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Crotalus polystictus (COPE, 1865)

IUCN Red List - Crotalus polystictus - Least Concern, LC

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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Mexican Lancehead Rattlesnake
S: Hocico de Puerco 
SynonymCaudisona polysticta COPE 1865: 191
Crotalus polystictus COPE 1875
Crotalus ximenesii DUGÉS 1877 (fide COPE 1885: 179)
Crotalus Jimenezii DUGÉS 1877 (fide MCDIARMID et al. 1999: 291)
Crotalus polystictus — COPE 1885: 179
Crotalus polystictus — LINER 1994
Crotalus polystictus — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 290
Crotalus polystictus — BEAMAN & HAYES 2008
Aechmophrys polystictus — HOSER 2009
Rattlewellsus polystictus — HOSER 2012 (preliminary)
Crotalus polystictus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 193 
DistributionC Mexico (from S Zacatecas and NE Colima to EC Veracruz, Aguascalientes, Morelos, Jalisco, Querétaro). Elevation: 1450-2600 m.

Type locality: "Table Land, Mexico." A proposed restriction to "Tupataro, Guanajuato, Mexico" was made by Smith and Taylor (1950:330). [However, type-locality restrictions other than those dealing with type- designations (i.e., lectotype or neotype) have no status under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.  
Reproductionovovivparous 
TypesHolotype: nondesignated, according to Klauber (1972:45), cited in McDiarmid et al. 1999.
Syntypes: MDUG (also as MADUG HE) 55, 356, USNM 24448, 26152 and 46508 [Crotalus Jimenezii] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (5231 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Distribution: Not in Durango fide Lemos-Espinal (2018).

Opinion 366 (ICZN, 1955, Opinions Decls. 11(16):231-244) validated the more generally used Cope name polystictus for this species and suppressed the older Jan name multimaculatus.

Nomenclature: Hoser’s 2009 classification and nomenclature has been rejected as unnecessary and unavailable by WÜSTER & BERNILS 2011. 
EtymologyNamed after Greek poly = many, large, frequent, and sticto = "spotted", refer to the uniform bright blue to greenish-blue dorsal spotting in adult males. 
References
  • Bañuelos-Alamillo, Jorge A., Rubén Alonso Carbajal-Márquez and Miguel Angel Olvera-Rivera. 2016. Distribution Notes. Crotalus polystictus (Cope, 1865). Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (1): 207 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Bryson, R.W., Jr. & D. Hartman 2005. An additional observation of aquatic behavior in the Mexican lance-headed rattlesnake (Crotalus polystictus) Bull. Maryland Herpetol. Soc., 41(2): 51-52. - get paper here
  • Calzada-Arciniega, Rafael Alejandro, Rafael Barzalobre Geronimo, Ernesto Recuero and Gabriela Parra-Olea. 2016. Crotalus polystictus (Mexican Lance-headed Rattlesnake) Diet. Herpetological Review 47 (2): 310 - get paper here
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