7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Lizards and Turtles

To many people, lizards and turtles are bizarre-looking creatures. Many lizards are considered menacing because of their seemingly expressionless faces combined with their claws and teeth, whereas turtles are thought of as slow-moving, docile creatures. Most lizards, in reality, are harmless to humans, as are most turtles; however, there are certain members of both groups that can kill, maim, make ill, or inflict at least mild levels of pain on their hapless human victims. Some lizards are, in fact, venomous, and some are quite aggressive.

Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum)

Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum).Richard Weymouth Brooks/Photo Researchers

The Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) was named for the Gila River Basin and occurs in parts of the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico and the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa. It grows to about 50 cm (about 20 inches), is stout-bodied with black and pink blotches or bands, and has beadlike scales. They are the largest lizards in the United States.
During warm weather the Gila monster feeds at night on small mammals, birds, and eggs. Fat stored in the tail and abdomen at this time is utilized during the winter months. The large head and muscular jaws of the Gila monster yield a strong bite that is held while venom seeps into the wound. Many teeth have two grooves that conduct the venom, a nerve poison, from glands in the lower jaw. Bites, as well as fatalities, to humans are rare, and the last known report of a death from Gila monster bite occurred in 1939.

Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina and Macrochelys temminckii)

Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina).Walter Dawn

Snapping turtles are freshwater turtles (family Chelydridae) named for their method of biting that are noted for their large size and aggressive nature. Snapping turtles are found throughout in North America east of the Rocky Mountains, as well as in pockets from Mexico and Central America to Ecuador. They are tan to black in color and have a rough upper shell, a small cross-shaped lower shell, a long tail, and a large head with hooked jaws.
The common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentine) is often found buried in mud in shallow water. It is omnivorous, although it prefers animal prey. It is usually unaggressive in the water; however, it may lunge and snap while on land. The alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys (or sometimes Macroclemys) temminckii, is the largest freshwater turtle in the United States. It is found in southern and central regions and is a sedentary turtle with three prominent longitudinal ridges on the upper shell. They can grow to a shell length of about 40—70 cm (16—28 inches), and their weight ranges from about 18 to 70 kg (40 to 155 pounds) with a record of about 100 kg! The alligator snapping turtle has a wormlike appendage on the floor of its mouth. It often lies quietly on the bottom, mouth open, and lures fishes within reach by means of this structure. It also eats plants. Fossil snapping turtles have been found in Miocene deposits in Europe and North America.
Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum )

Mexican beaded lizard© fivespots/Fotolia

A closely related species, the Mexican beaded lizard (H. horridum), is slightly larger (to 80 cm [about 32 inches]) and darker than the Gila monster but otherwise similar in appearance. The species inhabits much of the Pacific coast of Mexico from the border between the states of Sinaloa and Sonora south to Mexico’s border with Guatemala.
The Mexican beaded lizard is similar to the Gila monster in habit. It relies on stored fats to help it survive the winter and it also bites its enemies by locking its jaws on its prey while its grooved teeth funnel nerve poison into the wound of its victim. Its bite is painful; however, no confirmed human fatalities associated with this species have been reported.
The species is part of the illegal international trade in pets, and some Mexican beaded lizards are sold to pet distributors in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
The Iguanas (subfamily Iguaninae)

common iguanaCommon iguana (Iguana iguana).© Miroslav Hlavko/Shutterstock.com

The best-known species of iguana is the common, or green, iguana (Iguana iguana), which occurs from Mexico southward to Brazil. Males of this species reach a maximum length of over 2 meters (6.6 feet) and 6 kg (13.2 pounds). It is often seen basking in the sun on the branches of trees overhanging water, into which it will plunge if disturbed. The common iguana is green with dark bands that form rings on the tail; females are grayish green and about half the weight of males. Other genera include the West Indian iguana (Cyclura) and the desert iguana (Dipsosaurus) of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Two genera inhabit the Galapagos Islands: the marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus) and a terrestrial form (Conolophus). The latter genus includes the pink iguana (C. rosada), which inhabits the slopes of Wolf Volcano on Isabela (Albemarle) Island.
Iguanas possess atrophied venom glands that produce a weak harmless venom, and they are common pets to reptile collectors. Nevertheless, iguanas possess dozens of sharp serrated teeth. Although bites are relatively uncommon, they can produce serious injuries to faces, fingers, wrists, and ankles. Some of the warning signs of an impending strike by an iguana include standing on all fours, drawing in a deep breath to make the body appear larger, the lowering of the animal’s dewlap (the skin flap under its chin). Some iguanas, however, have been known to strike without warning.
Tree crocodile, or Crocodile monitor (Varanus salvadorii)

crocodile monitorCursed Senses—iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Crocodile monitors are found on the island of New Guinea. Most prefer the island’s lowland environments near the coast, some have been observed living in mountainous environments up to 650 meters (about 2,100 feet) in elevation. They are primarily colored black, with specks of green, yellow, or white. Crocodile monitors weigh up to 90 kg (nearly 200 pounds). Although the Komodo dragon (V. komodoensis) is larger by weight, fully grown crocodile monitors are longer, reach up to 5 meters (about 16 feet) in length from snout to tail.
Crocodile monitors are sometimes hunted for their meat and their skin, which is made into clothing and drumheads. Crocodile monitors are known for being very aggressive, and thus it is considered risky to hunt them, so most harvesting results from capturing them in traps meant for other animals.
Common, or Malayan, water monitor (Varanus salvator)

water monitorEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Malayan, or common, water monitor is native to the Greater Sunda Islands and coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea from Sri Lanka through southern China. As with other monitor lizards, the Malayan water monitor has an elongated head and neck, a relatively heavy body, a long tail, and well-developed legs. Their tongues are long, forked, and snakelike, and adults can grow to 2.7 meters (9 feet).
Common water monitors are carnivorous and often consume large insects and spiders, other lizards, small mammals, fish, mollusks, and birds. These lizards do not surprise their prey; they actively pursue their prey by swimming, climbing, or running after them. They also eat carrion and corpses of human beings, which they have been known to excavate and devour. People have hunted this species for food and their skins, which are used in traditional medicine and leather products.
Humans bitten by common water monitors may be injected with venom, which produces a mild, but not fatal effect, as well as exposed to infectious bacteria. This monitor can also use its whip-like tail and sharp claws as weapons. Although some reports of people dying from attacks by large individuals exist, they are probably untrue.
Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

Komodo dragon© mgkuijpers/Fotolia

The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard species. The dragon is a monitor lizard of the family Varanidae. It occurs on Komodo Island and a few neighboring islands of the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. The popular interest in the lizard’s large size and predatory habits has allowed this endangered species to become an ecotourist attraction, which has encouraged its protection.
The lizard grows to 3 meters (10 feet) in total length and attains a weight of about 135 kg (about 300 pounds). It digs a burrow as deep as 9 meters and lays eggs that hatch in April or May. The newly hatched young, about 45 cm (18 inches) long, live in trees for several months. Adult Komodo dragons eat smaller members of their own species and sometimes even other adults.
They can, however, run fast enough to attack and kill human beings. (A number of attacks on humans by Komodo dragons, both wild and captive, have been reported between 2000 and 2014.) Carrion, however, is their main diet item, although they commonly wait along game trails to ambush pigs, deer, and cattle. They seldom need to capture live prey directly, since their venomous bite delivers toxins that inhibit blood clotting. It is thought that their victims go into shock from rapid blood loss. Some herpetologists note that the physical trauma of the bite and the introduction of bacteria from the Komodo dragon’s mouth to the wound also play roles in slowing and killing prey. Komodo dragons often find their prey in the process of dying or shortly after death.