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Crotalus mitchellii (COPE, 1861)

IUCN Red List - Crotalus mitchellii - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Speckled Rattlesnake
G: Gefleckte Klapperschlange
S: Vibora Blanca 
SynonymCaudisona mitchellii COPE 1861: 293
Crotalus mitchellii — COPE 1875
Crotalus mitchelli — BOULENGER 1896
Crotalus goldmani SCHMIDT 1922
Crotalus mitchellii mitchellii — STEBBINS 1985: 229
Crotalus mitchellii mitchellii — LINER 1994
Crotalus mitchelli — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 288
Crotalus mitchellii mitchellii — BEAMAN & HAYES 2008
Matteoea mitchelli — HOSER 2009
Crotalus mitchellii — WALLACH et al. 2014: 192
Crotalus mitchellii — MEIK et al. 2015 
DistributionMexico (S Baja California, islands off the coast, Sonora).

Type locality: "Cape St. Lucas, Lower California" [Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico].  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: lost, was USNM 5291 1/2, lost fide McDiarmid et al. 1999: 289.
Holotype: USNM 37573 [Crotalus goldmani] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (4375 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Subspecies: Grismer (1999) elevated C. m. angelensis and muertensis to full species status based on aspects of coloration, squamation, and size using an evolutionary species concept. However, he provides details only on some body measurements which are of little use without a larger number or specimen.
DOUGLAS et al. 2007 elevated Crotalus mitchellii stephensi to full species level.

Nomenclature: Hoser’s 2009 classification and nomenclature has been rejected as unnecessary and unavailable by WÜSTER & BERNILS 2011.

Distribution: see map in Meik et al. 2015: Fig. 1 Reported from Arizona by Lemos-Espinal 2015. 
EtymologyNamed after Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell (1829-1914), who combined the professions of physician and novelist. 
References
  • Amaral, A. D. 1927. Studies of nearctic ophidia I. Crotalus goldmani iSchmidt, 1922, a synonym of C. mitchelli Cope, 1861. Bull. Antivenin Inst. America 1 (2): 47-48
  • Beaman, K.R. & Hayes, W.K. 2008. Rattlesnakes: Research Trends and Annotated Checklist. In: Hayes et al. (eds), The biology of rattlesnakes. Loma Linda University Press, pp. 5-16
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Campbell, J.A. & Lamar, W.W. 1989. The Venomous Reptiles of Latin America. Comstock Publishing/Cornell University Press, Ithaca
  • Cliff, Frank S. 1954. Snakes of the islands in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History 12 (5): 67-98 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1861. Contributions to the ophiology of Lower California, Mexico and Central America. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 13: 292-306 - 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
  • Coues, Elliott 1875. Synopsis of the Reptiles and Batrachians of Arizona; with critical and field notes, and an extensive synonymy. Chapter IV. Reports upon the Collections Obtained from Portions of Nevada, Utah, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, during the Report upon Geographical and Geological Explorations and Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian. Volume V. Zoology: : 509-633 + 10 lithographic plates (3 are chromolithographs) - get paper here
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  • Douglas, Michael E.; Marlis R. Douglas, Gordon W. Schuett, Louis W. Porras & Blake L. Thomason 2007. GENEALOGICAL CONCORDANCE BETWEEN MITOCHONDRIAL AND NUCLEAR DNAS SUPPORTS SPECIES RECOGNITION OF THE PANAMINT RATTLESNAKE (CROTALUS MITCHELLII STEPHENSI). Copeia 2007 (4): 920–932 - get paper here
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  • Meik, Jesse M and André Pires-daSilva 2009. Evolutionary morphology of the rattlesnake style. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2009, 9:35 - get paper here
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  • Mocquard, M.F. 1899. Contribution a la faune herpétologique de la Basse-Californie. Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Natur.Paris, 4th Series, Vol. 1: 297-343 + plates XI-XIII - get paper here
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  • Rieser, Jennifer M.; Tai-De Li, Jessica L. Tingle, Daniel I. Goldman, Joseph R. Mendelson 2021. Functional consequences of convergently evolved microscopic skin features on snake locomotion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Feb 2021, 118 (6) e2018264118; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2018264118 - get paper here
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