Gila monster

noun

Etymology: From the Gila River in Arizona and New Mexico, whose name may ultimately derive from a Yuma word meaning "running water which is salty".

1. A venomous lizard, Heloderma suspectum, that lives in the deserts of the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico.

   “Ever see one a them Gila monsters take hold, mister? Grabs hold, an’ you chop him in two an’ his head hangs on.”