Skip to content
Gila monster

File:Gila-skull-1.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ207058· pop 61· linked from 294 articles

Gila monster

Sign in to save

Also known as Heloderma suspectum, Ozempic monster

species of venomous lizard from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico

OverviewAI-generated

The Gila monster, scientifically named *Heloderma suspectum*, is a species within the genus *Heloderma*. It was described by Cope in 1869. The organism is classified as cathemeral in its diel cycle. Its IUCN conservation status is Near Threatened, a designation recorded in 2007.

The species has several common names, including Monstruo de Gila, Lézard perlé, and Monstre de gila. It is included in the Wikipedia Vital Articles list at Level 4. While the provided data includes a taxon key and occurrence counts, these are internal identifiers and are not part of the general description. The Gila monster is referenced by 294 other encyclopedia articles.

Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, PubMed, Gbif Occ, IUCN Red List, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Near Threatened

Gila

GENUS

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. OrderCypriniformes
  4. FamilyCyprinidae
Observations recorded13,541

via GBIF · IUCN

Research

208 papers

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Heloderma
Image
AZ Gila Monster 01.jpg
Show 11 more facts
taxon rank
species
IUCN conservation status
Near Threatened
taxon name
Heloderma suspectum
Commons category
Heloderma suspectum
Commons gallery
Heloderma suspectum
taxon common name
strupeni bradavičar
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
diel cycle
cathemeral
short name
H. suspectum
taxon author citation
Cope, 1869
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~25 min read

Encyclopedic overview

A Gila monster

The Gila monster (/ˈhiːlə/ HEE-lə; Heloderma suspectum) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, slow-moving reptile, up to 22 in (56 cm) long, and it is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. Its venomous close relatives, the four beaded lizards (all former subspecies of Heloderma horridum) inhabit Mexico and Guatemala. The Gila monster is sluggish in nature, so it is not generally dangerous and very rarely poses a real threat to humans. Nonetheless, it has a fearsome reputation and is sometimes killed despite the species being protected by state law in Arizona.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gila monster” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (12)