________________________________

From: Joseph T. Collins [mailto:jcollins@...]
Sent: Tue 09/01/2007 18:35
Subject: Huge Helodermatid Help



NEWS RELEASE
The Center for North American Herpetology
Lawrence, Kansas
http://www.cnah.org
9 January 2007

THE BEADED LIZARD (HELODERMA HORRIDUM) AND GILA MONSTER (HELODERMA
SUSPECTUM): A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE FAMILY HELODERMATIDAE

Kent R. Beaman, Daniel D. Beck & Brian M. McGurty

2006 Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service 136: 1-66

This bibliography is a compilation of references on the venomous
lizards of the
family
Helodermatidae, the beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum) and Gila
monster
(Heloderma suspectum). Like all venomous reptiles, the
Helodermatidae
have long
been shrouded in mystery, misinformation, and myth. This mystique is
even
reflected in their specific epithets: horridum (the horrible one)
and
suspectum
(the suspect). In 1869, E.D. Cope chose the epithet "suspectum" for
the
Gila
monster because he "suspected" it was venomous but it took the
scientific
community nearly another half century to agree that, indeed this was
true.
Unlike most other lizards, helodermatids cannot run swiftly. A
painful
venomous
bite is an important feature of their ability to avoid predators.
For
us humans,
the venom of helodermatid lizards is proving to be a surprising
source
of
pharmacologically active peptides, some of which hold great promise
for
treating disease, such as diabetes.

*****

A gratis PDF of this article is available from the CNAH PDF Library
at

http://www.cnah.org/cnah_pdf.asp