wakeful period of the year. They are the only known nonavian reptiles to be partly endothermic during breeding season.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Argentine black and white tegu (revision 1379866733), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q24354290 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).