The discussion of the curious lizard found in our Western Territories
and in Mexico, and variously known as the "Montana alligator," "the
Gila monster," and "the Mexican heloderma," is becoming decidedly
interesting.
As noted in a recent issue of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, a live specimen
was sent last summer to Sir John Lubbock, and by him presented to the
London Zoological Gardens. At first it was handled as any other lizard
would be, without special fear of its bite, although its mouth is well
armed with teeth. Subsequent investigation has convinced its keepers
that the creature is not a fit subject for careless handling; that its
native reputation is justified by fact; and that it is an exception
to all known lizards, in that its teeth are poison fangs comparable
with those of venomous serpents.
Speaking of the Mexican reputation of the lizard, in a recent issue of
_Knowledge_, Dr. Andrew Wilson, whose opinion will be respected by all
naturalists, says that "without direct evidence of such a statement no
man of science, basing his knowledge of lizard nature on the exact
knowledge to hand, would have hesitated in rejecting the story as, at
least, improbable. Yet it is clear that the stories of the New World
may have had an actual basis of fact; for the _Heloderma horridum_ has
been, beyond doubt, proved to be poisonous in as high a degree as a
cobra or a rattlesnake.
"At first the lizard was freely handled by those in charge at Regent's
Park, and being a lizard, was regarded as harmless. It was certainly
dull and inactive, a result probably due to its long voyage and to the
want of food. Thanks, however, to the examination of Dr. Gunther, of
the British Museum, and to actual experiment, we now know that
_Heloderma_ will require in future to be classed among the deadly
enemies of other animals. Examining its mouth, Dr. Gunther found that
its teeth formed a literal series of poison fangs. Each tooth,
apparently, possesses a poison gland; and lizards, it may be added,
are plentifully supplied with these organs as a rule. Experimenting
upon the virulence of the poison, _Heloderma_ was made to bite a frog
and a guinea pig. The frog died in one minute, and the guinea-pig in
three. The virus required to produce these effects must be of
singularly acute and powerful nature. It is to be hoped that no case
of human misadventure at the teeth of _Heloderma_ may happen. There
can be no question, judging from the analogy of serpent-bite, that the
poison of the lizard would affect man."
[Illustration: HELODERMA HORRIDUM, OR GILA MONSTER]
In an article in the London _Field_, Mr. W.B. Tegetmeier states that
this remarkable lizard was first described in the _Isis_, in 1829, by
the German naturalist Wiegmann, who gave it the name it bears, and
noted the ophidian character of its teeth.
In the _Comptes Rendus_ of 1875, M.F. Sumichrast gave a much more
detailed account of the habits and mode of life of this animal, and
forwarded specimens in alcohol to Paris, where they were dissected and
carefully described. The results of these investigations have been
published in the third part of the "Mission Scientifique an Mexique,"
which, being devoted to reptiles, has been edited by Messrs. Aug.
Dumeril and Becourt.
The heloderm, according to M.F. Sumichrast, inhabits the hot zone of
Mexico--that intervening between the high mountains and the Pacific in
the districts bordering the Gulf of Tehuantepec. It is found only
where the climate is dry and hot; and on the moister eastern slopes of
the mountain chain that receive the damp winds from the Gulf of Mexico
it is entirely unknown. Of its habits but little is known, as it
appears to be, like many lizards, nocturnal, or seminocturnal, in its
movements, and, moreover, it is viewed with extreme dread by the
natives, who regard it as equally poisonous with the most venomous
serpents. It is obviously, however, a terrestrial animal, as it has
not a swimming tail flattened from side to side, nor the climbing feet
that so characteristically mark arboreal lizards. Sumichrast further
states that the animal has a strong nauseous smell, and that when
irritated it secretes a large quantity of gluey saliva. In order to
test its supposed poisonous property, he caused a young one to bite a
pullet under the wing. In a few minutes the adjacent parts became
violet in color, convulsions ensued, from which the bird partially
recovered, but it died at the expiration of twelve hours. A large cat
was also caused to be bitten in the foot by the same heloderm; it was
not killed, but the limb became swollen, and the cat continued
mewing for several hours, as if in extreme pain. The dead specimens
sent to Europe have been carefully examined as to the character of the
teeth. Sections of these have been made, which demonstrate the
existence of a canal in each, totally distinct from and anterior to
the pulp cavity; but the soft parts had not been examined with
sufficient care to determine the existence or non-existence of any
poison gland in immediate connection with these perforated teeth until
Dr. Gunther's observations were made, as described by Dr. Wilson.
