desert friend Gila monster

a friend saw one, so. of Tucson,  and though it was poison to touch. you would probably get bitten if trying to touch. try google search for more info.

At a length of up to two feet (0.6 meters) and a maximum weight exceeding five pounds (2.3 kilograms), the venomous Gila monster (pronounced HEE-luh) is the largest lizard native to the United States.
 
                                                                   GILA MONSTER

Easily identified by their black bodies marked with dramatic patterns of pink, orange, or yellow, Gilas are found in the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. They take their name from Arizona's Gila River basin, where they were first discovered.
The Gila monster is one of only a handful of venomous lizards in the world. Others include the similar-looking Mexican beaded lizards.

 
                                                          Mexican beaded lizard

just wanted to remind to watch for, and snakes  when desert hiking .


The Gila monster is one of only two species of venomous lizards; both are of the family Helodermatidae and both are similar in appearance and habits. Its venomous cousin, the Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum), is slightly larger and darker.
Most of the Gila monster's teeth have two grooves that conduct its venom, a nerve toxin, from glands in the lower jaw. The toxin is not injected like that of the snake, but flows into the wound as the lizard chews on its victim. While the bite can overpower predators and prey, it is rarely fatal to humans.
There are two subspecies of Gila monsters in the deserts of the Southwest:

• H.s. suspectum (reticulate) resides primarily in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. Adults are mottled and blotched.
  
• H.s. cinctum (banded) resides primarily in the Mojave Desert. Adults have a broad double crossband.

Range

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

Habitat

Desert and semiarid regions of gravelly and sandy soils with shrubs. Found under rocks, in burrows of other animals and in holes it digs itself.

Behavior

During warm weather the Gila monster feeds at night on small mammals, birds and eggs. Fat stored in the tail and abdomen during this period is utilized during the winter months. Both species of Heloderma are sluggish in habit, but they have a strong, tenacious bite.