Added 11 April 2026.
Teius is a genus of three lizards from Brazil and southwards into eastern South America (Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina). Despite the “tegu” designation these are not comparable in size (or possibly temperament!) with the large lizards of Tupinambis and Salvator.
Boulenger gives the characteristics of the genus as follows: tongue moderately elongate, not retractile, widened and emarginate posteriorly. Lateral teeth compressed transversely, bicuspid. Head with large regular shields; nostril pierced in the anterior nasal. Eyelids developed. Ear exposed. Limbs well developed, anterior with five, posterior with four digits, the fifth being rudimentary. Dorsal scales small; ventral plates large, subijuadrangular, smooth, forming regular series. A double collar fold. Femoral pores. Tail cyclotetragonal.
Harvey et al diagnosed Teius as follows: Teius is the only genus of Teiidae with a vestigial fifth toe and a high-walled, circular basin positioned between the hemipenial awns. Dicrodon and Teius are the only other extant Teiidae with bicuspid, transversely oriented teeth on the posterior maxilla and mandible.
I have been unable to find any references to the husbandry of these lizards from my usual sources, and despite the fact that T. teyou at least is fairly common in South America, I do not recall having seen any in the pet trade.
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QUICK INDEX |
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T. oculatus, Ocellated Whiptail Lizard |
T. teyou, Four-Toed Tegu |
Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Distribution |
Size |
Notes |
Dracaena |
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Ocellated Whiptail Lizard |
S Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina |
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Description: head large, not depressed, subpyramidal. Nostrils opening on the upper surface of the snout, on the canthus rostralis; anterior nasals forming a long suture. Upper head shields: a pair of nasofrontals, three smaller prasfrontals on a line, followed by several irregular small shields, a large frontal, a pair of frontoparietals, three subequal parietals on a line, four or five supraoculars; occiput with numerous small shields; a row of three or four large supratemporals; two or three loreals and several small frenoorbitals; a row of infraorbitals; labials large, eight or nine upper and eleven to thirteen lower; chin-shields, an anterior and nine or ten pairs, all except the anterior separated from the labials by smaller shields, the outer row of which is the largest; gular and mesoptychial scales flat, subhexagonal. Dorsal scales small, irregular, intermixed with irregularly arranged large oval strongly keeled tubercles. Abdominal scales small, narrow, feebly keeled, in thirty-four or thirty-six transverse and about forty longitudinal series. Prseanal scales small, irregular. Scales on the limbs small. Four or five small pores on each side in front of the praeanal region and two or three under each thigh. Caudal scales narrow, feebly keeled, forming annuli; the dorsal tubercles are gradually modified into a strong double crest along the upper surface of the tail. Coloration: olive brown above, flanks with more or less distinct lighter spots; the sutures of the labials and chin-shields black; lower surface yellowish, marbled with blackish. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
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Argentina |
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A unisexual species first described in 1991: see Reptile Database entry. |
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Four-Toed Tegu |
Brazil, Bolivia, N Paraguay, Argentina |
TL approx 29 cm (m), 25 cm (f), SVL approx 10 cm (m), 12 cm (f) |
Description: habit of Lacerta viridis. Upper head-shields: a frontonasal, a pair of prefrontals, a frontal, a pair of frontoparietals, three small parietals; four supraoculars, the three posterior forming a disk entirely surrounded by granules; occipital region covered with small scales; rostral frequently forming a suture with the frontonasal; a postnasal, a loreal, a preorbital, three infraorbitals; six or seven upper and as many lower labials; chin-shields, one anterior and five to seven pairs, the posterior separated from the labials by another row of shields; a broad transverse band of slightly enlarged gular scales; enlarged mesoptychial scales varying considerably in size, in two or three rows. Dorsal scales granular, smooth. Ventral plates in eight or ten longitudinal, and thirty-three to thirty-six transverse series. Several irregular preanal plates. Two rows of brachial plates, outer small, inner continuous with outer series of antebrachials; latter in two or three rows, outer very large. Femorals in seven or eight rows, one of which is much enlarged; tibials in three or four rows, outer largest. Femoral pores fifteen to twenty-one. Caudal scales narrow, four-sided, strongly keeled above, feebly beneath. Coloration: green above, the sides sometimes brownish; a series of regular transverse black spots on each side of the back; two yellow black-edged lateral lines on each side, the upper commencing from above the ear, the lower extending from the shoulder to the hind limb; flanks black-spotted; a yellow, black- edged band along the hinder side of the thighs; lower surfaces yellow. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
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