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Heloderma horridum (WIEGMANN, 1829)

IUCN Red List - Heloderma horridum - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaHelodermatidae, Platynota, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mexican Beaded Lizard
G: Skorpions-Krustenechse
S: Escorpión 
SynonymTrachyderma horridum WIEGMANN 1829: 421
Heloderma horridum — WIEGMANN 1829
Heloderma hernandesii WIEGMANN 1834
Heloderma horridum — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 499
Heloderma horridum — SUMICHRAST 1864: 497
Heloderma horridum — BOULENGER 1885: 301
Heloderma horridum — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 193
Heloderma horridum — WERMUTH 1963: 1
Heloderma horridum horridum — HARDY 1969: 152
Heloderma horridum — STEBBINS 1985: 169
Heloderma horridum — LINER 1994
Heloderma horridum — KÖHLER 2000: 51
Heloderma horridum — REISERER et al. 2013
Heloderma horridum — MATA-SILVA et al. 2015
Heloderma horridum — SCHUETT & REISERER 2017 
DistributionMexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Guerrero, Morelos, W Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Durango)

Type locality: Mexico; restricted to Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico (BOGERT & MARTIN DEL CAMPO 1956). TAYLOR (1969) stated that the type was collected at “Tehuantepec”.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMB 483 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Bogert & Martin del Campo 1956: 21 
CommentVenomous!

Subspecies: all previous subspecies have been elevated to full species status by Reiserer et al. 2013.

Type species: Trachyderma horridum WIEGMANN 1829 is the type species of the genus Heloderma WIEGMANN 1829 and of the family Helodermatidae.

Distribution: for a map see Reiserer et al. 2013: Fig. 7. 
EtymologyApparently named after the venomous bite of this species (and its relatives) which is unique among lizards.

The genus was named after Greek derma = skin, and Greek helos = nail, stud, for the pearly scalation of the species. The genus name is feminine (as all genus names ending in -derma, Böhme & Denzer 2019). 
References
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  • ARENAS MORENO, DIEGO MIGUEL; ADÁN BAUTISTA DEL MORAL & DAVID ALEJANDRO BRINDIS BADILLO. 2022. New altitudinal record of Heloderma horridum (Wiegmann, 1829) (Squamata: Helodermatidae). Revista Latinoamericana de Herpetología 5(1): 22–24. - get paper here
  • Ariano-Sanchez, D. & Salazar, G. 2012. Heloderma horridum charlesbogarti (Guatemalan beaded lizard) shelter use. Herpetological Review 43: 645-646 - get paper here
  • Ariano-Sanchez, Daniel and Gilberto Salazar. 2013. Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti (Guatemalan beaded lizard) wild reproductive ecology. Herpetological Review 44 (2): 324 - get paper here
  • Ariano-Sánchez, Daniel and Gilberto Salazar. 2015. Spatial ecology of the endangered Guatemalan Beaded Lizard, Heloderma charlesbogerti (Sauria: Helodermatidae), in a tropical dry forest of the Motagua Valley, Guatemala. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (1): 64–74 - get paper here
  • Augstenová, Barbora, Eleonora Pensabene, Lukáš Kratochvíl, and Michail Rovatsos. 2021. Cytogenetic Evidence for Sex Chromosomes and Karyotype Evolution in Anguimorphan Lizards. Cells 10, no. 7: 1612 - get paper here
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  • Cooper Jr., William E. & John Arnett 2003. Correspondence between diet and chemosensory responsiveness by helodermatid lizards. Amphibia-Reptilia 24 (1): 86-91 - get paper here
  • Cooper, Taylor; Amanda Liew, Gabriel Andrle, Elisabeth Cafritz, Hannah Dallas, Trent Niesen, Emily Slater, Joseph Stockert, Taylor Vold, Michael Young & Joseph Mendelson 2019. Latency in Problem Solving as Evidence for Learning in Varanid and Helodermatid Lizards, with Comments on Foraging Techniques. Copeia 107 (1): 78-84 - get paper here
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  • Douglas, Michael E.; Marlis R. Douglas, Gordon W. Schuett, Daniel D. Beck, Brian K. Sullivan 2010. Conservation phylogenetics of helodermatid lizards using multiple molecular markers and a supertree approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 55 (1): 153-167 - get paper here
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  • García, A. & Ceballos, G. 1994. GUIA DE CAMPO DE LOS REPTILES Y ANFIBIOS DE LA COSTA DE JALISCO, MEXICO. FUNDACION ECOLOGICA DE CUIXMALA, A.C. INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA, UNAM - get paper here
  • Garcia-Grajales, J., Bohorquez, R. A., Macias, M. A. P. and Silva, A. B. 2020. New records of Heloderma alvarezi (Wiegmann, 1829) (Sauria: Helodermatidae) on the coast of Oaxaca and increases to its distribution in Mexico. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12: 15495-15498. - get paper here
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