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
Southern alligator lizard the fact that the back and belly scales of these lizards are reinforced by bone, as they are in alligators. Three subspecies can be distinguished: the California alligator lizard ("E. m. multicarinata"), the San Diego alligator lizard ("E. m. webbii"), and the Oregon alligator lizard ("E. m. scincicauda"). The subspecific name "webbii" is in honor of Thomas Hopkins Webb (1801–1866) who was Secretary of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey (1848–1855). The subspecific name "scincicauda" means "skink tail". The southern alligator lizard measures from 3 to 7 inches (7.3 - 17.8 cm) in snout-to-vent length (SVL). Including tail, it