How Do Gila Monsters Work?

or swallowed. Venomous creatures take a different approach. Jellyfish, rattlesnakes, and other venom wielders have to inject their targets with harmful cocktails, whether by feang, by stinger, or by some other means. For the HeLa monster taxonomical name Hiloderma suspect um, a quick little bite won't do the trick. Instead, the largest lizard native to the United States and venoms attackers

by chewing on them while he live. Venom rarely kills human beings, the oral assault is still none too pleasant. After one scientist was not on by a baby helo monster, he compared the experience to getting repeatedly struck with a hammer. The good news is that HeLa monsters typically avoid people. Desert recluses through and through. They spend most of their lives hold up in underground layers. Yet the secretive creatures have been enlisted in the fight against diabetes, all thanks

to the venom they carry. Besides the HeLa monster, the Heloderma genus includes outwardly similar reptiles called bearded lizards. Herpetologists are struggling to get a definitive head count of species within that genus. Many regions in North and Central America have distinctive looking bearded lizard populations. To date, it's unclear whether some of these animals represent separate species or not. Various Heloderma lizards can be found from Guatemala to the

Mormon Corridor. The HeLa monster stands alone, however, as the only species natively found on US soil. The animal's natural range includes arts of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and the Mexican state of Sonora. Oh And, in case you're wondering the name Heila monster, it's probably a nod to the Heila River in southern Arizona and New Mexico. Capable of growing up to twenty two inches or fifty cis long, Heila monsters have tiny bones embedded in many

of their scales. Giving the lizards a heavily appearance. Their color schemes include Southwestern hughes with oranged pinkish bands, dots or blotches popping out against a charcoal backdrop. Patterns may vary from one individual to the next. Heila monsters learn about their environments by gathering airborne flavor particles on their forked tongues. They share this treat with monitor lizards like the famed Komodo dragon, and with many snakes. For the article,

this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke by email with Arizona State University life scientist L. Donardo, He said, unlike rattlesnake, Helo monsters do not have fangs. Rattler fangs are basically syringes hollowed teeth designed to inject venom with rapid efficiency. A Heila monster's venom is produced by quote relatively large glands around the lower jaw bones. This toxic

material comes oozing out as the animal choose. The pearly whites contain vertical grooves that help channel the substance, and DiNardo said furthermore, to help deliver the venom components into the target, the teeth on the lower jaw are somewhat enlarged. With each squeeze of the jaws, saliva, including venom, is released into the mouth, and some of it moves via capillary action up the teeth and into whatever is being bitten. While not as sophisticated as rattlesnake venom delivery, it is

still quite effective. And then there's that twist I mentioned earlier. Their venom is being investigated in the fight against type two diabetes. Among the many components of helo monster venom is the peptide extending four. Chemically, it resembles g lp one, a glucose regulating hormone found in the human digestive tract. The discovery of extending four in Heila monsters led to the development of an FDA approved drug for type two diabetes called accnatide, sold under a couple of brand names.

This medication was first released in two thousand five and is now used by more than two million people. Wild HeLa monsters are rather stingy with their venom. It's reserved for self defense purposes. Weapon the lizard's deploy against coyotes, birds of prey, and over curious humans. Keep your hands to yourself, folks, They don't generally use it for hunting because their prey include things that can be subdued without it.

DeNardo said. Adult HeLa monsters are near exclusive raiders of vertebrate nests, eating quail eggs, rabbit pups, rodent pups, lizard eggs, and tortoise eggs. Alas is known about the diets of baby helas, they seem to have a taste for eggs laid by smaller lizards. Hatcheling Heila monsters were the focus of a twenty eighteen paper DeNardo co authored. The lizards are committed home bodies, rarely leaving the safety and comfort

of burrows or rocky dens. Unable to warm themselves like humans and other mammals do, Heila monsters derive heat from their surroundings. Their ideal body temperature is about eighty four degrees fahrenheit that's twenty nine celsius, DeNardo said. In the summer, underground temperatures are very close to this throughout the day and night. Thus, the borough provides a very good environment

for the HeLa monster. Become wintertime, the thermometer plummets, even though burrows tend to remain warmer than the outside air. They made dropped temperatures of just forty five degrees fahrenheit that's twelve celsius during the cold months. These cold spells, while tolerable, pose logistical problems for infant Heila monsters. Females lay clutches of three to nine eggs in midsummer and deposited under round Their eggs hatched during the fall when

the desert grows chilly. By observing artificially warmed eggs and a wild clutch found near a construction site, DeNardo and his twenty eighteen co authors realized HeLa monsters practice over wintering. Food is hard to come by in the autumn season, so newborn babies stay put for months on end until the weather outside gets warmer and many options increase. Only then the hatchlings seek out their first meals. Now, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the prequel to egg

laying mating behavior, DeNardo said. If they come into contact with each other during the breeding season early summer, males will fight. The battle is mostly a wrestling match, but they can inflict wounds with their bites, often on the tops of the head. Meanwhile, as an epilogue, lizards and ice skating might seem like a questionable combo unless you're the Vegas Golden Nights. This National Hockey League franchise played its for game. In the Club's official mascot is Chance,

an anthropomorphic cula monster. Hey, at least the species is indigenous to Nevada. Today's episode is based on the article the Reclusive HeLa Monster Packs of Venomous Punch on how stuff works dot Com, written by Mark Vancini. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Klein. Before more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.