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Sistrurus ravus



Sistrurus ravus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Sistrurus
Species: S. ravus
Binomial name
Sistrurus ravus
(Cope, 1865)
Synonyms
  • Crotalus ravus - Cope, 1865
  • Caudisona rava - Cope, 1875
  • [Crotalus miliarius] Var. ravus - Garman, 1884
  • Crotalophorus ravus - Cope, 1885
  • Sistrurus ravus - Boulenger, 1896
  • Crotalus (Sistrurus) ravus - Hoge, 1966
  • Sistrurus ravus ravus - Harris & Simmons, 1977
  • Sistrurus ravus lutescens - Harris & Simmons, 1977[1]
Common names: Mexican pigmy rattlesnake,[2] Mexican pygmy rattlesnake,[3] more.

Sistrurus ravus is a venomous pitviper species, found only in Mexico. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.[4]

Contents

Description

Adults of this species usually grow to a length of 40-65 cm, but may reach more than 70 cm. They are moderately stout in build.[3]

The distinguishing characteristics for S. r. ravus include parietal scales that are highly variable in shape, less than 3 prefoveals, 21 midbody dorsal scales, 2-4 tail bands and a relatively large rattle.[3]

Common names

Mexican pigmy rattlesnake,[2] Mexican pygmy rattlesnake.[3] Local names are víbora-cascabel pigmea-mexicana (Spanish),[4] colcóatl, cascabel enana, víbora de cascabel and viborita de cascabel.[3]

Geographic range

Found only in Mexico in the mountains in the center and south of the country, west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Its range includes the southeastern part of the Mexican Plateau in the highlands of Mexico, Morelos, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca and the Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero. The type locality given is the "Table land of Mexico." Cochran (1961) interpreted this to be the "south tableland, Veracruz, Mexico."[1]

Campbell and Lamar (2004) describe this species as being found across the Mexican Plateau in the temperate regions of moderate to high elevations. They estimate the vertical distribution to be from about 1,490 m above sea level to a little over 3,000 m altitude.[3]

Subspecies

Subspecies[4] Authority[4] Common name[5] Geographic range[3]
S. r. brunneus Harris & Simmons, 1977 Oaxacan pigmy rattlesnake Mexico in the highlands of Oaxaca.
S. r. exiguus Campbell & Armstrong, 1979 Guerreran pigmy rattlesnake Mexico in the Sierra Madre del Sur of central Guerrero.
S. r. ravus (Cope, 1865) Central Mexican pigmy rattlesnake Mexico in the Altiplanicie Meridional, including the states of México, Morelos, Tlaxcala, Puebla and Veracruz.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b 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 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.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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.
  4. ^ a b c d Sistrurus ravus (TSN 586091). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 4 March 2007.
  5. ^ Sistrurus ravus at the New Reptile Database. Accessed 12 December 2007.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sistrurus_ravus". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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