24 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. 4, 1887. 



THE "GILA MONSTER." 



BY R. W. SHUFELDT, C. M. Z. S., ETC. 



FOR a number of years past the writer has been col- 

 lecting together anatomical material and alcoholic 

 specimens illustrating several groups of our United States 

 reptilian fauna, with the view of describing and publish- 

 ing accounts of their morphology. It was not until quite 

 lately, however, that I came into possession of two fine 

 living specimens of the far-famed "Gila monster" (Helo- 

 derma suspectum), the largest by all odds of our North 

 American lizards. 



A soldier, Private Charles Ruby, of the 9th U. S. Infan- 

 try, whose company is serving at San Carlos, Arizona, 

 forwarded me my first live Heloderma; and the second, a 

 considerably larger one, I purchased from an old hunter 

 / of Phoenix, Arizona, who captured it for me at the kind 

 ' request of Lieut. Edgar A. Mearns, of the Medical Corps 

 ) of the Army. Both of these reptiles are at the present 

 writing before me, and this article will be devoted to a 

 few remarks about them. 

 Zoologists, as a rule, have awarded a separate family, 



inches; I have heard that they attain a length of twenty- 

 six inches, but have never seen one anything like as big 

 as that. No two of them are exactly alike in their mark- 

 ings, and the one in the figure is an exceptionally hand- 

 some specimen. From tip to tip they are covered by 

 raised and bead-like scales, disposed in rows around the 

 body and tail, being closer together on the latter, while 

 on the head, where they are the largest, they are arranged 

 for the most part upon a definite plan, as in other lizards. 

 In color these scales are of a deep, jetty black, or a bright 

 salmon orange, or, as in some specimens, a pale orange 

 or even a dirty yellow: but both of these of mine are 

 brilliantly colored, especially the one I have figured for 

 you. It, as you will see, has all four of its legs, black, as 

 is the fore part of the head or its face; this contrast with 

 its other markings lends to the reptile an exceedingly 

 elegant appearance. Some of them, as my larger one, 

 have the legs and feet mottled like the body, but not 

 upon any special figure plan. The tail is round, really 

 conical, as it tapers gradually to a pointed tip; and in 

 some specimens the tail is very large and thick, almost a 

 cumbersome appendage. 



apparatus for the purpose. This is my belief also, in the 

 premises, and I am inclined to think that the same fea- 

 ture in venomous snakes came about pretty much in the 

 same way. 



My Helodermas will eat hard-boiled hens' eggs, or 

 even raw ones, but it is difficult to get them to take any- 

 thing; the one they had in London was, upon one occa- 

 sion, at least, induced to swallow a small rat. No doubt 

 in nature they feed upon the eggs of ground-nesting birds, 

 and very likely upon the nestlings of the same species. 

 These reptiles can walk quite rapidly, using as they do 

 so, the fore and hind feet of the alternate sides, and keep- 

 ing the head low down near the ground. When suddenly 

 interrupted one will quickly raise its head, and to some 

 degree its body by its legs, and wheeling rather sharply 

 round, gives vent to a threatening, blowing sound, jerk- 

 ing in and out by rapid movements its broad black tongue, 

 and withal presenting quite a defiant aspect. 



Not as yet having had the opportunity to examine into 

 their mode of reproduction, I can add nothing here to 

 this part of my subject, for I am not informed as to 

 whether they lay eggs or bring forth their young alive. 



the Helodermidoz, to contain this species of lizard, of j 

 which it is the only representative genus and species in j 

 our fauna; the Helodermidce falling in the group Diplo- 

 qlossa, which has in it two other families of lizards, j 

 besides. 



I have been much surprised at the amount of interest 

 that people of all sorts evince in regard to this reptile, not 

 only those living in the Southwest, where its home is, but 

 people passing to and fro through the country. Yet, no 

 less surprising is the wide circulation of erroneous notions 

 in regard to it, both as to its size, and general appearance; 

 while salamanders, and even " horned toads" (Phrynoso- 

 ma), and other reptiles all have at various times been i 

 pointed out to me, as Gila monsters. 



