Tupinambis is a lizard genus which belongs to the family Teiidae and contains eight described species. These large lizards are commonly referred to as tegus. They are primarily found in South America, although T. teguixin also occurs in Panama.
In 2012, a number of tegu species were reclassified from Tupinambis to the previously used genus Salvator. The newly proposed classification comes from a restructuring of the family Teiidae based upon the study of 137 morphological characteristics. The new classification is as follows: Salvator duseni (yellow tegu), Salvator rufescens (red tegu), Salvator merianae (Argentine black and white tegu), Tupinambis teguixin (gold tegu), Tupinambis longilineus (Rhondonia tegu), Tupinambis palustris (swamp tegu) and Tupinambis quadrilineatus (four-lined tegu).
Etymology
Tupinambis lizards are called teiú in Portuguese. The lizards are also called tishiriú in the extinct Tuxá language of
Bahia, Brazil, and dzižuảsu in the extinct Potiguara language of Pernambuco, Brazil.
As with many other animals from tropical South America (e.g. the Cariamae), Tupinambis owes its scientific name to the pioneering accounts given by Piso & Marcgrave in their Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (1648). However, a misinterpretation (by Linnaeus) of the Latin text occurred, which reads "TEIVGVACV [...] Tupinambis", 'to the Tupinambá [Indigenous group] TEIVGVACU'. Tupinambis was merely a metalinguistic term meaning 'to/for the Tupinambá,' whereas the intended, indigenous name for the animal was teiú-guaçú [lizard-big]; lit. 'big lizard'.
Description
The Tupinambis species have heterodont dentition consisting of four different types of teeth. Incisor-type—tricuspid—teeth reside at the tip of the mouth.
Taxonomy
Species listed alphabetically by specific name.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Species
!Common name
!Image
|-
|Tupinambis cryptus
<small>Murphy, Jowers, Lehtinen, Charles, Colli, Peres Jr., Hendry, & Pyron, 2016</small>
|cryptic golden tegu
|frameless
|-
|Tupinambis cuzcoensis
<small>Murphy, Jowers, Lehtinen, Charles, Colli, Peres Jr., Hendry, & Pyron, 2016</small>
|Cusco tegu
|frameless
|-
|Tupinambis longilineus
<small>Ávila-Pires, 1995</small>
|Rondonia tegu
|
|-
|Tupinambis matipu
<small>Silva, Ribeiro-Junior, & Ávila-Pires, 2018</small>
|
|frameless
|-
|Tupinambis palustris
<small>Manzani & Abe, 2002</small>
|swamp tegu
|
|-
|Tupinambis quadrilineatus
<small>Manzani & Abe, 1997</small>
|four-lined tegu
|frameless
|-
|Tupinambis teguixin
<small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small>
|gold tegu
|frameless
|-
|Tupinambis zuliensis
<small>Murphy, Jowers, Lehtinen, Charles, Colli, Peres Jr., Hendry, & Pyron, 2016</small>
|Maracaibo Basin tegu
|
|}
Evolution
Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicates a deep divergence between a northern clade (containing T. teguixin, T. palustris and T. quadrilineatus) and a southern clade (containing T. duseni). The northern and southern clades are morphologically distinct, with the northern clade possessing a single pair of loreal scales between the eye and the nostril and a smooth texture to the scales on the body and the southern clade possessing two pairs of loreal scales and a bumpy texture to the scales on the body. At least one review of the morphology of the family Teiidae has placed the tegus of the southern clade in the genus Salvator. Subsequent studies support the paraphyletic status of Tupinambis, though further research will be necessary to determine if the split will gain wider acceptance among the herpetological community. Comparative analysis of hemipenial anatomy also provides support for the split between Tupinambis and Salvator.
Tegus probably originated sometime during the Cenozoic era. Tupinambis fossils from Argentina date back to the Late Miocene, and further remains are also known from the Pleistocene of northwestern Argentina. Fossils of the extinct tegu Paradracaena can be found in earlier Miocene deposits.
References
Further reading
- Boulenger GA. 1885. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. ...Teiidæ ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Genus Tupinambis, pp. 334–335).
- Daudin FM. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, Génerale et Particulière des Reptiles; Ouvrage faisant suite à l'Histoire Naturelle générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon, et rédigé par C.S. Sonnini, membre de plusieurs Sociétés savantes. Tome Troisième [Volume 3]. Paris: F. Dufart. 452 pp. (Tupinambis, new genus, pp. 5–6). (in French).