Crotalus simus

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Middle American rattlesnake
Yucatán Neotropical rattlesnake
(Crotalus simus)

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Crotalus
Species:
C. simus
Binomial name
Crotalus simus
Synonyms
Common names: Middle American rattlesnake,[2] Central American rattlesnake,[4] tzabcan (local name for subspecies C. s. tzabcan)

Crotalus simus is a

pit viper species found in Mexico and Central America. The specific epithet is Latin for "flat-nosed", likely because its head is blunt compared with lanceheads (Bothrops). Three subspecies are recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.[5]

Description

Adults commonly exceed 130 cm (51 in) in length, with males growing larger than females. Large males reach 140–160 cm (55–63 in) in some populations. The maximum length is 180 cm (71 in).[2]

The body has a rough appearance because the

dorsal scale keels are accentuated into protuberances or tuberculations. This is most apparent on the scale rows on either side of the body with a decreasing intensity in the lower rows. The vertebral scales are about as prominently keeled as the fourth row down on the flanks (with the vertebral scales as the first row).[4]

Distribution and habitat

The species is found from

mesic forests with relatively dry, open areas.[2]

Uses

To the

Mayans, the Yucatan subspecies (C. s. tzabcan) is greatly revered. The word tzabcan means rattlesnake in Mayan. What the rattlesnake actually symbolizes is unknown, but many temples have carved rattlesnake shapes. Shamans also dry and roast snakes, grinding them into a powder used as medicine.[citation needed
]

Venom

Bites are similar to rattlesnake bites in the United States. Local symptoms may be severe, with pain, massive swelling, blistering, and necrosis that lead to fasciotomies and in some cases amputations. Systemic effects involving hemostatic disturbances are rare, as are kidney failure, and neurotoxicity. Only venom from neonates contains crotoxin; a constituent typically found in C. durissus venom that produces neurotoxic symptoms.[6]

Taxonomy

Previously, until 2004, the description for this form was listed as the nominate subspecies for the tropical rattlesnake, C. durissus.[3] Molecular genetic data suggest the taxa culminatus and tzabcan should be considered as separate species from C. simus[7]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T197480A2488426.en
    . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-8014-4141-2
    ..
  3. ^
    ISBN 1-893777-01-4
    (volume).
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-520-21056-5
    .
  5. ^ "Crotalus simus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  6. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2
    .
  7. ^ Wüster, W., J.E. Ferguson, J.A. Quijada-Mascareñas, C.E. Pook, M.G. Salomão & R.S. Thorpe (2005) Tracing an invasion: landbridges, refugia and the phylogeography of the Neotropical rattlesnake (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalus durissus). Molecular Ecology 14(4): 1095–1108.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crotalus simus.
Wikispecies has information related to Crotalus simus.
  • Sonnini, C.S. & Latreille, P.A. 1801. Histoire naturelle des Reptiles, avec figures dessinées d'après nature; Tome III. Seconde Partie. Serpens. Crapelet. Paris. 335 pp. (Crotalus simus, p. 202.)
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