Mexican beaded lizard debate among scientists. However, this venom has been found to contain several enzymes useful for manufacturing drugs in the treatment of diabetes, and research on the pharmacological use of its venom is ongoing. Threatened throughout its range by overcollection and habitat loss, it is a CITES protected species. The Guatemalan beaded lizard ("H. charlesbogerti" ) is one of the rarest lizards in the world, with a wild population of fewer than 200. The beaded lizards have one close living relative, the Gila monster ("H. suspectum"), as well as many extinct relatives in the Helodermatidae, whose genetic history may be traced
Mexican Plateau horned lizard wide range of primary (dry scrubland, pine-oak forest, oak forest, juniper forest) and secondary habitats (agricultural land, and agave and "Opuntia" fields). Five subspecies of "P. orbiculare" are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. "Nota bene": A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than "Phrynosoma". The subspecific name, "cortezii", is in honor of Spanish "conquistador" Hernán Cortés. The subspecific name, "dugesii", is in honor of French-born Mexican naturalist Alfredo Dugès, who is considered the "father" of Mexican herpetology. Mexican Plateau horned lizard The Mexican Plateau horned lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare)