Tupinambinae
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| Presch , 1974 |
The Tupinambinae are a subfamily of the rail lizards (Teiidae) found in northern and central South America (east of the Andes, south to central Argentina ).
features
They are generally medium-sized to large lizards, the appearance of which is reminiscent of the old-world monitor lizards . Their head-to-trunk length ranges from 12 to 17 cm (in Callopistes maculatus ) to 25 or even 42 cm in Tupinambis . One of the characteristic features of the subfamily is that the anterior and middle (anteromedial) edge of the supratemporal window is formed by the parietal bone ( os parietale ), a non-expanded os quadratum ( square bone ) that is not articulated with the wing bone ( os pterygoideum ), and a maxillary without nasal apophysis . The section of the lower jaw behind the temporomandibular joint ( retroarticular process ) is smooth on the upper side.
Way of life
Tupinambinae are found in a wide range of habitats, from the Amazon rainforest to dry grasslands. They live terrestrially (on the ground) or semi-aquatic (Krokodilteju). Their diet consists mainly of invertebrates and small vertebrates and their eggs, as well as fruits.
Systematics
The Tupinambinae include four genera with eleven species:
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Crocodilurus Spix, 1825
- Crocodilurus amazonicus (Spix, 1825)
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Dracaena Daudin, 1802
- Krokodilteju ( Dracaena guianensis Daudin, 1802)
- Dracaena paraguayensis Amaral 1950
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Salvator
- Salvator duseni (Lönnberg, 1896)
- Black and white tegu ( Salvator merianae (Duméril & Bibron, 1839))
- Roter Teju ( Salvator rufescens (Günther, 1871))
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Tupinambis Daudin, 1803
- Tupinambis longilineus Silva, Ribeiro & Ávila-Pires, 1995
- Tupinambis matipu Avila-pires, 2018
- Tupinambis palustris Manzani & Abe, 2002
- Tupinambis quadrilineatus Manzani & Abe, 1997
- Goldteju ( Tupinambis teguixin (Linnaeus, 1758))
The genus Callopistes , which was formerly assigned to the subfamily, is now placed in its own, monotypical subfamily.
literature
- Michael B. Harvey, Gabriel N. Ugueto & Ronald L. Gutberlet, Jr .: Review of teiid morphology with a revised taxonomy and phylogeny of the Teiidae (Lepidosauria: Squamata) (= Zootaxa . 3459). Magnolia Press, Auckland 2012, ISBN 978-1-86977-987-0 .
- Laurie J. Vitt, Janalee P. Caldwell: Herpetology. An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam et al. 2014, ISBN 978-0-12386919-7 , p. 575 .