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Project Noah Nature School
Heloderma suspectum
This was my lifer gila monster, and right up there with chameleons as being the coolest lizards I've seen. This is a juvenile that just hatched out this past spring. Being a juvenile, the colors are more vivid. The skin is beaded and banded black and pink. The tongue has a large fork on it, as seen in the 4th photo.
Found crossing the road in the morning at the base of the Chiricuahua mountains.
Spotted on Sep 1, 2014
Submitted on Sep 22, 2014
10 Comments
Yep, like a fingerprint! I loved the much more vivid colors on this little guy than the adult had, much prettier in my opinion :)
It doesn't rain...it pours :D 3 encounters, even if 2 were with the same one is pretty cool. So, each individual has it's own unique pattern - like a fingerprint?
Thanks armadeus! I actually had 3 encounters with gila monsters in this one day, and oddly enough the first 2 encounters both ended up being this same individual, and were 7 hours apart! I was able to determine that by comparing his pattern, they each have their own unique pattern :) Then I found an adult a few hours later at this same exact spot! Was a pretty exciting day :)
Whoa! This little guy is fantastic!!! I so want to see one in real life!!! Way cool! I'm so pleased you finally got to see one Ashley. Thank you so much for sharing :)
Thanks guys, it was one of the top things on my list to find and so glad I got to see one!
you are so so lucky :)
I've always wanted to go to the chiricuahua mntns for the hummingbirds... but a Gila Monster is way freaking cool!
Too awesome for words!
Thanks Antonio :)
Very nice series ashley these guys are awesome,congrats and thanks for sharing