Hitherto, as noted in a previous article, American naturalists have
regarded the heloderm as quite harmless--an opinion well sustained by
the judgment of many persons in Arizona and other parts of the West by
whom the reptile has been kept as an interesting though ugly pet.
While the Indians and native Mexicans believe the creature to be
venomous, we have never heard an instance in which the bite of it has
proved fatal.
A correspondent of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, "C.E.J.," writing from
Salt Lake City, Utah, under date of September 8, says, after referring
to the article on the heloderm in our issue of August 26:
"Having resided in the southern part of this Territory for
seventeen years, where the mercury often reaches 110° or more in
the shade, and handled a number of these 'monsters,' I can say
that I never yet knew anybody or anything to have perished from
their bite. We have often had two or three of them tied in the
door-yard by a hind leg, and the children have freely played
around them--picking them up by the nape of the neck and watching
them snap off a small bit from the end of a stick when poked at
them. We have fed them raw egg and milk; the latter they take with
great relish. At one time a small canine came too near the mouth
of our alligator (_mountain alligator_, we call them), when it
instantly caught the pup by the under jaw and held on as only it
could (they have a powerful jaw), nor would it release its hold
until choked near to death, which was done by taking it behind the
bony framework of the head, between the thumb and finger, and
pressing hard. The pup did considerable howling for half an hour,
by which time the jaw was much swollen, remaining so for two or
three days, after which it was all right again. By this I could
only conclude that the animal was but slightly poisonous. I never
knew of a human being having been bitten by one. My sister kept
one about the house for several weeks, and fed it from her hands
and with a spoon. The specimens have generally been sent (through
the Deseret Museum) to colleges and museums in the East.
"The Indians have a great fear that these animals produce at will
good or bad weather, and will not molest them. Many times they
have come to see them, and told us that we should let them go or
they would talk to the storm spirit and send wind and water and
fire upon us. An old Indian I once talked with told me of another
who was bitten on the hand, and said it swelled up the arm badly,
but he recovered. From some reason we never find specimens less
than 12 or 14 inches long, I never saw a young one. There is a
nice stuffed specimen, 18 inches long, in our museum here."
Sir John Lubbock's specimen, shown in the engraving herewith, for
which we are indebted to the London _Field_, is about 19 inches in
length. Its general color is a creamy buff, with dark brown markings.
The forepart of the head and muzzle is entirely dark, the upper eyelid
being indicated by a light stripe. The entire body is covered with
circular warts. It is fed upon eggs, which it eats greedily.
It would be interesting to know whether the northern specimens, if
venomous at all, are as fully equipped with poison bags and fangs as
Dr. Gunther finds the Mexican specimen to be. Some of our Western or
Mexican readers may be able to make comparative tests. Meantime it
would be prudent to limit the use of the "monster" as a children's
pet.
The foregoing appeared in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN of Oct. 7, 1882.
We are now indebted to a correspondent, Mr. Wm. Y. Beach, of the Grand
View Mine, Grant County, Southern Arizona, for a fine specimen of this
singular reptile, just received alive. The example sent to us is about
twenty inches long, and answers very well to the description of the
monster and the engraving above given.
In the course of an hour after opening the box in which the reptile
had been confined during its eight days' journey by rail, it became
very much at home, stretching and crawling about our office floor with
much apparent satisfaction.
Our correspondent is located in the mountains, some nine miles distant
from the Gila River. He states that the reptile he sends was found in
one of the shops pertaining to the mine, which had been left
unoccupied for a week or so.
Apropos to the foregoing, we have received the following letter from
another correspondent in Arizona:
_To the Editor of the Scientific American:_
My attention has been called to an article in your issue of Oct.
7, 1882, relating to the _Heloderma horridum_, or commonly known
as the Gila Monster.
During a residence of ten years in Arizona I have had many
opportunities of learning the habits of these reptiles, and I am
satisfied their bite will produce serious effects, if not death,
of the human race. I know of one instance where a gentleman of my
acquaintance by the name of Bostick, at the Tiga Top mining camp,
in Arizona, was bitten on the fingers, and suffered all the
symptoms of poison from snake bite. He was confined to his bed for
six weeks and subsequently died. I am of the opinion his death was
in part caused by the effects of the poison of the Gila Monster.
The Hualzar Indians are very much afraid of them, and one I showed
the picture to of the Monster in your paper remarked, "Chinamuck,"
which in Hualzar language means "very bad." He said if an Indian
is bitten, he sometimes dies.
I have seen them nearly two feet in length. Never, to my
knowledge, are they kept as pets in our portion of Arizona. They
live on mice and other small animals, and when aggravated can jump
several times their length.