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Crotalus basiliscus (COPE, 1864)

IUCN Red List - Crotalus basiliscus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mexican West-Coast Rattlesnake, Basilisk Rattlesnake
G: Basilisken-Klapperschlange
S: Saye 
SynonymCaudisona basilisca COPE 1864: 166
Crotalus basiliscus — COPE 1885: 180
Crotalus basiliscus basiliscus GLOYD 1948
Crotalus basiliscus basiliscus — KLAUBER 1952: 79
Crotalus basiliscus — CAMPBELL & LAMAR 1989: 335
Crotalus basiliscus — LINER 1994
Crotalus basiliscus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 278
Caudisona (Smythus) basiliscus — HOSER 2009
Crotalus basiliscus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 188
Crotalus basiliscus — CORTÉS-VÁZQUEZ et al. 2022 
DistributionMexico (Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Sonora, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Chihuahua)

Type locality: "Near Colima, Mexico." Proposed emendation to Colima, Mexico by Smith and Taylor, 1950: 328.  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesHolotype: USNM 53586 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (2043 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Nomenclature: Hoser’s 2009 classification and nomenclature has been rejected as unnecessary and unavailable by WÜSTER & BERNILS 2011. 
EtymologyNamed after Greek basilískos (βασιλίσκος), mythical creature known as the basilisk, which was believed to be a serpent or dragon with potent venom and deadly gaze. [?]. 
References
  • Acuña-Vargas, J. C. 2016. Anfibios y Reptiles asociados a cinco coberturas de la tierra, municipio de Dibulla, La Guajira, Colombia. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n. s.), 32(2): 133-146 - get paper here
  • AHUMADA-CARRILLO, I. T., C. I. GRUNWALD, M. A. LOPEZ CUELLAR, AND J. M. JONES 2020. Some Records of Amphibians and Reptiles from the Wixarica Region in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Herpetological Review 51: 277-281.
  • Campbell, J.A. & Lamar, W.W. 1989. The Venomous Reptiles of Latin America. Comstock Publishing/Cornell University Press, Ithaca
  • Carbajal-Márquez, R. A., Sigala-Rodríguez, J. J., Reyes-Velasco, J., Jones, J. M., Montaño-Ruvalcaba, C., Fernandez-Badillo, L., & Borja-Jiménez, J. M. 2023. New dietary records for three species in the Crotalus molossus species complex (Serpentes: Viperidae). Phyllomedusa: Journal of Herpetology, 22(1), 81-86 - get paper here
  • Carbajal-Márquez, Rubén A. and Gustavo E. Quintero-Díaz 2016. The Herpetofauna of Aguascalientes, México. Revista Mexicana de Herpetología 2(1):
  • Carbajal-Màrquez, Rubèn A., Gustavo E. Quintero-Dìaz and Eric A. Rivas-Mercado. 2015. Geographic Distribution: Crotalus basiliscus (Mexican West Coast rattlesnake). Herpetological Review 46 (2): 219 - get paper here
  • Carbajal-Márquez, Rubén A., Jorge A. Bañuelos-Alamillo, Eric A. Rivas-Mercado, Gustavo E. Quintero-Díaz and Marco A. Domínguez-De La Riva. 2015. Geographic Distribution: Crotalus basiliscus (Mexican west coast rattlesnake). Herpetological Review 46 (3): 385 - get paper here
  • Cobarrubias, Edgar Flores; Daniel Cruz-Sáenz, and David Lazcano 2012. Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 6: Amphibians and Reptiles of Hostotipaquillo, Jalisco, Mexico. Bull. Chicago Herp. Soc. 47 (2):21-26 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1864. Contributions to the herpetology of tropical America. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 16: 166-181. - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1885. Twelfth contribution to the herpetology of tropical America. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 22: 167-194 [1884] - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1900. The crocodilians, lizards and snakes of North America. Ann. Rep. U.S. Natl. Mus. 1898: 153-1270 - get paper here
  • Cortés-Vázquez, S., Núñez-Carrillo, L. C., Cruz-Sáenz, D., Carrasco-Ortiz, M. A., Rodríguez-López, A., Lazcano, D., ... & Wilson, L. D. 2022. Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 29: Herpetofauna of Natural Protected Area “El Diente,” Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society, 57(10), 177-185 - get paper here
  • CUPUL-MAGAÑA, FABIO G.; ARMANDO H. ESCOBEDO-GALVÁN & ISMAEL E. HUERTA-DE LA BARRERA. 2021. CROTALUS BASILISCUS (Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake). DIET. Herpetological Review 52 (2): 419–420. - get paper here
  • Enderson, Erik F.; Thomas R. Van Devender, Robert L. Bezy 2014. Amphibians and reptiles of Yécora, Sonora and the Madrean Tropical Zone of the Sierra Madre Occidental in northwestern Mexico. Check List 10 (4): 913-926 - get paper here
  • Fugler, Charles M.;Dixon, James R. 1961. Notes on the herpetofauna of the El Dorado Area of Sinaloa, Mexico. Publications of the Museum, Michigan State University, Biological Series 2 (1): 1-24
  • García, A. & Ceballos, G. 1994. GUIA DE CAMPO DE LOS REPTILES Y ANFIBIOS DE LA COSTA DE JALISCO, MEXICO. FUNDACION ECOLOGICA DE CUIXMALA, A.C. INSTITUTO DE BIOLOGIA, UNAM - get paper here
  • García-Padilla, E., Heredia-López, I., Villalobos-Juárez, I., Lazcano, D., & Fucsko, L. A. 2025. Notes on the Herpetofauna of Mexico 48: From Sacred to Scorned---A Study of the Mexican Rattlesnake’s Changing Status. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society, 60(3), 25-30 - get paper here
  • Gloyd, Howard K. 1948. Description of a neglected subspecies of rattlesnake from Mexico. Natural History Miscellanea (17): 1-4 - get paper here
  • Goldberg, Stephen R. and Charles R. Bursey. 2006. Crotalus basiliscus Endoparasites. Herpetological Review 37 (1): 94 - get paper here
  • Hardy, L.M., & McDiarmid, R.W. 1969. The amphibians and reptiles of Sinaloa, Mexico. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 18 (3): 39-252. - get paper here
  • Heimes, P. 2016. Snakes of Mexico. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 572 pp
  • Hoser, R. 2009. A reclassification of the rattlesnakes; species formerly exclusively referred to the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus. Australasian J. Herpetol. 3: 1-21 - get paper here
  • Klauber, Laurence M. 1952. Taxonomic studies on rattlesnakes of Mainland Mexico. Bulletins of the Zoological Society of San Diego (26): 1-143 - get paper here
  • Lara-Galván, J. L., Martínez-Montoya, J. F., Sigala-Rodríguez, J. J., Esparza-Estrada, C. E., Rosas-Rosas, O. C., Ávila-Herrera, L., & Barbosa, A. M. 2020. Rattlesnake (Crotalus spp.) distribution and diversity in Zacatecas, Mexico ZooKeys, 1005, 103 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR 2020. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Sinaloa, Mexico with a conservation status summary and comparisons with neighboring states. ZooKeys 931: 85-114 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR, Pierce LJS, Painter CW 2020. The amphibians and reptiles of Colima, Mexico, with a summary of their conservation status. ZooKeys 927: 99-125 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR, Rorabaugh JC 2019. A conservation checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Sonora, Mexico, with updated species lists. ZooKeys 829: 131-160 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal, Julio A. (ed.) 2015. Amphibians and Reptiles of the US - Mexico Border States / Anfibios y Reptiles de los Estados de la Frontera México - Estados Unidos. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas. x + 614 pp.; ISBN 978-1-62349-306-6. - get paper here
  • Loc-barragán J.A., D., Lazcano y G.A Woolrich-Piña. 2018. Notes on the Herpetofauna of Nayarit, Mexico 2: Amphibians and Reptiles of the Municipality of Compostela. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 53(10): 205-212
  • Loc-Barragán JA, Smith GR, Woolrich-Piña GA, Lemos-Espinal JA 2024. An updated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nayarit, Mexico with conservation status and comparison with adjoining States. Herpetozoa 37: 25-42 - get paper here
  • Loc-Barragán, Jesús A., Rubén A. Carbajal-Márquez, Guillermo A. Woolrich-Piña and Roy R. Navarro-Orozco. 2016. Crotalus basiliscus. Arboreal habitat use/ Litter size. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (2): 494-496 - get paper here
  • Loc-Barragán, Jesús A.; Zarah I. Sosa-Hernández, Christoph I. Grünwald, Emmanuel Miramontes-Medina, Jorge A. Bañuelos-Alamillo, Guillermo A. Woolrich-Piña and David Lazcano 2019. Notes on the Herpetofauna of Nayarit, Mexico 3: Amphibians and Reptiles of the Municipality of Huajicori. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 54(10): 205-213 - get paper here
  • Luja VH, López JA, Cruz-Elizalde R, Ramírez-Bautista A 2017. Herpetofauna inside and outside from a natural protected area: the case of Reserva Estatal de la Biósfera Sierra San Juan, Nayarit, Mexico. Nature Conservation 21: 15-38 - get paper here
  • Marcy, D. 1945. Birth of a Brood of Crotalus basiliscus Copeia 1945 (3): 169-170. - get paper here
  • McCranie J R 1981. Crotalus basiliscus (Cope). Mexican west coast rattlesnake. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles ( 283: 1-2 - get paper here
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  • Muñoz-Mora, V. H., Suárez-Atilano, M., Maltagliati, F., Ramírez-Corona, F., Carbajal-Saucedo, A., Percino-Daniel, R., ... & Sunny, A. 2022. A tale about vipers’ tails: phylogeography of black-tailed rattlesnakes. Herpetozoa, 35, 141-153 - get paper here
  • Palacio-Baena, Jaime Alberto; Eliana María Muñoz Escobar; Sandra Milena Gallo Delgado; Mauricio Rivera Correa 2006. ANFIBIOS Y REPTILES DEL VALLE DE ABURRÁ Editorial Zuluaga, 92 pp. - get paper here
  • Rojo-Gutiérrez, Juan Rubén; David Jaimes-Rodríguez , Daniel Cruz-Sáenz , Laura López-Fernández , Enrique Chávez-Uribe and David Lazcano 2018. Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 19: An Update to the Herpetofauna of Volcán de Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 53(8):165-169 - get paper here
  • Salcido-Rodríguez, Israel; Francisco Isaac Hernández-Valadez , Adriana Elizabeth Castillo-Franco , Daniel Cruz-Sáenz , Edgar Emmanuel Hernández-Juárez , David Lazcano , Lydia Allison Fucsko and Larry David Wilson 2023. Notes on the Herpetofauna of Western Mexico 31: Herpetofauna from Sierra de Tesistán, Zapopan,. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 58(10):165-171 - get paper here
  • Santos-Barrera, Georgina; Jesus Pacheco, Fernando Mendoza-Quijano, Federico Bolaños,<br />Gerardo Cháves , Gretchen C. Daily, Paul R. Ehrlich & Gerardo Ceballos 2008. Diversity, natural history and conservation of amphibians and reptiles from the San Vito Region, southwestern Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (2): 755-778 - get paper here
  • Sasa, M., Arias, E., & Chaves, G. 2025. Annotated list of amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica: The role of the Museum of Zoology in cataloging the country’s herpetological diversity. Revista de Biología Tropical, 73(S2): e64536-e64536 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, Karl P.;Shannon, Frederick A. 1947. Notes on amphibians and reptiles of Michoacan, Mexico. Zoological Series of Field Museum of Natural History 31 (9): 63-85
  • Smith, Hobart M. & Taylor, Edward H. 1950. Type localities of Mexican reptiles and amphibians. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 33 (8): 313-380 - get paper here
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  • WILLIAMS, SPENCER & JOSE ANGEL ARCE 2021. New Distributional Records from Mixtlán, an Undersampled Municipality in Jalisco, Mexico. Herpetological Review 52 (2): 359–361
  • Woolrich-Piña, Guillermo A, Paulino Ponce-Campos, Jesús Loc-Barragán, Juan Pablo Ramírez-Silva, Vicente Mata-Silva, Jerry D. Johnson, Elí García-Padilla and Larry David Wilson. 2016. The herpetofauna of Nayarit, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (2): 376-448 - get paper here
  • Wüster, W. & Bérnils, R.S. 2011. On the generic classification of the rattlesnakes, with special reference to the Neotropical Crotalus durissus complex (Squamata: Viperidae). ZOOLOGIA 28 (4): 417–419 - get paper here
  • Zweifel, Richard G. 1959. Additions to the herpetofauna of Nayarit, Mexico. American Museum Novitates (1953): 1-13 - get paper here
 
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