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Salvator (lizard)

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Salvator
Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Teiidae
Genus: Salvator
A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839
Type species
Salvator merianae
A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839

Salvator is a genus of lizards known as tegus which belong to the family Teiidae. The genus is endemic to South America.

Description

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Tegus are large reptiles, with some species reaching a total length of around 1.23 m (4.0 ft),[1] and a weight of approximately 6.8 kg (15 lb). These opportunistic, wide-ranging lizards can be found in a variety of habitats, from swamps to rain forests to savannas and cities.[2] Although terrestrial, they are capable swimmers, able to remain submerged for up to 22 minutes and having even been caught in gill nets set at sea.[3] Biomechanical studies have shown that tegus have stronger limb bones than comparably-sized mammals or birds, a trait that may be inherent to amphibians and reptiles.[4] They exhibit social and maternal behaviour; female tegus construct burrows to lay their eggs in, and will protect their brood until they hatch. Up to 35 eggs are produced in a clutch.[5] Tegus will hibernate together in groups, though males exhibit territorial behavior towards each other.[6]

Tegus exhibit sexual dimorphism. Males display greatly expanded and prominent "jowls" along the base of the lower jaw. These jowls are the result of extensive growth of the ventral pterygoideus muscles (a prominent jaw closing muscle in reptiles).[7][8] Though both sexes exhibit hypertrophy of the ventral pterygoideus muscle, likely in response to their durophagous habits,[9] male tegus show both greater relative and absolute muscle mass compared to females.[9] Further evidence for sexual selection of these jowls comes from observations that ventral pterygoideus muscle mass increases in males during the reproductive season.[10]

Metabolic changes also occur during the reproductive season, in which the body temperature is increased up to 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) and sustained internally like a bird or a mammal.[11] This discovery has major evolutionary implications, providing support for the hypothesis that endothermy may have evolved in response to parental care.[12]

Ecology

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Tegus are omnivorous, foraging for a wide range of foods using their forked tongues, including fruit, fungi, various arthropods, small vertebrates, carrion, and eggs.[13] The amount of meat that is consumed by tegus decreases as the animals mature.[14] As adults, tegus have few predators. Among them are big cats, birds of prey and large snakes.[15] Tegus defend themselves using their powerful jaws, which can exert forces of up to 1000N.[16] A bite from an adult tegu can crush human fingers.[17]

Though more terrestrial (morphologically less well-adapted for climbing into tree canopies or for swimming), tegus fill an ecological niche in South America similar to that filled by monitor lizards in Africa, Asia and Australia, and are an example of convergent evolution. Though similar in appearance to monitors, tegus are not closely related and can be distinguished by their larger heads, shorter necks, heavier bodies and different arrangement of the scales on the body and tail. Monitors have laterally compressed tails, well-suited for aquatic propulsion, while tegus' tails are more cylindrical or even broader than high. In addition, tegus are facultative bipeds[18] while monitors are obligate quadrupeds.[18]

Economic importance and environmental impact

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Tegus are among the most commercially exploited reptiles in the world. Up to 1,000,000 are harvested annually in their native Argentina for their hide and meat,[19] and are particularly important as a source of income in rural or indigenous communities.[20] Tegus can also be found in captivity, where they are bred for the pet trade. They are reported to be highly intelligent, becoming docile as they mature and in some cases even ignoring food in favor of social interaction.[21] However, tegus have demanding husbandry requirements due to their large size.[22]

Within their native range, tegus are often thought of as pests, sometimes raiding chicken coops to feed on the eggs or fowl.[23] They are noted predators of ground nesting bird[24] and crocodilian eggs, and in some areas 80% of spectacled caiman nests are destroyed by tegus.[25] In Florida, they have become an invasive species, and prey on the eggs of American alligators instead. Predation by feral tegus may pose a threat to Florida's endangered wildlife, such as the Key Largo woodrat and the American crocodile.[26] Due to their fruit eating habits, tegus may serve an important ecological function by dispersing seeds through their droppings.[27]

Species

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Listed alphabetically.[28]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Salvator duseni

(Lönnberg, 1910)

yellow tegu Bolivia, Brazil,

Paraguay

Salvator merianae

A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839

Argentine black and white tegu,

blue tegu, Chacoan giant tegu

Argentina, Brazil,

Paraguay, Uruguay

Salvator rufescens

(Günther, 1871)

red tegu Argentina, Bolivia,

Paraguay

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Salvator.

