---
title: "Argentine Black-and-white Tegu"
description: "Salvator merianae — Rettili. The Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae), also commonly known as the Argentine giant tegu, the black and white tegu, the blue tegu, and the huge tegu, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/argentine-black-and-white-tegu
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Argentine Black-and-white Tegu

> Salvator merianae — Rettili. The Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae), also commonly known as the Argentine giant tegu, the black and white tegu, the blue tegu, and the huge tegu, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae.

- Scientific name: *Salvator merianae*
- Category: `reptiles` (Rettili)
- Habitats: `forest` (Foresta), `zoo` (Zoo e animali domestici), `savanna` (Savana), `jungle` (Giungla)
- iNaturalist observations: 13105
- Wikidata: [Q24354290](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24354290)
- iNaturalist taxon: [318758](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/318758)

## Names

- en: Argentine Black-and-white Tegu
- de: Schwarzweißer Teju
- es: Tegu blanco y negro
- fr: Tégu noir et blanc

## Countries with the most observations

BR (6965), AR (4277), UY (511), US (276), BO (169), PY (98)

## Summary

The Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae), also commonly known as the Argentine giant tegu, the black and white tegu, the blue tegu, and the huge tegu, is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species is the largest of the "tegu" lizards. It is an omnivorous species, which inhabits the tropical rain forests, savannas, and semideserts of eastern and central South America. It is native to south and southeastern Brazil, Uruguay, eastern Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina.
Tegu lizards are sometimes kept as pets, being notable for their unusually high intelligence and their relatively gentle nature…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_black_and_white_tegu

## Photo

![Argentine Black-and-white Tegu](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/argentine-black-and-white-tegu/medium.jpg)

Photo: Luis Capeletti · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140124451

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/argentine-black-and-white-tegu?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).