第 0618 号，共 1 402 张

Gila monster

Heloderma suspectum

名字的由来： "Gila" comes from the Gila River Basin in Arizona and New Mexico, where the lizard was once common. "Heloderma" is Greek for "studded skin".1

需要看医生很少致命，但被咬了要去看医生。

有毒的蜥蜴

咬伤吃：肉

对人的危险: 严重被咬了要去看医生。死亡非常罕见。

The Gila monster is a heavy, slow-moving lizard with a venomous bite. It lives in the south-western United States and the Mexican state of Sonora. It is the only venomous lizard native to the United States, but it rarely poses a real threat to people.1

生活在

South-western United States and Sonora, Mexico, including Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico1

北美洲

首页

It lives in scrubland, succulent desert and oak woodland, and shelters in burrows, thickets and under rocks. It spends about 90% of its life underground. It can be seen in puddles after a summer rain.1

长度

26 cm到56 cm (10.2 in到1.8 ft)1

体重

550 g到800 g (1.2 lb到1.8 lb)1

最高速度

约 2.4 公里/小时（1.5 英里/小时）

在陆地上: 走得慢的人

它吃什么？

It eats small mammals, small birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, insects, eggs and carrion. It finds prey by smell, using its forked, black-blue tongue, and it hunts by day or night.1

Gila monster的照片 — Gila monster。照片：H. van der Ploeg。 CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎样认出它

Adults are yellow to pink on a black background.1
Hatchlings have a simple, uniform pattern that is less colourful, and it changes over their first 6 months.1
It has a heavy body, a stout snout and a massive head.1
Adults can reach 56 cm in total length.1
Males often have larger, more triangular heads than females.1

常被误认为： Its closest relatives are beaded lizards, which live in Mexico and Guatemala. In the United States, the Gila monster is the only venomous lizard.1

毒液之力

咬伤

它咬的时候，毒液通过毒牙或牙齿出来。

它的毒液会造成什么？

The venom is made in glands in the lower jaw and flows along grooves in the lower teeth into the bite. It contains more than a dozen peptides and other substances, which cause pain and swelling. Four potentially lethal toxins have been found, which can cause bleeding inside the organs.1

它对人有多危险？

对人的危险: 严重被咬了要去看医生。死亡非常罕见。

The venom is usually not fatal to healthy adults. One death has been confirmed since 1930, on 16 February 2024. Earlier deaths involved adults who were drunk or whose bite was treated badly. Bites are painful and can cause shock, but the lizard is sluggish and rarely a real threat.1

它害怕时会做什么？

Its bright colours may warn predators to keep away, because it can inflict pain.1

如果它咬人

Bites are painful and need emergency medical care, because the venom may cause shock. Get medical help as quickly as possible.1
清洗伤口，让人保持冷静并就医。

一定先拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）。这里是一般急救指导，不是医疗建议。急救基础

注意安全

永远不要摸、抓或逗弄野生动物，即使是很小的，即使它看起来在睡觉或已经死了。
给它留出空间。如果遇到它，保持冷静，慢慢后退，让它走自己的路。
如果被它咬了：保持冷静，保持不动，拨打你的急救电话（112、000、911）或尽快去医院。记住它长什么样，拍张照片会有帮助。

它不是冲着你来的。它用毒液捕猎或保护自己，而且它更愿意躲起来。更多安全知识

在世界哪里？

非洲亚洲欧洲北美洲南美洲澳大利亚和大洋洲

它有多大？

它有多长？

它有多重？

和 7 根香蕉一样重

和 3 根香蕉首尾相接一样长和 18 块玩具积木排成一排一样长150 秒就能跑完 100 米（最快的人需要 9.6 秒）

Gila monster和你比起来有多大？

只是在你的浏览器里算一算。什么都不会被保存或发送到任何地方。

它有多快？

一只陆龟 约 0.3 公里/小时 (0.19 mph)

Gila monster 约 2.4 公里/小时 (1.5 mph)

一个在走路的人 约 5 公里/小时 (3.1 mph)

值得了解

事实

Exendin-4, one of the venom's peptides, led to the development of GLP-1 receptor agonists, which treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.1

Young Gila monsters can swallow up to half of their body weight in a single meal.1

It can store fat in its tail and survive a whole season on three to four large meals in spring.1

Its venom is thought to have evolved mainly for defence, because its prey is mostly eggs, small animals and other helpless prey.1

It can climb trees, cacti and fairly straight, rough-surfaced walls.1

Its teeth are replaced throughout its life, and broken teeth are replaced by the teeth behind them.1

谣言粉碎机

谣言： Its bite is always fatal, and its breath is poisonous.

真相： The venom is usually not fatal to healthy adult humans. One death has been confirmed since 1930.1

给毒液专家

学名: Heloderma suspectum
类别: 有毒的蜥蜴
家人: Helodermatidae2
排序: Squamata
大洲: 北美洲
宝宝: Females lay eggs after a shed lasting about 2 weeks. Eggs and young are more vulnerable to predators than adults.1
对人的危险: 3 / 5: 严重3