What film adaptation was responsible for popularizing the fictional, venomous desert lizard lore?
The novel and subsequent film *Holes*
A primary source of confusion regarding the location and characteristics of the Yellow Spotted Lizard stems from popular culture, specifically the narrative established in the novel *Holes* and its later film adaptation. This fictional setting, Camp Green Lake, described the lizard as inhabiting an arid, dusty wasteland located in Texas. The lore surrounding this literary creation included specific traits such as the lizard possessing exactly 11 spots, exhibiting a milky white tongue, and having venom potent enough to cause a fatal outcome. It is crucial to note that the real *Lepidophyma flavimaculatum* lives in humid forests and is not venomous, and the actual animals used to depict the fictional creatures in the movie production were harmless Bearded Dragons.
