- Origin: South America
- Class: Reptiles
- Order: Squamates
- Suborder: Sauriens
- Family: Tediiae
The red tejus is found in Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and a small part of Brazil. It frequents tropical forests, grasslands and savannahs in regions where there may be periods of flooding alternating with periods of arid conditions. To protect itself, it stays in its burrow. It is a large terrestrial and diurnal lizard, the males can measure up to 1m. 40, while females are smaller.
While juveniles are mainly insectivorous, adult tejus are omnivorous, feeding on vertebrates, invertebrates and plants, including seeds, fruit, flowers and honey. This saurian is an opportunistic hunter in the wild.
Tejus are hunted mainly for their skins, for the pet trade and to a lesser extent for human consumption by local people. In 1999, the export quotas for Argentina and Paraguay were 1,350,000 skins per year.
IUCN Status : near threatened (Appendix II)