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Sistrurus catenatus (RAFINESQUE, 1818)

IUCN Red List - Sistrurus catenatus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Serpentes (snakes) 
SubspeciesSistrurus catenatus catenatus (RAFINESQUE 1818)
Sistrurus catenatus edwardsi (BAIRD & GIRARD 1853)
Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus (SAY 1823) 
Common NamesE: Massasauga
catenatus: Eastern Massasauga
edwardsi: Desert Massasauga
tergeminus: Western Massasauga
G: Massasauga, Ketten-Klapperschlange 
SynonymCrotalinus catenatus RAFINESQUE 1818
Sistrurus catenatus — STEBBINS 1985: 225
Sistrurus catenatus — LINER 1994
Sistrurus catenatus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 325
Sistrurus catenatus — HOSER 2009
Sistrurus catenatus — BOUNDY et al. 2012

Sistrurus catenatus catenatus (RAFINESQUE 1818)
Crotalinus catenatus RAFINESQUE 1818
Crotalus messasaugus KIRTLAND 1838
Sistrurus catenatus — GARMAN 1883
Sistrurus catenatus catenatus — COPE 1900
Sistrurus catenatus catenatus — BURT 1935
Sistrurus catenatus catenatus — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 231
Sistrurus catenatus catenatus — CROTHER 2000
Sistrurus catenatus catenatus — BOUNDY et al. 2012

Sistrurus catenatus edwardsi (BAIRD & GIRARD 1853)
Crotalophorus edwardsii BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 15
Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii — GLOYD 1955
Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii — STEBBINS 1985: 226
Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii — WELCH 1994: 109
Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii — CROTHER 2000
Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii — BOUNDY et al. 2012

Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus (SAY 1823)
Crotalus tergeminus SAY 1823
Crotalophorus tergeminus — BAIRD & GIRARD 1853
Crotalus tergeminus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 1479
Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus — KLAUBER 1936
Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 232
Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus — CROTHER 2000
Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus — BOUNDY et al. 2012 
DistributionSE Canada (Ontario),
USA (SE Arizona, New Mexico, SE Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, SE Nebraska, N Missouri, S/E Iowa, W Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, S Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, New York),
Mexico (N Chihuahua, N Tamaulipas)

catenatus: USA (W New York to Nabraska and Kansas); Type locality: “the prairies of the Upper Missouri”. Restricted to “the floodplain of the Missouri River, between the mouth of the Platte River and Nebraska City, Nebraska”. This is considerably further downstream than the previous (unexplained) restriction of the type locality to ‘‘Gross, Boyd County, Nebraska’’ (Smith and Taylor, 1950: 358).

edwardsi: USA (W Texas, New Mexico, SE Arizona), N Mexico

tergeminus: USA (Texas, Oklahoma) Map legend:
TDWG region - Region according to the TDWG standard, not a precise distribution map.

NOTE: TDWG regions are generated automatically from the text in the distribution field and this does not always work properly. We are working on it.
 
TypesType: lost (fide HOLYCROSS et al. 2008) 
CommentVenomous!

The type locality of S. catenatus places it within the range of S. c. tergeminus Say, 1823. Thus, the name S. c. catenatus incontrovertibly applies to the form currently recognized as S. c. tergeminus, which in turn renders the latter as a subjective junior synonym of the former, leaving the eastern form with an unfamiliar name (Crotalus messasaugus Kirtland, 1838). To conserve prevailing usage, HOLYCROSS et al. (2008) are preparing an appeal to the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) to allow a neotype of Sistrurus catenatus to be designated from the type locality of Crotalus massassaugus (from HOLYCROSS et al. 2008).

