NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Banded Gila Monster [cinctum]
Heloderma suspectum Cope, 1869
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) at the American International Rattlesnake Museum
Blueag9 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Gila monster ( HEE-lə; Heloderma suspectum) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, slow-moving reptile, up to 22 in (56 cm) long, and it is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. The Gila monster is sluggish in nature, so it is not generally dangerous and very rarely poses a real threat to humans, though the bite is painful. Nonetheless, it has a fearsome reputation and is sometimes killed despite the species being protected by state law in Arizona.
The lower teeth have venom grooves to transmit the venom to the prey. The venom contains multiple peptides; one of these, exendin-4, formed the basis for the development of the GLP-1 receptor agonists, used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Wikipedia contributors, Gila monster; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:54:44.144855+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Heloderma suspectum Cope, 1869
- Name authority
- Cope, 1869
- Common name
- Banded Gila Monster [cinctum]
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Helodermatidae
- Genus
- Heloderma
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAutarchoglossa
- familyHelodermatidae
- genusHeloderma
- speciesHeloderma suspectum Cope, 1869
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Heloderma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Guatemala Beaded LizardHeloderma charlesbogerti Campbell & Vannini, 1988 | HelodermatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Río Fuerte Beaded LizardHeloderma exasperatum Bogert & Martin Del Campo, 1956 | HelodermatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mexican Beaded LizardHeloderma horridum (Wiegmann, 1829) | HelodermatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Heloderma&species=suspectum Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3KGXZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.