Argentine black and white tegu

Salvator merianae · The Argentine black and white tegu is the largest tegu lizard, living in the rain forests, savannas and semideserts of eastern and central South America.

Also called Argentine giant tegu, Black and white tegu, Blue tegu, Huge tegu, Argentine tegu.

Taxonomy

Where it lives

Grasslands and forests of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the northern pampas.

Fun facts

• A hatchling tegu weighs about 10 g, but within four or five years it can reach 8 kg, which is a nearly 800-fold increase in body size.
• Tegus are partly warm-blooded: in breeding season they can be up to 10 °C warmer than the air at night, which is rare for a lizard.
• If attacked, a tegu can drop a section of its tail as a distraction, and it also uses its tail as a weapon to swipe at predators.
• Baby tegus are emerald green from snout to midway down the neck, but the green turns black several months after shedding.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).