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Guatemalan Beaded Lizard
Heloderma charlesbogerti
The Guatemalan beaded lizard (Heloderma charlesbogerti), also called commonly the Motagua Valley beaded lizard, is a highly endangered species of beaded lizard, a venomous lizard in the family Helodermatidae. The species is endemic to the dry forests of the Motagua Valley in southeastern Guatemala, an ecoregion known as the Motagua Valley thornscrub. It is the only allopatric beaded lizard species, separated from the nearest population (H. alvarezi) by 250 km (160 mi) of unsuitable habitat. The Guatemalan beaded lizard is the rarest and most endangered species of beaded lizard, and fewer than 200 individuals of this animal are believed to exist in the wild, making it one of the most endangered lizards in the world. In 2007, it was transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I of CITES due to its critical conservation status.
From the article Heloderma charlesbogerti on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
What it does
H. charlesbogerti dwells in arroyos characterized by high densities of bird nests of doves and parakeets, whose eggs form the primary component of its diet. These birds nest closer to the ground in these arroyos in trees with branches thick enough to support the weight of this heavy-bodied lizard. It is also known to prey upon insects, such as beetles and crickets. The eggs of the Guatemalan spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura palearis), an endangered species endemic to the same region, are an important food source for the Guatemalan beaded lizard, thereby possibly linking the status of the two.
Wikipedia: “Diet”
In human culture
The generic name, Heloderma, means "studded skin", from the Ancient Greek words hêlos (ηλος), meaning "the head of a nail or stud", and derma (δερμα), meaning "skin". The specific name, charlesbogerti, honors US herpetologist Charles Mitchill Bogert.
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Heloderma charlesbogerti in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 1424865.