The invasion of a dog-sized lizard species has sparked concern as it wreaks havoc on southern ecosystems.

At the heart of experts’ fears is the fact that the roughly five-foot-long black-and-white Argentine tegu will eat “really anything,” said Frank Mazzotti, a wildlife professor at the University of Florida. The Palm Beach post.

They devour the eggs of quail, chickens, turtles, and even alligators, as well as turkeys, gopher tortoises, and ground-nesting birds. They also feast on fruits, vegetables, plants and pet food.

This insatiable appetite poses a threat to native wildlife, and the beast has now spread to more states, including Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, and even Maryland.

“Because they can live in so many more places and eat everything, there won’t be much to stop them,” Mazzotti warned.

It’s unclear exactly how many of these highly intelligent creatures are currently found in the United States, but there have been nearly 10,000 sightings since 2002, according to a database created by the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health from the University of Georgia.

The vast majority of reports have occurred in Florida, particularly in the Southern Glades Wildlife and Environmental Area, south of Miami. There was one sighting in Maryland and five in Texas.

The Argentine black and white tegu lizard can grow up to five feet long, have a varied diet, and can exist in a wide variety of environments.

Pictured: Southern Glades Wildlife and Environmental Area, where tegu lizards thrive

Although the Southern Glades Wildlife Park appears to be their main hangout, they have also been spotted in Miami itself and even in the upscale city of West Palm Beach, where a local found the lizard in a parking lot.

And as Mazzotti and others have pointed out, tegus can thrive in a variety of different environments, making it nearly impossible to control their numbers.

In 2019, Bryan Falk, who was the supervising invasive species biologist at Everglades National Park at the time, called them “all-purpose lizards.’

“They are happy in many different environments, whether it is natural or disturbed habitat. We once had a report of a tegu living in a dryer vent in someone’s house in Homestead,” said Falk, who is now a program analyst for the National Invasive Species Council, an agency of the US Department of the Interior.

Another reason why tegus were able to move so far north is because they can maintain their body temperature during different seasons.

This discovery was carried out by a group of Brazilian and Canadian biologists from São Paulo State University in 2016, and scientists have since considered the tegu to be the only warm-blooded lizard on earth.

All other reptiles are strictly cold-blooded, meaning they cannot generate body heat or maintain their metabolism without being in a warm environment.

This is why when temperatures drop, alligators and snakes migrate to warmer places or hibernate to save energy.

A 115.2-pound female Burmese python is seen devouring a 77-pound white-tailed deer somewhere in Everglades National Park.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission contractors display a captured Burmese python Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in the Everglades

Tegus do not have this same limitation, as evidenced by the fact that they can increase their body temperature up to 10 degrees Celsius above ambient temperature during their spring mating season.

The extreme threat tegus pose to local wildlife comes at a time when Burmese pythons are also invading Florida.

Like tegus, Burmese pythons are an invasive species. Pythons, however, average 16 feet long and can devour foxes, bobcats, raccoons and other animals.

A recent study of Southwest Florida Conservatory discovered that pythons can also be whole deer and some alligators.

Pythons and tegus are believed to have made landfall in the United States through the exotic pet trade, with pythons being exported in the early 1980s.

Tegus only began proliferating in earnest in the wild about 15 years ago, so experts believe their introduction came later.

Some steps have been taken by state authorities to limit tegu populations, including banning residents from keeping them as pets.

Florida and South Carolina banned reptiles as pets in spring 2021, while Georgia banned any tegus not registered with the Department of Natural Resources by December 4, 2023.

These wetlands are just south of the Miami metropolitan area (photo)

The creatures have also been spotted in the upscale town of West Palm Beach (pictured).

Scientists can now track the movements of tegus and other animals through deposits of environmental DNA in water or soil samples.

This discovery will allow wildlife officials to better control populations of invasive species like tegus and Burmese pythons.

All three states have grandfather clauses for current owners, and based on the lifespan of tegus, which is approximately 20 years, they will likely remain in captivity for some time.

But when it comes to monitoring tegus that have escaped captivity or were born in the wild, scientists now think they’ve discovered a much more reliable way to track them. And it has to do with DNA.

Environmental DNA (eDNA), which is constantly shed by all living organisms, can now be detected more precisely than ever before.

A new technology, known as the tetraplex digital PCR test, has been developed by researchers at the University of Florida and can successfully detect eDNA from four different species in a single water or soil sample.

Melissa Miller, specialist in invasion ecology at the University of Florida, lead author of the studysaid the South Florida Solar Sentinel that his team was able to see Burmese python DNA in a soil sample two weeks after the snake was removed from an outdoor enclosure.

This advancement was developed with the hope that if the technology was successful, it could be used to effectively track more than 500 non-native species in Florida, including tegus.

Miller said eDNA testing will offer wildlife officials engaged in invasive species removal efforts a cost-effective way to ensure they are indeed extinct, instead of having to periodically check vast areas of land for physical observations.