For Gila monsters that live in the warming Mojave Desert, relocating to beat the heat may not be so simple. While climate change might create some better habitats, the lizards could be left behind in regions that become harder to tolerate, researchers report in the March Ecology and Evolution.
Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum) are icons of North America’s deserts. These chunky, black and pink-orange reptiles are among the world’s few venomous lizards. Research on their venom has been crucial for diabetes drug development, thanks to a venom compound’s similarity to human hormones that are released after eating.
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