Now there are but a few good illustrations of this very 

 important form extant, and this, no doubt, has something 

 to do with the fact that so many are unfamiliar with the 

 appearance of a Heloderma. 



There is a plate of one in the old U. S. Boundary Sur- 

 vey (PI. XXVI.), and Nature, of London, published a small 

 but excellent woodcut of this lizard, two or three years 

 ago; neither of these figures, however, are easily accessi- 

 ble to the vast majority of the good readers of Forest 

 and Stream, so, with the view of presenting to them a 

 faithful representation of the "Gila monster," I made the 

 accompanying pen and ink sketch of the smaller of the 

 two specimens in my possession, or rather from my 

 colored plate of it, which I trust to have figured in an- 

 other connection, some time in the future. 



The smaller of my specimens is eleven inches long, 

 while the larger one measures rather more than sixteen 



j If we take the orange color as the ground color of the 

 animal, as it seems (being the lighter) to be so, then we 

 find the black on the body to be arranged in some four or 

 j five circular rows around it, of the most bizarre pattern 

 imaginable; these variegated bands are sometimes con- 

 tinued clear along the entire length of the tail, but in the 

 figure it will be observed that they are there reduced to 

 simple black ones. Helodermas have a broad and deeply- 

 forked, black tongue, which they are constantly thrust- 

 ing out, and whipping back into their mouths as they 

 move along. 



This, however, is not the dangerous part of the animal, 

 | as Helodermas are very venomous, they having grooved 

 teeth in their jaws and a well-developed poison gland, 

 something like a rattlesnake's. Several years ago, the 

 writer, who was at that time on duty in the Herpetologi- 

 cal Department of the Smithsonian Institution, was 

 severely bitten by one there, which had been sent alive 

 from Arizona, and suffered extremely in consequence; 

 while one that they had not long ago in the Zoological 

 Gardens in London, bit a guinea pig, which latter annual 

 died in five minutes. Doctor Mitchell of Philadelphia 

 has analyzed this poison and finds it nearly as venomous 

 as the fluid taken from the poison glands of a Crotalus. 

 Professor Cope seems to think that this lizard has slowly 

 developed its venomous apparatus from being sluggish 

 in its movements, and consequently ill-adapted to get out 

 of the way of larger animals and not be trodden upon; 

 this constant source of irritation and danger has in long 

 ages gradually rendered its saliva poisonous, and eventu- 

 ally given rise to the development of a special gland and 



Among the various species of ' 'horned toads" (Phryno- 

 soma) of this region, both ways exist, for these latter liz- 

 ards lay eggs as well as bring forth their young alive. 



Gila monsters do not occur in the country about Fort 

 Wingate, and one to find them in their native haunts 

 must resort to the low river bottoms of southwestern 

 Arizona, more especially the low, sultry banks of the 

 Gila River, which I am told is the most famous locality 

 for them. 



Fort Wingate, New Mes., June 30. 



The Whip-Tailed Scorpion.— I notice with interest 

 and pleasure the article in the Forest and Stream of 

 July 28 on the whip-tailed scorpion (Thelyphonus gigan- 

 teus). The insect is very common in Florida, where it is 

 called "grampus" and "mule killer," and credited in 

 some sections with deadly powers, though I never knew 

 of a fatal case. I, have known of very severe poisoning 

 of a friend from the bite or sting of this scorpion, but he 

 was unable to tell just how the poison was injected, and 

 I notice that Dr. Shufeldt fails to inform on this point, 

 though presumably it is done by the anterior clawed 

 arms. The insect emits a very fetid odor when disturbed, 

 elevating its body and going off stiff -legged or armed in 

 an amusing manner, spreading its anterior claws menac- 

 ingly. I think I have written before in this paper of this 

 scorpion, but now for the first time am I made acquainted 

 with the proper name and other interesting information 

 which Dr. Shufeldt gives us.— O. O. S. 



