Elise Tobler - Gila Monsters Have a Deadly Bite!

CREATURE FEATURE

You might think Gila monsters are terrifying, but while they do have a their latest meal.

Gila monsters are the largest lizards in North America, with heavy, scaled bodies. They look unusual and are often feared, which is why they are called monsters. Once you learn about them, youll see theyre nothing to fear. Gila monsters are a terrific part of the world!

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Gila is pronounced HEE-luh. These lizards are named after the Gila River in Arizona, where they are plentiful.

HOME SWEET HOME

The of Gila monsters is mostly in Arizona and the deserts of the southwestern United States. They can be found in parts of New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, and northwestern Mexico.

Gila monsters spend as much as 95 percent of their life underground. They dig burrows with their sharp claws or use burrows made by other animals. Gila monsters commonly live in areas where there are plenty of rocks to hide under. These lizards dont want to be caught in the hot desert sun.

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Gila monsters may be more active at night after theyve spent their day dozing in an underground burrow digesting their latest meal. They do like to bask in the sun, but once theyve warmed up, back underground they go!

BRIGHTLY COLORED AND BONY

Gila monsters have short, fat bodies. They can grow to be about 20 inches (50 cm) long and weigh about 4 pounds (1.8 kg). Gila monsters do not move very fast at all, running at only about 1 mile (1.6 km) per hour.

Their bodies are covered with beaded scales called osteoderms (AH-stee-oh-derms). These are arranged in colorful patterns, often yellow or orange, and banded with black. Bright colors warn predators to stay away and not to attack or eat them. Gila monsters can live 20 to 30 years.

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Osteoderms are common among reptiles. Armadillos and alligators have them, and so did dinosaurs! This kind of scale contains bony matter and helps protect the animal.

OLD LIZARDS

Gila monsters have one living relative lizard, the Mexican beaded lizard. Gila monsters can also trace their family back to the time of dinosaurs. Beaded lizards that lived in the Cretaceous period (145 million years ago) may be related to the Gila monsters we know today.

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There are only two kinds of Gila monster: the reticulated Gila monster and the banded Gila monster. Gila monsters are in a scientific group called Heloderma, which comes from Greek words meaning studded skin.

dating back 8,000 to 10,000 years ago near Las Vegas, Nevada. Sometimes, Gila monsters are called living fossils because their kind of lizard has been around so very long.