Program Overview

The Guatemalan Beaded lizard, Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti Campbell & Vannini (1988), is an endemic subspecies with a very restricted distribution in the arid portions of the Motagua Valley in Guatemala. It belongs to the Helodermatidae, a unique family of lizards with venom glands. Their closest living relatives are the Varanids. The Guatemalan Beaded Lizard is critically in danger of extinction due to habitat destruction for subsistence farming, illegal collection of specimens for international and local collectors and extermination by local people based on long-held, but false, beliefs regarding the nature of its venom. Little research had been done until the studies of Ariano (2003) and Ariano & Masaya (2005) on the subspecies’ distribution, ecology, and conservation status. The total remaining wild population is estimated at fewer than 200 specimens.

The surviving thornscrub and tropical dry forest habitat of the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard (a mere 17,000 hectares) is considered in the classification developed by the World Wildlife Fund (Dinerstein et to. 1995) to be an ecoregion of special concern based on the singularity of its biota. Isolated on all sides by massive cloud-forested mountains and rainforest valleys, the Beaded Lizards have evidently existed in total isolation in this tiny island of desert habitat for many thousands of years.

Vernacular names: “Escorpión” (Scorpion lizard), “florecilla” (little flower) and “niño dormido” (sleeping baby).

PARTNERS

ZOOTROPIC is a non-governmental organization based in Guatemala. Our mission is to promote the conservation and protection of the country’s unique ecosystems. By protecting the ecosystems, we are protecting the biodiversity associated with them as well as helping to maintain the ecological processes that take place therein.

The IRCF is a member-based organization that actively pursues the conservation of reptiles and the natural habitat and ecosystems that support them. IRCF support may include funding, mobilization of volunteers, and/or logistical assistance. As a component of our support services, the IRCF communications team develops, hosts, and maintains a variety of websites, promoting conservation programs, building international awareness, and campaigning for funds and other support.

ZOO ATLANTA is an active and dedicated partner in many important conservation projects around the world.

AFRICA: Wild Gorillas
ASIA: Giant Pandas
ASIAN Turtle Crisis
LATIN AMERICA: Global Amphibian Decline
SOUTH AMERICA:Golden Lion Tamarin (GLT) Conservation Project.

The Zoological Society of San Diego is a not-for-profit organization that operates the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, and the department of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES). The Zoological Society of San Diego is a conservation, education, and recreation organization dedicated to the reproduction, protection, and exhibition of animals, plants, and their habitats.