Mexican beaded lizard generic name "Heloderma" means "studded skin", from the Ancient Greek words "hêlos" (ἧλος)—the head of a nail or stud—and "dérma" (δέρμα), meaning skin. Its specific name, "horrĭdum", is the Latin word meaning rough or rude. The four subspecies of beaded lizard, elevated to full species in 2013, are: Adult beaded lizards range from in length. They are substantially larger than the Gila monster, which only reaches lengths of . The snout-to-vent length of a beaded lizard averages . The average body mass of an adult beaded lizard is , about 45% heavier than the average mass of a gila monster,
The Lizard Iron Age (Pytheas c. 325 BC) and Roman period, Britain was known as Pretannike (in Greek) and as Albion (and Britons the "Pretani"). The Lizard's coast is particularly hazardous to shipping and the seaways round the peninsula were historically known as the "Graveyard of Ships" ("see below"). The Lizard Lighthouse was built at Lizard Point in 1752 and the RNLI operates The Lizard lifeboat station. There is evidence of early habitation with several burial mounds and stones. Part of the peninsula is known as the Meneage (land of the monks). Helston, the nearest town to the Lizard peninsula, is said