Crotalus mitchellii

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Crotalus mitchellii

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Crotalus
Species: C. mitchellii
Binomial name
Crotalus mitchellii
(Cope, 1861)
Synonyms
  • Caudisona mitchellii - Cope, 1861
  • C[rotalus]. mitchellii - Cope In Yarrow In Wheeler, 1875
  • [Crotalus oreganus] Var. mitchellii - Garman, 1884
  • Crotalus mitcheli - Belding, 1887
  • Crotalus Mitchellii [mitchellii] - Stejneger, 1895
  • Crotalus mitchelli - Boulenger, 1896
  • Crotalus aureus - Kallert, 1927
  • Crotalus tigris mitchellii - Amaral, 1929
  • Crotalus confluentus mitchelli - Klauber, 1930
  • Crotalus mitchelli mitchelli - Klauber, 1952
  • Crotalus mitchellii mitchellii - McCrystal & McCoid, 1986[1]

Common names: speckled rattlesnake.[2]  
 
Crotalus mitchellii is a venomous pit viper species found in the Southwestern United States, and in northern Mexico. Five subspecies are currently recognized, including the typical form described here.[3]

Contents

[edit] Description

C. mitchellii
C. mitchellii

Generally, this species does not exceed 100 cm in length, with large males measuring between 90 and 100 cm. The race on Angel de la Guarda Island is known to become larger, the maximum recorded length for a specimen there being 136.7 cm. In contrast, the population on El Muerto Island only reaches a maximum of 63.7 cm in length.[2]

[edit] Geographic range

Found in the southwestern United States and in northwestern Mexico. In the United States, its range includes east-central and southern California, southwestern Nevada, extreme southwestern Utah and western Arizona. In Mexico it is native in most of Baja California, including Baja California Sur. It also inhabits a number of islands in the Gulf of California, including Angel de la Guarda, Carmen, Cerralvo, El Muerto, Espíritu Santo, Monserrate, Piojo, Salsipuedes, San José, as well as on Santa Margarita Island off the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur.[1]

The type locality is listed as "Cape St. Lucas, Lower California" (Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico).[1]

[edit] Subspecies

Subspecies[3] Authority[3] Common name[4] Geographic range[4]
C. m. angelensis Klauber, 1963 Angel de la Guarda Island speckled rattlesnake Mexico, on the island of Ángel de la Guarda.
C. m. mitchellii (Cope, 1861) San Lucan speckled rattlesnake Mexico, in Baja California Sur and on the islands of Santa Margarita, Cerralvo, Espíritu Santo, San José, Monserrate and Carmen.
C. m. muertensis Klauber, 1949 El Muerto Island speckled rattlesnake Mexico, on the island of El Muerto.
C. m. pyrrhus (Cope, 1866) Southwestern speckled rattlesnake The United States in southern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and western Arizona. Mexico in northwestern Sonora and northern Baja California.
C. m. stephensi Klauber, 1930 Panamint rattlesnake The United States in east-central California and southwestern Nevada.

[edit] Taxonomy

Grismer (1999) argued that C. m. angelensis and C. m. muertensis should be given species status, mainly due to differences in body size.[2]

[edit] See also

[edit] Cited references

  1. ^ a b c 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).
  2. ^ a b c 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.
  3. ^ a b c Crotalus mitchellii (TSN 174313). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 25 February 2007.
  4. ^ a b Klauber LM. 1997. Rattlesnakes: Their Habitats, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind. Second Edition. First published in 1956, 1972. University of California Press, Berkeley. ISBN 0-520-21056-5.

[edit] External links

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