Found in the grand canyon.
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What kind of rattlesnake is this?
dangerjudy
Oct 03, 2005 08:07 AM
Replies (8)
dangerjudy
Oct 03, 2005 08:08 AM
Here's another - from Sedona - what kind is this?
rhallman
Oct 03, 2005 08:17 PM
Again I agree with Chris. From what I can see of the animal it looks like a Black-Tailed Rattlesnake, Crotalus molossus. In my opinion this is one of the best looking species of rattlesnake.
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Randy Hallman
justinian2120
Oct 06, 2005 10:53 AM
n/p
snake_gal
Oct 06, 2005 07:56 PM
This looks like a black-tailed rattlesnake, but it is hard to tell without seeing the whole body.
chrish
Oct 03, 2005 08:14 AM
The first one is a Grand Canyon Rattlesnake (if that subspecies is even valid anymore?) and the second one is a Black-tailed Rattlesnake.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, TX
rhallman
Oct 03, 2005 08:14 PM
I agree with Chris. This looks like a Grand Canyon Rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis abyssus. This is sometimes called the Grand Canyon Pink Rattlesnake. It is a subspecies of the Western Rattlesnake.
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Randy Hallman
NWFLHerper
Oct 03, 2005 11:56 PM
I believe it is now Crotalus oreganus abyssus not virdis. Much of the former virdis complex is now oreganus.
rhallman
Oct 04, 2005 10:23 AM
From the web site of The Center for North American Herpetology.
www.cnah.org
"Ashton and de Queiroz (2001 Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 21(2): 176-189), using mtDNA, concluded that this wide-ranging taxon consisted of two strongly divergent clades, and recommended that they be recognized as two distinct species, Crotalus viridis (including the nominate subspecies and the race nuntius) and Crotalus oreganus (including the remaining races). Under this arrangement, the standard common name for Crotalus viridis became Prairie Rattlesnake and that for Crotalus oreganus became Western Rattlesnake.
Collins & Taggart (2002 Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians. Fifth Edition) submitted for consideration the proposal by Ashton & de Queiroz (2001 op. cit.) to a snake systematist group composed of Frank T. Burbrink, Jeff Camper, Harry W. Greene, L. Lee Grismer, Robin Lawson, James R. McCranie, Andrew H. Price, Javier Rodriguez-Robles, and Samuel S. Sweet, and they agreed."
The new taxons are...
-C. viridis - Prairie Rattlesnake
C. v. nuntius - Hopi Rattlesnake
C. v. viridis - Prairie Rattlesnake
-C. oreganus - Western Rattlesnake
C. o. abyssus - Grand Canyon Rattlesnake
C. o. cerberus - Arizona Black Rattlesnake
C. o. concolor - Midget Faded Rattlesnake
C. o. helleri - Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
C. o. lutosus - Great Basin Rattlesnake
C. o. oreganus - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
Not everyone has agreed with or adopted these new classifications and you will still find current references that include all subspecies under viridis.
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Randy Hallman
