Argentine black and white tegu
Scientific name: Salvator merianae Duméril & Bibron, 1839
Overview
The Argentine black and white tegu, 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Argentine black and white tegu”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Brazil (Amazonas, Rio Grande do Sul, Goias, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Ceará, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe, Piauí, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Paraíba), Uruguay, Bolivia .
Common names
Also known in English as Argentine giant tegu, Black-and-white Tegu.
Names in other languages (4)
- Arabic
- تيديات أرجنتينية
- German
- Schwarzweißer Teju
- Japanese
- ミナミテグー
- Portuguese
- Jacuraru, Lagarto, Lagarto-Comum, Lagarto-Tejo, Tegu, Teiú
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Reptile Database.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q24354290, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Argentine black and white tegu”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Rhythmical13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026