References

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  1. ^ "Tegu Lizards - Everglades CISMA". www.evergladescisma.org. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  2. ^ McLaughlin, Kelly. "4-foot-long lizards that can eat 'just about anything they want' are taking over Georgia". Insider. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2019-07-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Sheffield, K. Megan; Butcher, Michael T.; Shugart, S. Katharine; Gander, Jennifer C.; Blob, Richard W. (2011). "Locomotor loading mechanics in the hindlimbs of tegu lizards (Tupinambis merianae): Comparative and evolutionary implications". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 214 (15): 2616–2630. doi:10.1242/jeb.048801. PMID 21753056.
  5. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2019-07-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Lehigh Valley Zoo - Smart Fun". Archived from the original on 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  7. ^ Rieppel, O. (1980). "The Trigeminal Jaw Adductor Musculature of Tupinambis, with Comments on the Phylogenetic Relationships of the Teiidae (Reptilia, Lacertilia)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 69 (1):1–29.
  8. ^ McBrayer, Lance D.; White, Thomas D. (2002). "Bite Force, Behavior, and Electromyography in the Teiid Lizard, Tupinambis teguixin ". Copeia 2002 (1): 111–119.
  9. ^ a b Pianka, E.R.; Vitt, L.J. (2003). Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
  10. ^ Naretto, S.; Cardozo, G.; Blengini, C.S.; Chiaraviglio, M. (2014). "Sexual Selection and Dynamics of Jaw Muscle in Tupinambis Lizards". Evol. Biol. 41 (2): 192–200. Bibcode:2014EvBio..41..192N. doi:10.1007/s11692-013-9257-0. hdl:11336/8001. S2CID 17944726.
  11. ^ Farmer, C.G. (2016). "Hot-blooded lizard illuminates endothermy origins". Journal of Experimental Biology. 219 (7): 909–910. doi:10.1242/jeb.138156. ISSN 0022-0949.
  12. ^ Tattersall, Glenn J.; Leite, Cleo A.C.; Sanders, Colin E.; Cadena, Viviana; Andrade, Denis V.; Abe, Augusto S.; Milsom, William K. (2016). "Seasonal reproductive endothermy in tegu lizards". Science Advances. 2 (1): e1500951. Bibcode:2016SciA....2E0951T. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1500951. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 4737272. PMID 26844295. S2CID 4240109.
  13. ^ D’Angelo, Giulia B.; Sazima, Ivan (2013). "Range of animal food types recorded for the tegu lizard (Salvator merianae) at an urban park in South-eastern Brazil" (PDF). Herpetology Notes. 6: 427–430.
  14. ^ Kiefer, Mara Cíntia; Sazima, Ivan (2002). "Diet of juvenile tegu lizard Tupinambis merianae (Teiidae) in southeastern Brazil" (PDF). Amphibia-Reptilia. 23: 105–108. doi:10.1163/156853802320877654. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  15. ^ Del Duque, Hermano (2010). "Abundance of tegu lizards (Tupinambis merianae) in a remnant of the Brazilian Atlantic forest". Amphibia-Reptilia. 31 (4): 563–570. doi:10.1163/017353710X518441. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  16. ^ Herrel, Anthony; Andrade, Denis V.; de Carvalho, José Eduardo; Brito, Ananda; Abe, Augusto; Navas, Carlos (2009). "Aggressive Behavior and Performance in the Tegu Lizard Tupinambis merianae". Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 82 (6): 680-685
  17. ^ Haddad, V.; Duarte, M.R.; Neto, D.G. (2008). "Tegu (teiu) bite: report of human injury caused by a Teiidae lizard". Wilderness Environ Med. 19 (2): 111–3. doi:10.1580/07-WEME-CR-1172.1. PMID 18513108. S2CID 207182015.
  18. ^ a b Bartlett, R.D.; Bartlett, Patricia Pope (2006). Monitors and tegus : everything about selection, care, nutrition, diseases, breeding, and behavior. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's. ISBN 978-0-7641-3398-5. OCLC 68192602.
  19. ^ Mieres, M. Margarita; Fitzgerald, Lee A. (2006). "Monitoring and Managing the Harvest of Tegu Lizards in Paraguay" (PDF). Journal of Wildlife Management. 70 (6): 1723–1734. doi:10.2193/0022-541X(2006)70[1723:MAMTHO]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 27029533.
  20. ^ Montaño, Rossy R.; Leny Cuéllar, Rosa; Fitzgerald, Lee A. (2013). "Activity and Ranging Behavior of the Red Tegu Lizard Tupinambis rufescens in the Bolivian Chaco". South American Journal of Herpetology. 8 (2): 81–88. doi:10.2994/SAJH-D-13-00016.1. S2CID 86064576.
  21. ^ "Sisco Reptiles - Do tegu lizards seek human attention? Tupinambis merianae Argentine Black & White Tegu, SiscoReptiles.com - The Original Tegu Attention Youtube Video". Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  22. ^ "Petswithscales.com - Tegu Lizard Care". 3 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  23. ^ Sprackland, Robert George, Ph.D. (2009). Giant Lizards: The Definitive Guide to the Natural History, Care, and Breeding of Monitors, Iguanas and Other Large Lizards, Second Edition. Neptune, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications. 335 pp. ISBN 978-0793805815.
  24. ^ Galetti, Mauro (2008). "Density of the tegu lizard (Tupinambis merianae) and its role as nest predator at Anchieta island, Brazil". Neotropical Biology and Conservation. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  25. ^ "ADW: Caiman crocodilus: INFORMATION". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  26. ^ Cocking, Susan (26 September 2014). "Hunt is On for the Tegu Lizards in South Florida". Miami Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  27. ^ Galetti, Mauro; Castro, Everaldo Rodrigo de (January 2004). "Frugivory and seed dispersal by the tegu lizard Tupinambis merianae Reptilia: Teiidae"". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia. 44 (6): 91–97. doi:10.1590/S0031-10492004000600001. hdl:11449/20491. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  28. ^ Salvator. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.


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