---
title: "Gila Monster"
description: "Heloderma suspectum — Reptiles. The Gila monster ( HEE-lə; Heloderma suspectum) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/gila-monster
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Gila Monster

> Heloderma suspectum — Reptiles. The Gila monster ( HEE-lə; Heloderma suspectum) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora.

- Scientific name: *Heloderma suspectum*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `desert` (Desert)
- iNaturalist observations: 3834
- Wikidata: [Q207058](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q207058)
- iNaturalist taxon: [35003](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/35003)

## Names

- en: Gila Monster
- de: Gila-Krustenechse
- es: Monstruo de Gila
- fr: Monstre De Gila
- nl: Gilamonster
- pt: Monstro-de-gila
- pl: Heloderma arizońska

## Countries with the most observations

US (2923), MX (163)

## Summary

The Gila monster ( HEE-lə; Heloderma suspectum) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, slow-moving reptile, up to 22 in (56 cm) long, and it is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. The Gila monster is sluggish in nature, so it is not generally dangerous and very rarely poses a real threat to humans, though the bite is painful. Nonetheless, it has a fearsome reputation and is sometimes killed despite the species being protected by state law in Arizona.
The lower teeth have venom grooves to transmit the venom…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_monster

## Photo

![Gila Monster](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/gila-monster/medium.jpg)

Photo: Stephanie Taylor · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115423229

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/gila-monster?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).