Wildlife of the World
Puzzle 79 · Deserts and High Plateaus · Page 116 in print
Gila Monster
The Gila monster is one of only a handful of venomous lizards in the world; it spends the great majority of its life underground in the deserts of the American Southwest and northern Mexico.
Jump to a word
A Gila monster crosses dry ground in New Mexico.
Species reference for Gila Monster. The photograph does not necessarily show the population or place named in the puzzle.
(c) Matt Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original recordImage changes
Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.
A Gila monster shelters among roots in Arizona.
Species reference for Gila Monster. The photograph does not necessarily show the population or place named in the puzzle.
(c) Guillermo Roque, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original recordImage changes
Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.
The words
Arizona
Gila monsters are native to Arizona.
Exenatide
Exenatide, a synthetic form of a Gila monster venom peptide, treats type 2 diabetes.
Fat Tail
The Gila monster's short, fat tail holds a reserve of fat. With fat stored there and in its body, it can sit out winter in a burrow and spend long spells underground without hunting.
Animal Diversity Web (opens a new tab) · nationalzoo.si.edu (opens a new tab) · San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (opens a new tab)
Gila
The Gila monster is a venomous lizard of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Grooved Teeth
Venom runs into the wound along grooved teeth.
Heloderma
The Gila monster is Heloderma suspectum.
Lizard
The Gila monster is one of the few venomous lizards.
Mojave Desert
Gila monsters in the Mojave Desert of Nevada.
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (opens a new tab)
Osteoderms
The bead-like bony scales of its skin.
Its beadlike scales are called osteoderms.
Pink Bands
Its body is banded black with pink, orange or salmon.
Refugia
Gila monsters stay in underground refugia for most of the year.
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (opens a new tab)
Sonoran Desert
The Gila monster is a Sonoran Desert reptile.
Stout Claws
Gila monsters dig burrows with their stout claws.
Tortoise Eggs
Gila monsters eat tortoise eggs when they can.
Toxin
Gila monsters make venom in glands in the lower jaw.
Sources
- gilanationalzoo.si.edu
- Gila Monster (source capture)National Institute on Aging, US National Institutes of Health
- Gila Monster (source capture)Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- gila-tonguewww.nps.gov
- Gila Monster (source capture)Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (conference abstract)
- Gila Monster (source capture)San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance