74 



REPTILIA: SERPENTES: CROTALIDAE **** CROTALUS 



CROTALUS Linnaeus 



1758 Crotalus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, Ed. 10: 214. Type-species: Crotalus horr i dus Linnaeus, 



confirmed by Opinion 52, Int. Comm. Zool. Nomen. 

 1764 Crotalophorus Houttuyn, Natuur. Hist., 6, part 1: 25O. Type-species: Crotalus horridus Linnaeus. 

 1768 Gaud i sona Laurenti, Synopsin Reptilium: ')2. Type-species: G aud i sona terr i f icus Laurenti. 

 1818 Crotal inus Rafinesque, Amer. Month. Mag. Grit. Rev., '}: 446. Type-spee ies: Crotal inus 



cyanurus Rafinesque : Grotalus horri dus Linnaeus. 

 1822 Crotalus Fleming (not of Linnaeus, 1758), Philos. of Zool., 2: 254. Type-species: Crotalus 



m il i ar i s Linnaeus. 



1825 Crotalophorus Gray (not of Houttuyn, I764), Ann. Philos., 10: 20$. Type-species: Crotalus 



m i 1 iar i s Linnaeus. 



1826 Caudisona Fitzinger (not of Laurenti, I768), Neue Classification der Reptilien: 63. Type- 



species: Crotalus m i 1 iar i s Linnaeus. 

 I83O Uropsophus Wagler, Nat. Syst. Amph.: I76. Type-species: Uropsophus tr i ser iatus Wiegmann. 

 1843 Urocrotalon Fitzinger, Systema Reptilium; 29. Type-species: Crotalus dur i ssus Linnaeus. 

 I867 Aploasp is Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc i . Phila., 1856: 3^-''* Type-species: Caudi sona lep i da 



Kenn icott. 

 I875 Aechmophrys Goues, in Wheeler, Rept. Explor. and Surv. West of lOOth Mer., 5= 6O5. Type-species: 



Crotalus cerastes Hallowell. 

 I883 S i strurus Carman, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., 8: 118. Type-species: Grotalus m i 1 iar ius Linnaeus. 

 1883 Haploasp i s Cope (emendation of Aploasp i s Cope), Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc i . Phila., 1883: 13- 



Distribution: The Americas. 



Content: About 26 species, of which only two occur within the limits of this work, according to 

 latest revision, by Klauber, Rattlesnakes, 1')%. Hoge, Mem. Inst. Butantan, J2, I965 (l96^)> 's 

 followed, as the most recent summary of the genus, in using Crotalus and S istrurus as subgenera. 



Key to the species Clave de especies 



1. Pattern obsolete; never conspicuous 2 1. DiseRo obsolete; nuca consp'cuo 2 



Pattern well-defined, always conspicuous Diseno definido, siempre consp'cuo dur i ssus 



dur i ssus 



2. Con algunas escamas salpicadas de puntos 



2. With scattered white spots or streaks on some ifneas blancas veqrand i s 



but not all scales veqrand i s Escamas no salpicadas de Ifneas blancas 



No scattered white streaks on scales dur i ssus dur i ssus 



CROTALUS ( GROTALUS ) DURISSUS Linnaeus 



1758 Crotalus Dur i ssus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, Ed. 10: 214. Type-locality: America; restricted to 

 Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, by Smith and Taylor, Univ. Kansas Sc i . Bull., 33, l')^0, 348. 



Distribution: Discontinuous; Mexico to Costa Rica; savannas of South America. See map in Hoge, Mem. 

 Inst. Butantan, 32, I965 (1966), I38. 



Content: Twelve subspecies, of which two ( culmlnatus Klauber and totonacus Gloyd and Kauffeld) are 

 extral im i tal. 



Key to the subspecies Clave de subespecies 



1. Conspicuous pattern of longitudinal bands 1. Disefio consp'cuo de bandas long i tudi nales 



on neck, followed by rhomboid blotches en la nuca, seguido de manchas romboidales 



strongly contrasting with ground coloi 2 contrastantes con el color de fondo 2 



No conspicuous pattern (except in juven- Diseno no consp'cuo (excepto en juveniles), 



iles), no strongly contrasting colors no acentuado por contraste entre colores 



un icolor claros y oscuros un icolor 



2. Centers of rhomboid blotches light, 2. Centres de manchas romboidales claros, 



conspicuous in contrast to rest of blotch- destacandose en contraste con el resto del 



3 rombo 3 



Centers of rhomboid blotches not light. Centres de manchas romboidales no claros 



only slightly lighter than rest of blotch- muy ligeramente mas claros que el resto 



terr i f icus del rombo terr i f icus 



