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
Greater short-horned lizard widely distributed lizard in North America and occurs in the widest range of habitats: West into central Nevada, East into North and South Dakota, North to Southern Saskatchewan and Alberta and then South into the Texas Panhandle and into central Mexico. This species of lizard is mostly an arid mountain dweller living in the range of 9000–11,300 feet (170–3440 m). It is the only member of its genus in Wyoming, which counts "Phrynosoma" as its state reptile. It is also considered an endangered species in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The greater short-horned lizard occupies ranges from semiarid plains to high elevations