第 0619 號，共 1 402 號

Mexican beaded lizard

Heloderma horridum

名字的由來： The genus name Heloderma means "studded skin" in Ancient Greek, and the species name horridum is Latin for "rough" or "rude".1

需要看醫生很少致命，但被咬了需要看醫生。

有毒液的蜥蜴

咬吃：肉

對人的危險: 嚴重被咬了需要看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

The Mexican beaded lizard is a venomous lizard found mainly in Mexico and southern Guatemala. It is one of only a few lizards known to have evolved a true venom delivery system. Its venom is also being studied for possible medicines.1

分布在

Mexico, from Sonora to Oaxaca, and parts of southern Guatemala (the Pacific and Atlantic drainages).1

北美洲

首頁

It lives mainly in deserts, tropical deciduous forests and thorn scrub, and also in pine-oak forests, from sea level up to 1,500 m. In the wild it is active only from April to mid-November, spending about an hour a day above ground.1

長度

57 cm 到 91 cm (1,9 ft 到 3 ft)1

體重

4 kg (8,8 lb)1

最高速度

大約 2,5 km/h（1,6 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

It is a specialised nest predator that feeds mainly on bird and reptile eggs. It climbs deciduous trees to search for prey and sometimes eats small birds, mammals, frogs, lizards and insects.1

Mexican beaded lizard 的照片 — Mexican beaded lizard。照片：Francisco Farriols Sarabia。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Black with yellowish spots or bands.1
Small, beadlike scales that do not overlap, which give it its name.1
Stocky body with a broad head.1
Short tail that stores fat, and does not regrow if broken.1
Adults are 57 to 91 cm long.1

常被誤認為： The Gila monster is its closest relative and looks similar. The Mexican beaded lizard is larger, and its colours are duller, black with yellowish bands.1

毒液力量

咬

咬的時候，毒液會從毒牙或牙齒出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

Its venom is a weak hemotoxin, meaning it attacks blood and tissue. It can cause respiratory failure, which is when breathing fails. In humans, bites cause severe pain that can spread well beyond the bite and last up to 24 hours, along with swelling, weakness, sweating and a rapid drop in blood pressure.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 嚴重被咬了需要看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

Human deaths from its bites are rare. Eight human bites were documented in the past century, and almost all happened when people prodded captive lizards with a finger or bare foot.1

如果牠咬人

清洗傷口，讓傷者保持冷靜，並且就醫。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠咬了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多重？

跟 1 隻家貓一樣重

跟 2 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 5 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長大約跟一隻家貓一樣重可以在 140 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

Mexican beaded lizard 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻陸龜 大約 0,3 km/h (0,19 mph)

Mexican beaded lizard 大約 2,5 km/h (1,6 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

It is one of only two venomous beaded lizard species, and the only lizards known to have evolved an overt venom delivery system, along with the rest of its genus.1

Some compounds in its venom are being studied for possible treatments of diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and HIV. One of them, exendin-3, is the basis of the drug exenatide.1

The beaded lizard is immune to the effects of its own venom.1

It is larger than the Gila monster, with an average adult weight of 800 g, and large specimens exceed 2,000 g.1

Beaded lizards have forked pink tongues that they use to smell, with the help of a Jacobson's organ.1

Young beaded lizards are rarely seen, as they are believed to spend much of their early lives underground.1

破解迷思

迷思： The beaded lizard is more venomous than a rattlesnake, can cause lightning strikes with its tail, or can make a pregnant woman miscarry by looking at her.

真相： These beliefs are incorrect. Its venom is weak, and human deaths are rare.1

給毒液專家

學名: Heloderma horridum
類群: 有毒液的蜥蜴
家人: Helodermatidae2
排序: Squamata
各大洲: 北美洲
寶寶: It lays clutches of 2 to 30 eggs in late summer or early fall, and the eggs hatch the following spring or summer.1
牠在野外的狀況: Threatened (Mexican law, category A). Listed on Appendix II of CITES.1
對人的危險: 3 / 5: 嚴重3