TEIIDAE, Gray, 1827

Krysko, Kenneth L., Burgess, Joseph P., Rochford, Michael R., Gillette, Christopher R., Cueva, Daniel, Enge, Kevin M., Somma, Louis A., Stabile, Jennifer L., Smith, Dustin C., Wasilewski, Joseph A., Kieckhefer Iii, Guy N., Granatosky, Michael C. & Nielsen, Stuart V., 2011, 3028, Zootaxa 3028, pp. 1-64 : 41

TEIIDAE

The Red Tegu, Tupinambis rufescens ( Günther 1871) , is indigenous to somewhat xeric regions of southeastern Brazil, Bolivia, southward to Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay ( Fitzgerald et al. 1991; Ávila-Pires 1995). On 14 August 2007, Doug Jones photographed an adult T. rufescens (photographic voucher UF 151510; MorphoBank M88648; Fig. 57) at 3 Mandershaw Lane, Punta Gorda, Charlotte County (26.99959 o N, - 81.89523 o W). On 20 September 2007, John Galvez photographed an adult T. rufescens (photographic voucher UF 151743) on SW 232 nd Avenue, 6.8 km south of State Road 9336, Miami-Dade County (25.3365 o N, - 80.56572 o W). This species likely was released or had escaped (stage 2) from enclosures. These represent the first known vouchers for this species in Florida.

The Gold Tegu, Tupinambis teguixin ( Linnaeus 1758) , is broadly indigenous to tropical regions of eastern and central South America ( Ávila-Pires 1995), and was intentionally introduced to the island of San Andrés, Columbia, by the release of juveniles from a pet trade shipment in 1984 ( Fitzgerald et al. 2005). In 1990, an adult (ca. 1066 mm TL) T. teguixin was found after it escaped from its enclosure in Casselberry, Seminole County ( Anonymous 1990), but no voucher was taken. Meshaka et al. (2004) stated that T. teguixin was observed in Everglades National Park (also see Butterfield et al. 1997), North Miami, and near Key Biscayne, Miami-Dade County, but they did not provide a specific locality nor voucher. In 1995, Brian E. Worthington captured an adult T. teguixin (UF 153696) inside a chicken coop at 3820 NW 65 th Avenue, Hollywood, Broward County (26.04296 o N, - 80.22056 o W). This specimen likely was released or had escaped (stage 2) from the nearby animal importer's facility at 6450 Stirling Road, Hollywood, Broward County (26.04591 o N, - 80.21976 o W). On 21 July 2006, Valerie Cassidy photographed an adult T. teguixin (photographic voucher UF 149983; MorphoBank M88649; Fig. 58) in Crandon Gardens, Crandon Park, Key Biscayne, Miami-Dade County (25.70431 o N, - 80.15788 o W)( Krysko et al. 2010a). We did not find this species in our ongoing surveys of this area from 1992–present ( Krysko et al. 2010a), suggesting that it was a recent release (stage 2) at this site. Tegus ( Tupinambis sp. ) were supposedly observed at the old Crandon Park Zoo before it closed in 1979 (Ernie Lynk and Steve Conners personal communication); however, we suspect that these might have been the commonly observed Ameiva ameiva ( Smith & Krysko 2007; Krysko et al. 2010a). On 11 June 2008, Jennifer Eells collected an adult (355 mm SVL, 970 mm TL) male T. teguixin (UF 152989, EVER 44945) at the Everglades National Park Headquarters, Parachute Key, Miami-Dade County (25.39614 o N, - 80.58433 o W). On 20 August 2009, Dallas Hazelton and Tony Pernas captured an adult (301 mm SVL) male T. teguixin (UF 155723) in a live trap baited with egg oil and marshmallow on SW 187 th Avenue, 0.5 km south of SW 360 th Street, Florida City, Miami-Dade County (25.42853 o N, - 80.49338 o W). On 7 November 2007, Tatiana Staats found an adult T. teguixin (photographic voucher UF 155487) at 8500 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key, Sarasota County (27.22651 o N, - 82.51865 o W). On 11 March 2008, Harry Phillips found an adult T. teguixin (photographic voucher UF 152526) dead in a swimming pool at 4328 SW 7 th Avenue, Cape Coral, Lee County (26.57102 o N, - 81.98876 o W). This species likely was released or had escaped (stage 2) from enclosures. These represent the first known vouchers for this species in Florida.