Reproduction: viviparous. 
References
  • Bailey, Robyn L; Henry Campa, Tara M Harrison, and Kristin Bissell 2011. Survival of Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) in Michigan Herpetologica 67 (2): 167-173. - get paper here
  • Baird, S. F. and C. Girard. 1853. Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part 1.-Serpents. Smithsonian Inst., Washington, xvi + 172 pp.
  • 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
  • Boundy, Jeff; Frank T. Burbrink, Jonathan A. Campbell, Brian I. Crother, Kevin de Queiroz, Darrel R. 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. SSAR, 101 pp.
  • Burt, Charles E. 1935. Further records of the ecology and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in the middle west American Midland Naturalist 16 (3): 311-336 - get paper here
  • Campbell, J.A. & Lamar, W.W. 1989. The Venomous Reptiles of Latin America. Comstock Publishing/Cornell University Press, Ithaca
  • Collins, J.T. & Collins, S.L. 2009. A pocket guide to Kansas snakes, 2nd ed. Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita, 69 pp.
  • Collins, J.T. & Collins, S.L. 2010. A pocket guide to Kansas snakes, 3rd ed. Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita, 69 pp.
  • Conant, Roger 1938. The Reptiles of Ohio American Midland Naturalist 20 (1): 1-200 - get paper here
  • Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p.
  • Degenhardt, William G.; C. W. Painter, and A. H. Price 1996. Amphibians and reptiles of New Mexico. Univ. New Mexico Press, 431 pp.
  • DeGregorio, Brett A.; Brian J. Putman, and Bruce A. Kingsbury 2011. Which Habitat Selection Method is Most Applicable to Snakes? Case Studies of the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) and Eastern Fox Snake (Pantherophis gloydi). Herp. Cons. Biol. 6 (3) - get paper here
  • DeGregorio, Brett A; Jennifer V Manning, Nicholas Bieser, and Bruce A Kingsbury 2010. The Spatial Ecology of the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus c. catenatus) in Northern Michigan. Herpetologica 67 (1): 71-79. - get paper here
  • Dixon, James R. 2000. Amphibians and reptiles of Texas, second edition. Texas A&M University Press, 421 pp.
  • Duméril, A. M. C., BIBRON, G. & DUMÉRIL, A. H. A., 1854. Erpétologie générale ou histoire naturelle complète des reptiles. Tome septième. Deuxième partie, comprenant l'histoire des serpents venimeux. Paris, Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret: i-xii + 781-1536 - get paper here
  • Eavans, Philip D.;Gloyd, Howard K. 1948. The subspecies of the massasauga, Sistrurus catenatus, in Missouri Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 8 (9): 225-232
  • Foster, Mellissa A.; Kristin M. Bissell, Henry Campa III, and Tara Myers Harrison. 2009. The Influence of Reproductive Status on Thermal Ecology and Vegetation Use of Female Eastern Massasauga Ratlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) in Southwestern Michigan. Herp. Cons. Biol. 4: 48-54 - get paper here
  • Garman,Samuel 1884. The reptiles and batrachians of North America. Mem. Mus. comp. Zool, Cambridge (Massachusetts), 8 (3): xxxiv + 185 pp. [1883] [CNAH reprint 10]
  • Gibbs, H.L. & Weatherhead, P.J. 2001. Insights into population ecology and sexual selection in snakes through the application of DNA-based genetic markers. Journal of Heredity 92 (2): 173-179
  • Gibbs, H.L.; Prior, K.A.; Parent, C. 1998. Characterization of DNA microsatellite loci from a threatened snake, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus c. catenatus) and their use in population studies. Journal of Heredity 89:169-173
  • Hobert, Justin;Boback, Scott;Montgomery, Chad;bergman, Enoch;Hill, Ben;Mackessy, Stephen P. 1997. Geographic Distribution. Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii Herpetological Review 28 (1): 52-53
  • Holycross, Andrew T.; Thomas G. Anton, Michael E. Douglas, and Darrel R. Frost 2008. The Type Localities of Sistrurus catenatus and Crotalus viridis (Serpentes: Viperidae), with the Unraveling of a Most Unfortunate Tangle of Names. Copeia 2008 (2): 421–424 - get paper here
  • Hoser, R. 2009. A reclassification of the rattlesnakes; species formerly exclusively referred to the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus. Australasian Journal of Herpetology 3: 1-21 - get paper here
  • Johnson, Glenn and Donald J. Leopold 1998. Habitat Management for the Eastern Massasauga in a Central New York Peatland. The Journal of Wildlife Management 62 (1): 84-97
  • King, R., C. Berg and B. Hay 2004. A repatriation study of the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) in Wisconsin. Herpetologica 60 (4):429-437 - get paper here
  • King, Richard B.; Oldham, Michael J.; Weller, Wayne F.; Wynn, Douglas. 1997. Historic and current amphibian and reptile distributions in the Island Region of Western Lake Erie. American Midland Naturalist 138(1):153-173 - get paper here
  • LeClere, Jeff;Blasus, Randy 1994. Snakes of Minnesota: Eastern massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) Newsletter of the Minnesota Herpetological Society 14 (9): 16-18
  • Lovich, J.E. & Jaworski, T.R. 1988. Annotated checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles reported from Cedar Bog, Ohio. Ohio J. Sci. 88 (4): 139-143
  • Mackessy, Stephen P.;Hobert, Justin;Donoho, Ron;Montgomery, Chad;Waldron, Kevin 1996. Geographic Distribution. Sistrurus catenatus Herpetological Review 27 (1): 36
  • Marshall Jr., John C.; Jennifer V. Manning; Bruce A. Kingsbury 2006. Movement and macrohabitat selection of the eastern massasauga in a fen habitat. Herpetologica 62 (2): 141-150 - get paper here
  • Maslin, T. Paul 1965. The status of the rattlesnake Sistrurus catenatus (Crotalidae) in Colorado Southwestern Naturalist 10 (1): 31-34 - get paper here
  • McCoy, C. J.;Minckley, W. L. 1969. Sistrurus catenatus (Reptilia: Crotalidae) from the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, Coahuila, Mexico Herpetologica 25 (2): 152-153 - get paper here
  • McDiarmid,R.W.; Campbell,J.A. & Touré,T.A. 1999. Snake species of the world. Vol. 1. Herpetologists’ League, 511 pp.
  • Minton S A 1983. Sistrurus catenatus (Rafinesque). Massasauga. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles No. 332: 1-2 - get paper here
  • Parkinson,C.L. 1999. Molecular systematics and biogeographical history of pitvipers as determined by mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences. Copeia 1999 (3): 576-586 - get paper here
  • Pyron, R.Alexander; Frank T. Burbrink 2009. Neogene diversification and taxonomic stability in the snake tribe Lampropeltini (Serpentes: Colubridae) Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 52 (2): 524-529 - get paper here
  • Rafinesque, C.S. 1818. Further accounts of discoveries in natural history in the western states. American Month. Mag. Crit. Rev. 4 (1): 41
  • Rouse, Jeremy D.; Robert J. Willson, Ron Black, and Ronald J. Brooks 2011. Movement and Spatial Dispersion of Sistrurus catenatus and Heterodon platirhinos: Implications for Interactions with Roads Copeia 2011 (3): 443-456. - get paper here
  • Shoemaker, Kevin T. and James P. Gibbs 2010. Evaluating Basking-Habitat Deficiency in the Threatened Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. Journal of Wildlife Management, 74(3):504-513
  • 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
  • Stebbins,R.C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
  • Stuart, James N.;Brown, Ted L. 1996. Geographic Distribution. Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii Herpetological Review 27 (4): 214
  • Thornton, Okla W., Jr.;Smith, Jerry R. 1993. New county records of amphibians and reptiles from West-Central Texas Herpetological Review 24 (1): 35-36
  • unknown author 2011. Case 3571: Crotalinus catenatus Rafinesque, 1812 (currently Sistrurus catenatus) and Crotalus tergeminus Say in James, 1822 (currently Sistrurus tergeminus; Reptilia, Serpentes); proposed conservation by designation of neotypes. Bull. Zool. Nomencl. 68: 271–274.
  • Wastell, Andrew R and Stephen P Mackessy 2011. Spatial Ecology and Factors Influencing Movement Patterns of Desert Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii) in Southeastern Colorado Copeia 2011 (1): 29-37 - get paper here
  • Werning, Heiko 2012. Die Reptilien und Amphibien des Südwestens Draco 13 (50): 18-60 - get paper here
  • Wirth, M. 2011. TERRARIENSCHAUANLAGEN Das Paradies der Ungeliebten – der Reptilienzoo Scheidegg. Reptilia (Münster) 16 (88): 80 - get paper here
  • Woodburne, Michael O. 1956. Notes on the snake, Sistrurus catenatus tereminus, in southwestern Kansas and Northwestern Oklahoma Copeia 1956 (2): 125-126 - get paper here
 
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