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Crotalus oreganus abyssus



Crotalus oreganus abyssus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Subfamily: Crotalinae
Genus: Crotalus
Species: C. oreganus
Subspecies: C. o. abyssus
Trinomial name
Crotalus oreganus abyssus
Klauber, 1930
Synonyms
  • Crotalus confluentus abyssus - Klauber, 1930
  • Crotalus viridis abyssus - Klauber, 1936[1]
Common names: Grand Canyon rattlesnake,[2] canyon bleached rattlesnake.[3]

Crotalus oreganus abyssus is a venomous pitviper subspecies[2] found only in the United States in Arizona.

Contents

Description

This is a medium to large (16" to 54") rattlesnake with dark blotches on a variety of base colors ranging from reddish, pink, yellow/green, light tan, to gray. The blotches usually become bands near the tail. The young usually have more prominent blotches and facial markings than the adults. Some adults Have no body markings. The rostral scale usually comes into contact with more than 2 internasal scales.

Geographic range

Found in northwestern and north-central Arizona.

Habitat

The snake is found in a variety of habitats, including grassland, Great Basin Desert scrubland, bottoms in the Grand Canyon, rolling hills and bajadas in pinion-juniper woodland, and pine forests.

Behavior

It is primarily diurnal but can be active around the clock when conditions are favorable.

Feeding

It feeds on squirrels, mice, lizards, and birds.

See also

References

  1. ^ 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).
  2. ^ a b Crotalus oreganus abyssus (TSN 683061). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 28 November 2006.
  3. ^ Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. ISBN 0-8014-0463-0.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Crotalus_oreganus_abyssus". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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