false monitor
{{Short description|Species of lizard}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Callopistes flavipunctatus.jpg
| status =
| genus = Callopistes
| species = flavipunctatus
| authority = (Duméril & Bibron, 1839)
| synonyms =
}}
The false monitor or tegú varano (Callopistes flavipunctatus) is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae.{{NRDB species |genus=Callopistes |species=flavipunctatus |accessdate=2 July 2019}} It is found in northern Peru and southern Ecuador.{{Cite journal |last1=Crispo |first1=Secundo |last2=Koch |first2=Claudia |date=April 30, 2015 |title=Notes on natural history and distribution of Callopistes flavipunctatus (Squamata: Teiidae) in northwestern Peru |journal=Salamandra |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=57–60}}
Description
The species can reach a total length of 100 cm. Males get larger than females and have more massive heads.
Like many other teiids, they are capable of dropping and regenerating their tails.
Diet
File:Callopistes flavipunctatus 143913437 (cropped).jpg
Although data on their diet is scarce, what is known seems to indicate that species feeds on lizards, small rodents, and large insects, although Dicrodon lizards (such as D. guttulatum) may possibly represent the species' main prey. They have also been observed eating fruit, such as that of yellow cordia, as well as small birds such as Peruvian meadowlarks.
Ecology
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2934301}}
Category:Reptiles described in 1839
Category:Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril
Category:Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron
{{Teiidae-stub}}