Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,

I am looking for a little more info on Blue Tegus. Are they a color morph or a seperate species/subspecies from the B/W? Bluetegu.com seems to have limited info, besides a few FAQ.

Thanks!
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Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
www.forgottenfriend.org

Dude, this is a topic I've seen argued by some people and it really hasn't been figured out. As my name applies, I'm a big fan of 'em, but from what I've seen, it's hard to say. There are people who insist it's a new species, but the same people also insisted at first that "at the very least" it was a sub-species of the Columbian black&white, which it most clearly is not so I wonder if they know what they are talking about. They also tend to be the same people who sell 'em for a lot of money. Others have made pretty convincing arguments that they are a morph of the Argentine Black&white. I used to think that they was a new species, but then it was pointed out to me that no one could show me a hard, physical difference between 'em other than color and then afterwards say what I should expect them to be like to be different. Seems fishy to me that the people who claim it's a new species are the ones who before couldn't tell the difference between distinctly different species and are making a big profit from them. Supposedly some guys that work with them from south america claim they are morphs of Argentine Black&whites.
Best that is can be said is it appears they probably come from north of the Amazon around the Guyanas region.

I only have Argentine B&W's so I can't really comment on them being a different sub-species, but I have heard through the grapevine that once in a great while a Blue will come in on the Colombian shipments and are pretty distinct from the Colombian B&G/B&W's