Salvator merianae
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
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.
Tegus fill ecological niches similar to those of monitor lizards, but are only distantly related to them; the similarities are an example of convergent evolution. The Argentine black and white tegu is a member of the family Teiidae, which also includes racerunners and whiptails. The term "tegu... Wikipedia →
Recording0:06
Brazil · 2021
© Guillermo · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | El Palmar National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 11 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | João Pessoa | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Porto Alegre | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 6 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Asuncion | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | |
| 8 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Recife | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
No species of the same family or order lives in Porto Alegre, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report an Argentine Black-and-white Tegu sighting in Porto Alegre on a given day, based on 72 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 7 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report an Argentine Black-and-white Tegu in Porto Alegre on a given day, against under 5% in April–May and July, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Argentine Black-and-white Tegu sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 18 cities where we can rate Argentine Black-and-white Tegu sightings, Porto Alegre ranks 4th at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Rosario (Argentina, about 40%), João Pessoa (Brazil, about 40%) and Buenos Aires (Argentina, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Argentine Black-and-white Tegu is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Porto Alegre (72 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
