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Crotalus polisi MEIK, SCHAACK, FLORES-VILLELA & STREICHER, 2018

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Horsehead Island speckled rattlesnake 
SynonymCrotalus polisi MEIK, SCHAACK, FLORES-VILLELA & STREICHER 2018
Crotalus mitchellii — GRISMER 2002
Crotalus mitchellii — MURPHY & AGUIRRE-LÉON 2002
Crotalus mitchellii — MEIK et al. 2012, in part.
Crotalus pyrrhus — MEIK et al. 2015, in part. 
DistributionMexico (Baja California: Cabeza de Caballo Island)

Type locality: Cabeza de Caballo Island, Municipality de Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Coordinates: N 28.971 W 113.479 (Figure 5 in Meik et al. 2018).  
Reproduction 
TypesHolotype: MZFC UNAM 26408, adult female, field number JMM-642, collected on 18 March 2010 by Jesse M. Meik, Sarah Schaack and Matthew J. Ingrasci. Paratypes: MZFC UNAM (MZFC 26407, MZFC 26409) and at UTAARDRC (UTA R-59763, UTA R-59764, UTA R-59765). 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: The presence of nasorostral scales distinguishes the new species from all congeners except for species of the C. mitchellii complex. From C. mitchellii the new species differs in typically having more tail bands (range of mode or median between males and females of each species is presented for all comparisons: 5–6 vs 3–4), more dorsal body blotches (40–42.5 vs 32–34), fewer dorsal scale rows (23 vs 25), shorter ultimate supralabial scale (slightly longer than high vs twice as long as high), fewer supralabials (14 vs 16), fewer ventral scales in females (169 vs 180), fewer temporal scale rows (7 vs 8), colour pattern (mostly uniform colour pattern of slate or charcoal grey with indistinct blotches vs variable colour pattern), and smaller adult body size. From mainland popula- tions of C. pyrrhus the new species differs in having typically more dorsal body blotches (40–42.5 vs 33–34), fewer dorsal scale rows (23 vs 25), fewer ventrals (168–169 vs 176), fewer temporal scale rows (7 vs 8), fewer supralabials (14 vs 16), colour pattern (mostly uniform colour pattern of slate or charcoal grey with indistinct blotches vs extremely variable), and smaller adult body size. From C. angelensis the new species differs in having typically fewer dorsal scale rows (23 vs 27), more supralabials (14 vs 13), fewer ventrals (168–169 vs 182–188), colour pattern (colour pattern of slate or charcoal grey with indistinct blotches vs buff or pink ground colour with grey to russet hexagonal blotches), and smaller adult body size. From C. thalassoporus, the new species differs in having more tail bands (5–6 vs 3–4), more dorsal body blotches (40–42.5 vs 31–32), more interrictals (25–26 vs 22–23), more prefrontals (21–27.5 vs 18–20), and colour pattern (colour pattern of slate or charcoal grey with indistinct blotches vs fawn, pinkish or beige ground colour with indistinct rust-brown blotches). 
Comment 
EtymologyThe specific name is a patronym honouring the late Gary A. Polis of the University of California Davis, a renowned arachnologist and desert food-web ecologist, who died at sea on 27 March 2000 when his research vessel capsised in a gale while returning to Bahía de Los Angeles from an expedition to Cabeza de Caballo Island. In addition to Polis, four other researchers, including postdoctoral fellow Michael D. Rose of UC Davis, and Takuya Abe, Masahiko Higashi and Shigero Nakano of Kyoto University, Japan, perished on that day. Four other UC Davis researchers and students survived the tragedy, and by their accounts, the deceased heroically gave their lives to help ensure their survival. 
References
  • GARCÍA-PADILLA, ELI; JORGE H. VALDEZ VILLAVICENCIO, ANNY PERALTA GARCÍA 2018. Las Serpientes de Cascabel más allá del continente. Especies - get paper here
  • Grismer LL. 2002. A re-evaluation of the evidence for a mid-Pleistocene mid-peninsular seaway in Baja California: a reply to Riddle et al. Herpetological Review 33: 15–16 - get paper here
  • Grismer, L. L. 2002. Amphibians and reptiles of Baja California, including its pacific islands and the islands in the Sea of Cortés. Univ. California Press, Berkeley: 399 pp. - get paper here
  • Meik JM, Schaack S, Ingrasci MJ, Lawing AM, Setser K, Mociño-Deloya E, Flores-Villela O. 2012. Notes on activity, body size variation, and diet in insular speckled rattlesnakes from the western Sea of Cortés, Mexico. Herpetological Review 43: 556–560 - get paper here
  • Meik JM, Streicher JW, Lawing AM, Flores-Villela O, Fujita MK 2015. Limitations of Climatic Data for Inferring Species Boundaries: Insights from Speckled Rattlesnakes. PLoS One 10 (6): e0131435; doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0131435 - get paper here
  • Meik, Jesse M.; Sarah Schaack, Oscar Flores-Villela & Jeffrey W. Streicher 2018. Integrative taxonomy at the nexus of population divergence and speciation in insular speckled rattlesnakes. Journal of Natural History 52: 989-1016; DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2018.1429689 - get paper here
  • Peralta-García A, Valdez-Villavicencio JH, Fucsko LA, Hollingsworth BD, Johnson JD, Mata-Silva V, Rocha A, DeSantis DL, Porras LW, and Wilson LD. 2023. The herpetofauna of the Baja California Peninsula and its adjacent islands, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 17(1&2): 57–142
 
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