The Beaded Lizards 



followed by an emphatic declaration that the particular creature 

 was wholly innocuous. As is usual, such hasty conclusions 

 are of but little or no value and the incident in question may 

 be easily explained. The person bitten was luckily seized only 

 by the solid teeth, with which all snakes are provided, and not 

 by the fangs, as the poison-conducting teeth, with that kind of 

 snake, are situated in the rear of the upper jaw. 



But to return to the Beaded Lizards. These reptiles do 

 not always eject their venom when biting. The fangs are on 

 the lower jaw bones, and as they are simply grooved, do not 

 constitute the perfect instruments for the forcible injection of 

 poison as those possessed by the Crotaline* and Elapinef snakes. 

 Thus it may be understood how accidents have happened, serious 

 consequences avoided and consequent and energetic denials of 

 the venomous nature of these lizards have followed. After 

 years of observation the writer unhesitatingly states that he 

 considers the Beaded Lizards to be dangerously poisonous to 

 man, and should be quite as much respected with that regard 

 as the majority of venomous serpents. As very appropriately 

 in line, he quotes an excellent authority on the poisons of rep- 

 tiles Dr. Gustav Langmann : t 



"The first confirmation of its" (the Gila Monster's) "poison- 

 ous nature seemed to be established by the discovery of grooved 

 teeth, about 3-4 mm. long, four on either branch of both maxilla 

 and mandibular. . . . The mandibular appears somewhat 

 swollen, owing to the projection of its disproportionately large, 

 elongated submaxillary glands, whose four separate ducts lead to 

 the base of the above-described grooved teeth. The buccal 

 secretion is whitish, transparent, slightly turbid, somewhat viscid, 

 alkaline. ... It has the fragrant odour of calamus " (sweet- 

 flag). . . . "When biting on a rubber cord an animal yields 

 on the average five to six drops; a large animal once gave 

 twenty-two drops. The saliva dries in grayish-white scales to 

 one-eighth or one-tenth of its original weight. 



"The arrangement of the teeth and of the glands makes us 

 understand why opinions as to the poisonous nature of heloderma 

 have differed so widely. When an animal seizes its victim only 

 with the front teeth, or does not lie on its back while biting, none, 

 or very little of the buccal secretion may enter the wound. When, 



* The thick-bodied poisonous serpents the rattlesnakes, copper- 

 head, moccasin and fer-de-lance. 



f Represented in the New World by the Coral Snakes. 

 % Reference Handbook of Medical Sciences. 



170 



