Crotalus
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 Timber rattlesnake, C. horridus
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Common names: rattlesnakes.[2]
Crotalus is a genus of venomous pit vipers found only in the Americas from southern Canada to northern Argentina.[1] 27 species are currently recognized.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Description
All species but one, C. catalinensis, are easily recognized by the characteristic rattle on the end of the tail. This genus should not be confused with the smaller species of the genus Sistrurus; these also have a rattle, but it is not as well developed.
[edit] Geographic range
The Americas from southern Canada to northern Argentina.[1]
[edit] Species
| Species[3] | Authority[3] | Subsp.*[3] | Common name | Geographic range[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C. adamanteus | Palisot de Beauvois, 1799 | 0 | Eastern diamondback rattlesnake | Southeastern USA |
| C. aquilus | Klauber, 1952 | 0 | Queretaran dusky rattlesnake | Highlands of central Mexico |
| C. atrox | Baird & Girard, 1853 | 0 | Western diamondback rattlesnake | Southwestern USA and northern Mexico |
| C. basiliscus | (Cope, 1864) | 0 | Mexican westcoast rattlesnake | Western Mexico |
| C. catalinensis | Cliff, 1954 | 0 | Catalina island rattlesnake | Western Mexico (Isla Santa Catalina) |
| C. cerastes | Hallowell, 1854 | 2 | Sidewinder | Southwestern USA |
| C. durissus | Linnaeus, 1758 | 11 | Tropical rattlesnakes | Mexico to northern Argentina |
| C. enyo | (Cope, 1861) | 2 | Baja rattlesnakes | Western Mexico |
| C. horridusT | Linnaeus, 1758 | 0 | Timber rattlesnake | Eastern USA |
| C. intermedius | Troschel, 1865 | 2 | Small-headed rattlesnakes | Central and southern Mexico |
| C. lannomi | Tanner, 1966 | 0 | Autlan rattlesnake | Western Mexico |
| C. lepidus | (Kennicott, 1861) | 3 | Rock rattlesnake | Southwestern USA and northern central Mexico |
| C. mitchellii | (Cope, 1861) | 4 | Speckled rattlesnake | Southwestern USA and Baja California (Mexico) |
| C. molossus | Baird & Girard, 1853 | 3 | Black-tailed rattlesnake | Southwestern USA and Mexico |
| C. oreganus | Holbrook, 1840 | 6 | Western rattlesnake | Southwestern Canada, much of the western half of the western United States, and as far south as northern Mexico.[4] |
| C. polystictus | (Cope, 1865) | 0 | Mexican lancehead rattlesnake | Central Mexican Plateau, from southern Zacatecas and northeastern Colima east to east-central Veracruz. |
| C. pricei | Van Denburgh, 1895 | 1 | Twin-spotted rattlesnake | Southeastern USA and northern Mexico |
| C. pusillus | Klauber, 1952 | 0 | Tancitaran dusky rattlesnake | West-central Mexico |
| C. ruber | Cope, 1892 | 2 | Red diamond rattlesnake | Southwestern California in the United States, south through Baja California in Mexico, except in the desert east of the Sierra de Juárez in northeastern Baja California. |
| C. scutulatus | (Kennicott, 1861) | 1 | Mohave rattlesnake | Southwestern USA, Mexico |
| C. stejnegeri | Dunn, 1919 | 0 | Long-tail rattlesnake | Western Mexico |
| C. tigris | Kennicott in Baird, 1859 | 0 | Tiger rattlesnake | Southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico |
| C. tortugensis | Van Denburgh and Slevin, 1921 | 0 | Tortuga island diamond rattlesnake | Tortuga Island |
| C. transversus | Taylor, 1944 | 0 | Cross-banded mountain rattlesnake | Central Mexico |
| C. triseriatus | (Wagler, 1830) | 1 | Dusky rattlesnake | The highlands of the Transverse Volcanic Cordillera along the southern edge of the Mexican Plateau |
| C. viridis | (Rafinesque, 1818) | 1 | Prairie rattlesnake | Southwestern Canada, western USA, northern Mexico |
| C. willardi | Meek, 1905 | 4 | Ridge-nosed rattlesnake | Mountains of southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies (typical form).
T) Type species.[1]
[edit] See also
- Crotalinae (pit vipers).
- List of rattlesnake species and subspecies.
- Snakebite.
[edit] Cited references
- ^ a b c d e McDiarmid RW, Campbell JA, Touré T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. ISBN 1-893777-00-6 (series). ISBN 1-893777-01-4 (volume).
- ^ Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. ISBN 0-4014-0463-0.
- ^ a b c d Crotalus (TSN 174305). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 29 August 2006.
- ^ Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
- Genus Crotalus at the EMBL Reptile Database
- Crotalus at Herpbreeder.com. Accessed 26 September 2006.
