Guatemalan beaded lizards (Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti) are venomous lizards that are closely related to Gila monsters and are within family Helodermatidae. Unlike fangs in snakes, these lizards have enlarged teeth on their lower jaw with venom delivery grooves. Their large, thick tails are used as fat storage devices and are also used/displayed during male-male combat when fighting for a female. There is an estimated 200-500 Guatemalan beaded lizards left in the wild so they are critically endangered and are being monitored by zoos in hopes to rejuvenate their population. The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is one of these zoos and on April 4th, 2022, they successfully bred this species to produced four baby Guatemalan beaded lizards. By increasing this species population, ecosystems of the Motagua Valley in southeastern Guatemala will benefit as well as pharmaceutical research due to unique molecules within their venom and saliva.
It is vital that we try to prevent this species from undergoing extinction because it is one of the last five remaining Helodermatids. This family of venomous lizards supplies pharmaceutical research with beneficial insights such as the newly discovered hormone, exendin-4, which works similarly to the human hormone that regulates insulin production. From this research, scientists have been able to synthetically produce exendin-4 and are now applying this to Type-2 diabetes patients. In addition to captively breeding this species, conservationists (FUNDESGUA) have created six protected habitats, each containing nearly ten thousand trees, within this species geological range as well as restoring previously damaged beaded lizard habitats.
2 comments:
Hey Joe, that is very interesting that we are able to turn something considered venomous into something that can be beneficial for humans. It is quite similar to how we harvest Horseshoe Crab's blue blood to help in public health. I looked into ways to treat diabetes and most of the efforts go into new technologies - but I never heard of anything in regards to Guatemalan Beaded Lizard venom. I am curious to see how the compounds from the venom could be used for future medical treatments.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
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