Gila monster
Gila monster
Reptile
A venomous desert lizard that chews venom from glands in its lower jaw, stores fat in its thick tail and spends much of its time in burrows.
One of the few venomous lizards in the world, native to the Mojave Desert.
💡 Fun Facts
- Unlike venomous snakes, they don't inject venom through fangs, but rather chew it into their prey from glands in their lower jaw.
- They spend most of their time in burrows and only come out to hunt a few weeks a year.
- They store fat in their thick tails to survive when food is scarce.
Name Story
Heloderma suspectum
means “the studded skin that was 'suspected'”
What does its name mean?
- Heloderma — studded skinGreek (hēlos, 'stud/nail-head' + derma, 'skin')
- suspectum — suspectedLatin
- Gila — after the Gila River in Arizona, where it livesplace name
Its skin is covered in bead-like bony studs — and its name hides a true detective story: the scientist who named it suspected this slow desert lizard was venomous, and he turned out to be right.