Crotalus totonacus

Crotalus totonacus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Crotalus
Species:	C. totonacus
Binomial name
	Crotalus totonacus; Gloyd & Kauffeld, 1940
Synonyms
	Crotalus totonacus ; Gloyd & Kauffeld, 1940; Crotalus durissus totonacus ; – H.M. Smith & Taylor, 1945; Crotalus basiliscus totonacus ; – Taylor, 1950; [Crotalus (Crotalus) durissus] totonacus – J. Peters & Orejas-Miranda, 1970; Crotalus durissus neoleonensis Juliá-Zertuche & Treviño-Saldaña, 1978 (nomen nudum); Crotalus totonacus ; – Campbell & Lamar, 2004; Crotalus totonacus ; – Quijada-Mascareñas & Wüster, 2006;

Crotalus totonacus is a venomous pit viper species found in northeastern Mexico. No subspecies are currently recognized.^[4]

Common name: Totonacan rattlesnake^[2]

Description edit

Totonacan Rattlesnake (Crotalus totonacus) in southern Tamaulipas, Mexico (10 July 2005).

Adults frequently grow to more than 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) in length. The largest recorded specimen was 166.5 cm (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in) in length.^[2]

Geographic range edit

It is found in northeastern Mexico from central Nuevo León through southern Tamaulipas, northern Veracruz, eastern San Luis Potosí and northern Querétaro.^[2] The type locality given is "Panaco Island, about 75 miles [120 km] south of Tampico, Veracruz, Mexico, 12 miles [19 km] inland from Cabo Rojo".^[1]

Diet edit

Crotalus totonacus is known to prey on small mammals and birds. In addition to mammal hair and bird feathers found in stomachs, specific prey items include cave rats (Neotoma sp.), Allen’s tree squirrels (Sciurus alleni), and rock squirrels (Spermophilus [Otospermophilus] variegatus).^[5]

Taxonomy edit

This species was previously considered a subspecies of C. durissus.^[1]

References edit

^ ^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).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2.
^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org
^ "Crotalus totonacus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
^ Farr, William L., Manuel Nevárez de los Reyes, David Lazcano, and Sadot Edgardo. Ortiz-Hernández, 2015. Crotalus totonacus (Totonacan Rattlesnake). Diet. Herpetological Review 46(1): 103.