🐙 Cell & Organismal Biology
Argentine Red Tegu
The Argentine red tegu (Salvator rufescens) is a large, reddish South American lizard of dry forests and scrub of Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. It is a close relative of the black and white tegu.
The Argentine red tegu (Salvator rufescens) is a large, reddish South American lizard of dry forests and scrub of Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. It is a close relative of the black and white tegu.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Argentine Red Tegu in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Reptilia lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
A Dry-Country Omnivore
The tegu eats fruit, insects, eggs and small animals, and digs burrows in sandy soil. It hibernates in cooler months, going dormant in its burrow.
Skins and Pets
Tegus are hunted for their leather, and exported for the pet trade. Quotas regulate the harvest in Argentina.
Cousins
See the Argentine Black and White Tegu.
Argentine Red Tegu at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Salvator rufescens |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Reptilia |
| Order | Squamata |
| Family | Teiidae |
| Field Guide group | Reptilia (Reptiles) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Heavy-bodied diurnal lizard of the Gran Chaco and western Argentina, featuring brick-red to cinnamon-orange coloration, rectangular ventral scale rows, and powerful jaw musculature in mature males. |
| IUCN Red List status | Least Concern (LC) |
| Family | Teiidae |
| Habit | Hibernates in burrows |
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