# Black tegu (*Salvator merianae*) Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-tegu Data as of: 2026-11-14 The black tegu (Salvator merianae) is a species in the family Teiidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh 1.34 kg to 2.21 kg, reach 34.8 cm in length and live up to 12.9 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Brazil. ## Quick facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Weight | 1.34 kg – 2.21 kg | | Length | 34 cm – 34.8 cm | | Lifespan | 12.9 years | | Diet | Omnivore | | Longest recorded lifespan | 20 years | | Main food | Not recorded | | Habitat | forest | | Egg incubation | 152 days | | Young per litter or clutch | 7.3 – 66 | | Age at maturity | 3 years | | Litters or clutches a year | 1 | | Reproduction | Eggs | | Active | By day (diurnal) | | Lifestyle | Terrestrial | | Conservation status | Not recorded | | Countries on record | 1 country | ## Recorded prey and predators Recorded prey: Nine-banded armadillo (*Dasypus novemcinctus*). Recorded predators: Lichtenstein's green racer (*Philodryas olfersii*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0). ## Introduced range The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 3 countries, and flagged as invasive in 1 of them. Introduced: Brazil, South Africa, United States. Invasive: Brazil. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0). ## Classification - kingdom: Animalia - phylum: Chordata - class: Reptilia - order: Squamata - family: Teiidae - genus: Salvator - species: *Salvator merianae* Duméril & Bibron, 1839 Synonyms: *Lacertus tupinambis*, *Tupinambis merianae*, *Tupinambis teguixin*, *Tupinambis teguixin buzioensis*, *Tupinambis teguixin sebastiani* ## Countries on record Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map. Brazil ## Common questions ### How big is the black tegu? An adult black tegu weighs 1.34 kg – 2.21 kg and measures 34 cm – 34.8 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata. ### Where does the black tegu live? Catalogue of Life checklists list the black tegu for 1 country: Brazil. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider. ### How long does the black tegu live? The black tegu has a recorded lifespan of 12.9 years. ### Is the black tegu an invasive species? In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the black tegu as invasive in 1 country: Brazil. It lists it as introduced in 3 in all. ### What kind of animal is the black tegu? The black tegu (Salvator merianae) belongs to the family Teiidae in the order Squamata. ### What eats the black tegu? Animals recorded preying on the black tegu include lichtenstein's green racer. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets. ### Which animals does the black tegu eat? Animals recorded as prey of the black tegu include nine-banded armadillo. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets. ## Sources - [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b Cite as: Black tegu (Salvator merianae). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-tegu