Poisonous Snakes of the World 



lloitil si'iili's : Tin- II lyiilriil sciilt's on llii- <t(i\vii. 

 I.att'riilly, iiasiit In <-iiii(a<'C willi ii|>|iim' |ii'<Mii'iiliir or scpa- 

 ralt'«l from It liy lort-al sralo; i-yo st'paialril (v>n\ siipni- 

 lablal.i liy 1 :t rows of siiiall scali's. 



Kiia KK L'"_'. Iloail of .MassasaUfja. Sislriini.'< ciiliiiiUus. 

 sliowins; aiip»'araiu(> of large crown scutes cliaracter- 

 istic of this genus. Drawing by Lloyd Sandford. 



Body scales : Dorsals strongly keeled, with apical 

 pits, in ll)-27 nonol>li(iiie rows at midbody. fewer an- 

 teriorly and posteriorly. Ventrals 122-lGO ; subcaudals 

 1!>-.S!). all entire or a few posterior ones paired. 



l{imarkii: Brattstroni (1004) suggested that tbo 

 genus SiKtniriis was not recognizable, and that the 3 

 included si)ecies should be placed with the other rattle- 

 snakes in the genus Cnitahis. 



Pigmy Rattlesnake, Sl.sf/-iinis miliariua (Lin- 

 naeus). 



Idcntifiratioii : This species and the Massasauga (S. 

 ratcnatus) are the only United States rattlesnakes with 

 the crown covered by large .shields. In this species the 

 tail is relatively long and slender, terminating in a tiny 

 rattle that may be ditficult to see under field conditions. 



Ground color light gray, tan, reddish-orange or dark 

 gray often with an orange or rusty midline stripe ; 5 

 rows of sooty spots or short dark crossbars ; belly white 

 heavily clouded and spotted with black ; tail barred. 



Average length 1.") to 22 inches ; maximum 31 inches. 



from .Vorlli Carolina lo ciisl Texas an<l iiorlh lo Houlh- 

 ern Missouri. KriMpniil s pirjc woniN mid gra.ss.v innr- 

 slies In llie .soulhern pail of llic niiigc; low rocky 

 wooded hills In northwest. 



Uimarhs : The rattle of these snakes Is anilililc oidy 

 at very close range They are rather alert and had 

 tempered. 'I'lic' liilc ran he followed by severe pain 

 and eMensivr swelling even when tlic snake is a small 

 ni\{- only (I 1(1 '.I incbes long. .No well docuiiicnled fatal 

 ca'^c is nil i-cci)i-(l, lioucvcr. 



Massasauga Rattlesnake, S/s//'in'iifi rnlcnuhis 



{ Ivaliiu'S(|iic). 



Iili nlijiniliiiii : The large shields of the crown dis- 

 tinguish this species from all other I'nited States rattle- 

 snakes excejit the jiigmy rattlesnake. It is best differ- 

 entiated from that species by the shorter tail and well 

 developed rattle. Ranges of the two overlap only in 

 small areas of Texas and Oklahoma. 



Ground color gray, tan. buff or yellowish with rows 

 of dark gray, brown or black spots often with narrow 

 light edges: belly marbled with dark gray, black and 

 white; tail barred. Specimens from the northeastern 

 part of the range sometimes are uniformly black when 

 adult. 



Average length IS to 28 inches: maximum 37 inches; 

 males larger than females. 



V^ 



Figure 23. — Pigmy Rattlesnake. Sistninif: nuliariiix. 

 Photo liy Xew York Zoological Society. 



Disfrihiifinn : The southern lowlands and iiiedmont 



PiGUUE 24. — Massasauga, Sistnini.-i cutcnutun. Photo by 

 New York Zoological Society. (See also plate I. fig. 

 2.) 



DistrihiilioH : The Great Lakes region southwestward 

 to extreme southeastern Arizona and southern Texas ; 

 presumably in adjacent northern Mexico. Inhabits bogs 

 and marshes in the northeast, prairie in the west and 

 southwest. 



Remarks : Highly secretive snakes usually remaining 

 quiet or seeking to escape when encountered but biting 

 readily when angered. The venom is highly toxic for 

 experimental animals, and there have been recent well 

 authenticated cases of fatal bites in man. 



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