1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vog obam Here a rub against 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: some macineel trees and you're in trouble. Eat a wild 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: blue dart frog and you're in bigger trouble. Both species 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:23,360 Speaker 1: are poisonous, meaning they administer toxic substances that can be inhaled, touched, 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: or swallowed. Venomous creatures take a different approach. Jellyfish, rattlesnakes, 7 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: and other venom wielders have to inject their targets with 8 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,559 Speaker 1: harmful cocktails, whether by feang, by stinger, or by some 9 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:42,639 Speaker 1: other means. For the HeLa monster taxonomical name Hiloderma suspect um, 10 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: a quick little bite won't do the trick. Instead, the 11 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: largest lizard native to the United States and venoms attackers 12 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: by chewing on them while he live. Venom rarely kills 13 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: human beings, the oral assault is still none too pleasant. 14 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: After one scientist was not on by a baby helo monster, 15 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: he compared the experience to getting repeatedly struck with a hammer. 16 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: The good news is that HeLa monsters typically avoid people. 17 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: Desert recluses through and through. They spend most of their 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: lives hold up in underground layers. Yet the secretive creatures 19 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: have been enlisted in the fight against diabetes, all thanks 20 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: to the venom they carry. Besides the HeLa monster, the 21 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 1: Heloderma genus includes outwardly similar reptiles called bearded lizards. Herpetologists 22 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: are struggling to get a definitive head count of species 23 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: within that genus. Many regions in North and Central America 24 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: have distinctive looking bearded lizard populations. To date, it's unclear 25 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: whether some of these animals represent separate species or not. 26 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: Various Heloderma lizards can be found from Guatemala to the 27 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: Mormon Corridor. The HeLa monster stands alone, however, as the 28 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: only species natively found on US soil. The animal's natural 29 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: range includes arts of New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, 30 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: and the Mexican state of Sonora. Oh And, in case 31 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: you're wondering the name Heila monster, it's probably a nod 32 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,639 Speaker 1: to the Heila River in southern Arizona and New Mexico. 33 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: Capable of growing up to twenty two inches or fifty 34 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: cis long, Heila monsters have tiny bones embedded in many 35 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: of their scales. Giving the lizards a heavily appearance. Their 36 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: color schemes include Southwestern hughes with oranged pinkish bands, dots 37 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: or blotches popping out against a charcoal backdrop. Patterns may 38 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,799 Speaker 1: vary from one individual to the next. Heila monsters learn 39 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: about their environments by gathering airborne flavor particles on their 40 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: forked tongues. They share this treat with monitor lizards like 41 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: the famed Komodo dragon, and with many snakes. For the article, 42 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke by 43 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: email with Arizona State University life scientist L. Donardo, He said, 44 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: unlike rattlesnake, Helo monsters do not have fangs. Rattler fangs 45 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: are basically syringes hollowed teeth designed to inject venom with 46 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: rapid efficiency. A Heila monster's venom is produced by quote 47 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: relatively large glands around the lower jaw bones. This toxic 48 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,239 Speaker 1: material comes oozing out as the animal choose. The pearly 49 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: whites contain vertical grooves that help channel the substance, and 50 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: DiNardo said furthermore, to help deliver the venom components into 51 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: the target, the teeth on the lower jaw are somewhat enlarged. 52 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: With each squeeze of the jaws, saliva, including venom, is 53 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: released into the mouth, and some of it moves via 54 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: capillary action up the teeth and into whatever is being bitten. 55 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: While not as sophisticated as rattlesnake venom delivery, it is 56 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: still quite effective. And then there's that twist I mentioned earlier. 57 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: Their venom is being investigated in the fight against type 58 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: two diabetes. Among the many components of helo monster venom 59 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: is the peptide extending four. Chemically, it resembles g lp one, 60 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: a glucose regulating hormone found in the human digestive tract. 61 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,560 Speaker 1: The discovery of extending four in Heila monsters led to 62 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: the development of an FDA approved drug for type two 63 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: diabetes called accnatide, sold under a couple of brand names. 64 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: This medication was first released in two thousand five and 65 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:27,480 Speaker 1: is now used by more than two million people. Wild 66 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: HeLa monsters are rather stingy with their venom. It's reserved 67 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: for self defense purposes. Weapon the lizard's deploy against coyotes, 68 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: birds of prey, and over curious humans. Keep your hands 69 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: to yourself, folks, They don't generally use it for hunting 70 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: because their prey include things that can be subdued without it. 71 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,919 Speaker 1: DeNardo said. Adult HeLa monsters are near exclusive raiders of 72 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: vertebrate nests, eating quail eggs, rabbit pups, rodent pups, lizard eggs, 73 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,920 Speaker 1: and tortoise eggs. Alas is known about the diets of 74 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 1: baby helas, they seem to have a taste for eggs 75 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:05,679 Speaker 1: laid by smaller lizards. Hatcheling Heila monsters were the focus 76 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: of a twenty eighteen paper DeNardo co authored. The lizards 77 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,359 Speaker 1: are committed home bodies, rarely leaving the safety and comfort 78 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: of burrows or rocky dens. Unable to warm themselves like 79 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: humans and other mammals do, Heila monsters derive heat from 80 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 1: their surroundings. Their ideal body temperature is about eighty four 81 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: degrees fahrenheit that's twenty nine celsius, DeNardo said. In the summer, 82 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: underground temperatures are very close to this throughout the day 83 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,799 Speaker 1: and night. Thus, the borough provides a very good environment 84 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: for the HeLa monster. Become wintertime, the thermometer plummets, even 85 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: though burrows tend to remain warmer than the outside air. 86 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: They made dropped temperatures of just forty five degrees fahrenheit 87 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: that's twelve celsius during the cold months. These cold spells, 88 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: while tolerable, pose logistical problems for infant Heila monsters. Females 89 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,159 Speaker 1: lay clutches of three to nine eggs in midsummer and 90 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: deposited under round Their eggs hatched during the fall when 91 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,840 Speaker 1: the desert grows chilly. By observing artificially warmed eggs and 92 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: a wild clutch found near a construction site, DeNardo and 93 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: his twenty eighteen co authors realized HeLa monsters practice over wintering. 94 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: Food is hard to come by in the autumn season, 95 00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 1: so newborn babies stay put for months on end until 96 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: the weather outside gets warmer and many options increase. Only 97 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: then the hatchlings seek out their first meals. Now, we'd 98 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: be remiss if we didn't mention the prequel to egg 99 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: laying mating behavior, DeNardo said. If they come into contact 100 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: with each other during the breeding season early summer, males 101 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,359 Speaker 1: will fight. The battle is mostly a wrestling match, but 102 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: they can inflict wounds with their bites, often on the 103 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,160 Speaker 1: tops of the head. Meanwhile, as an epilogue, lizards and 104 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: ice skating might seem like a questionable combo unless you're 105 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: the Vegas Golden Nights. This National Hockey League franchise played 106 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 1: its for game. In the Club's official mascot is Chance, 107 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: an anthropomorphic cula monster. Hey, at least the species is 108 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: indigenous to Nevada. Today's episode is based on the article 109 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,480 Speaker 1: the Reclusive HeLa Monster Packs of Venomous Punch on how 110 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: stuff works dot Com, written by Mark Vancini. Brain Stuff 111 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how 112 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: stuff works dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Klein. 113 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,040 Speaker 1: Before more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 114 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 115 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: favorite shows.