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Heloderma suspectum COPE, 1869

IUCN Red List - Heloderma suspectum - Near Threatened, NT

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Higher TaxaHelodermatidae, Platynota, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
SubspeciesHeloderma suspectum cinctum BOGERT & MARTÍN DEL CAMPO 1956
Heloderma suspectum suspectum COPE 1869 
Common NamesE: Gila Monster
E: Banded Gila Monster [cinctum]
E: Reticulate Gila Monster [suspectum]
S: Monstruo del Gila 
SynonymHeloderma suspectum COPE 1869: 5
Heloderma suspectum — BOULENGER 1885: 302
Heloderma suspectum — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 193
Heloderma suspectum — WERMUTH 1963: 2
Heloderma suspectum suspectum — HARDY 1969: 153
Heloderma suspectum — STEBBINS 1985: 169
Heloderma suspectum — LINER 1994
Heloderma suspectum suspectum — LINER 2007
Heloderma suspectum — THOMSON et al. 2016: 212

Heloderma suspectum cinctum BOGERT & MARTÍN DEL CAMPO 1956
Heloderma suspectum cinctum — LOVICH & BEAMAN 2007 
DistributionUSA (SE California, S Nevada, SW Utah, Arizona, New Mexico), Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa)

Type locality: Sierra de la Unión, “Sonora” (= Arizona)

cinctum: USA (SE Nevada, W Arizona, SW Utah); Type locality: Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada  
Reproductionoviparous 
Typessyntypes: USNM 2971
Holotype: AMNH 7456, adult male, collected by Mr. William H. Rogers, April 28, 1919; paratypes: BYU [cinctum] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Bogert & Martin del Campo 1956: 36 (suspectum) and p. 47 (cinctum).


Additional details (42 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Subspecies: Douglas et al. (2010) and Schuett et al. 2017 stated that they found no mtDNA evidence for the two subspecies of H. suspectum; however, their results are difficult to evaluate because little information is provided on the collection localities of the sampled specimens. Further study is needed (Crother et al. 2017).

Genomics: this is one of the species selected by the Genome 10K consortium for complete genome sequencing. For the draft genome see Webster et al. 2024.

Distribution: map for California in Thomson et al. 2016: 213. 
EtymologyCope chose the epithet "suspectum" for the Gila monster because he "suspected" it was venomous. 
References
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  • Beaman, Kent R., Barrett J. Scurlock, Jeffrey E. Lovich and Lara A. Kobelt. 2015. Geographic Distribution: Heloderma suspectum cinctum (banded Gila monster). Herpetological Review 46 (3): 384 - get paper here
  • Beaman, Kent R., Jason L. Jones, Jeffrey E. Lovich, C. M. Gienger and Polly M. Conrad. 2014. Geographic Distribution: Heloderma suspectum cinctum (banded gila monster). Herpetological Review 45 (3): 462-463 - get paper here
  • Beck, D.D. 1985. Heloderma suspectum cinctum (Banded Gila Monster). Pattern/Coloration. Herpetological Review 16:53 - get paper here
  • Beck, D.D. 1989. Helodermatids - ecology and energetics of beaded lizards: the gracefulness of being sluggish. Tucson Herpetological Society Newsletter 2(3):17-22.
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  • Bernstein, Peter 1999. Morphology of the nasal capsule of Heloderma suspectum with comments on the systematic position of helodermatids (Squamata: Helodermatidae). Acta Zoologica 80: 219-230. - get paper here
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  • Boulenger, George A. 1891. Notes on the osteology of Heloderma horridum and H. suspectum, with remarks on the systematic position of the Helodermatidae and on the vertebrae of the Lacertilia. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1891: 109-118 - get paper here
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  • French, Robert; Daniel Brooks, Anne-Michelle Ruha, Farshad Shirazi, Peter Chase, Keith Boesen & Frank Walter 2015. Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) envenomation: Descriptive analysis of calls to United States Poison Centers with focus on Arizona cases. Clinical Toxicology 53:1, 60-70, DOI: 10.3109/15563650.2014.988791 - get paper here
  • Funk, Richard S. 1966. Notes about Heloderma suspectum, along the western extremity of its range. Herpetologica 22 (4): 254-258 - get paper here
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  • Gienger, C. M.; C. Richard Tracy, and Kenneth A. Nagy 2014. Life in the Lizard Slow Lane: Gila Monsters Have Low Rates of Energy Use and Water Flux. Copeia Jun 2014, Vol. 2014, No. 2: 279-287. - get paper here
  • GIENGER, C. M.; SETH COHEN, JASON JONES & C. RICHARD TRACY. 2021. HELODERMA SUSPECTUM (Gila Monster). REFUGE REUSE. Herpetological Review 52 (3): 648. - get paper here
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