Golden Tegu
The golden tegu (Tupinambis teguixin) is a large, black-and-yellow lizard of the rainforests and savannas of northern South America. Tegus are powerful omnivores with the intelligence for a lizard.
The golden tegu (Tupinambis teguixin) is a large, black-and-yellow lizard of the rainforests and savannas of northern South America. Tegus are powerful omnivores with the intelligence for a lizard.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Golden 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.
Strong Jaws, Varied Diet
Golden tegus eat fruit, insects, snails, small vertebrates and eggs. They are fast on the ground, can swim and dig burrows. When threatened, they whip their tails and open their mouths wide.
A Family of Tegus
The tegus are Teiidae, a New World family that also includes the whiptails and caiman lizards. See Argentine Black and White Tegu.
Trade and Use
Tegus are traded for their skin and as pets, and are hunted for food in parts of South America.
Golden Tegu at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Tupinambis teguixin |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Reptilia |
| Order | Squamata |
| Family | Teiidae |
| Field Guide group | Reptilia (Reptiles) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Large South American lizard with gold-and-black bands, small granular back scales, and big rectangular belly plates. |
| Family | Teiidae |
| Diet | Omnivorous |