Tupinambis teguixin (Linnaeus, 1758)

Uchoa, Lucas Rafael, Delfim, Fagner Ribeiro, Mesquita, Daniel Oliveira, Colli, Guarino Rinaldi, Garda, Adrian Antonio & Guedes, Thais B., 2022, Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Caatinga, northeastern Brazil: Detailed and updated overview, Vertebrate Zoology 72, pp. 599-659 : 599

Tupinambis teguixin (Linnaeus, 1758)

Figs 11.1 and 19

Type locality.

“Indiis”, restricted by Presch (1973) to Paramaribo, Suriname.

Distribution.

In the Caatinga it is registered in the states of Bahia, Ceará, and Piauí. It is widespread in the Caatinga and with annual mean temperature 20 to 28°C along two ecoregions (Table 1 ; Appendix S3). Distributed in low to medium elevation areas (5-405 m a.s.l.), with annual mean temperature 26 to 28°C, and annual average annual rainfall between 726 and 1,311 mm.

Ecological notes.

Terrestrial and diurnal. Occurs in sandy soil and riparian vegetation with deciduous and thorny shrubs in a semiarid climate ( Passos et al. 2013a). Diet is omnivorous, generalist eating invertebrates (e.g., Gastropoda, Araneae and Coleoptera ), small vertebrates (e.g., anuros, serpentes, and pisces), eggs, carrion, and fruits and plants (e.g., vegetal matter and Pindó) (Vanzolini et al. 1980; Mercolli and Yanosky 1994). Oviparous, the female usually lays 13-29 eggs at a time (Vanzolini et al. 1980).

Figures

Figure 11. Lizards recorded in the Caatinga region. 11.1 Tupinambis teguixin; 11.2 Eurolophosaurus amathites; 11.3 Eurolophosaurus divaricatus; 11.4 Stenocercus squarrosus; 11.5 Strobilurus torquatus; 11.6 Tropidurus cocorobensis; 11.7 Tropidurus erythrocephalus, and 11.8 Tropidurus etheridgei. Photograph credits: Daniel Mesquita (11.1, 11.4), Marco A. Freitas (11.2, 11.3, 11.5, 11.7, 11.8), Adrian Garda (11.6).