DANIEL ADAMSECOLOGY

Gila Monster

Scientific Name

Heloderma suspectum

Natural Habitat and Range

Habitat - Desert and semiarid regions of gravelly and sandy soils

under rocks, in burrows of other animals and in holes it digs itself

range includes Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of extreme southwestern Utah, southern Nevada, southeastern California, Arizona and southwestern New Mexico into Mexico

Map of Range and Habitat

Life History and Characteristics

Average life span in the wild: 20 to 30 years

Size: 20 in (50 cm) Weight: 4 lbs (1.8 kg)Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

Diet – Climate Requirements

one of the two types of lizards that are carnivorous and venemous

lethargic creatures - feed primarily on eggs raided from nests and newborn mammals

spend more than 95 percent of their lives in underground burrows, emerge only to feed and to bask in sun

store fat in their oversized tails and go months between meals

Reproduction

Mates with the opposite sexFemales lay and protect eggs

Random Facts

stout-bodied lizard that grows 18 to 24 inches in length

black, orange, pink or yellow broken blotches, bars and spots, with bands extending onto its blunt tail

face is black, and it has small, bead-like scales across its back

named for the Gila River Basin of the southwestern United States

Why are they endangered?

endangered because farmers are destroying their habitat

also highly prized on the live market as pets

Ecology and Conservation

Eats eggs of other desert animals, controlling their populations.

Protected in US and Mexico for almost 50 years.

Quiz

1. Where does the Gila Monster live?2. How long is the average life span?3. How does it have its babies?4. How long can they grow?5. What is it named for?

Works Cited

www.gila-monster.orghttp://

www.mbgnet.net/sets/desert/animals/gila.htmhttp://

www.bristolzoo.org.uk/learning/animals/reptiles/gila-monster

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/animal-bytes/animalia/eumetazoa/coelomates/deuterostomes/chordata/craniata/reptilia/squamata/gila-monster.htm