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Crotalus viridis (RAFINESQUE, 1818)

IUCN Red List - Crotalus viridis - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaViperidae, Crotalinae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: viridis: Western Rattlesnake, Prairie Rattlesnake
E: nuntius: Hopi Rattlesnake
G: Prärie-Klapperschlange
G: nuntius: Hopi-Klapperschlange
S: Serpiente de Cascabel de la Pradera 
SynonymCrotalus viridis viridis (RAFINESQUE 1818)
Crotalinus viridis RAFINESQUE 1818
Crotalus lecontei HALLOWELL 1852: 180
Crotalus confluentus pulverulentus COPE 1883: 11
Crotalus confluentus pulverulentus — COPE 1900: 1174
Crotalus confluentus lecontei — COPE 1900: 1175
Crotalus confluentus nuntius KLAUBER 1935
Crotalus viridis nuntius — KLAUBER 1936
Crotalus viridis viridis — KLAUBER 1936
Crotalus viridis viridis — KLAUBER 1952: 103
Crotalus viridis viridis — STEBBINS 1985: 231
Crotalus viridis nuntius — STEBBINS 1985: 232
Crotalus viridis viridis — LINER 1994
Crotalus viridis viridis — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 236
Crotalus viridis — MCDIARMID, CAMPBELL & TOURÉ 1999: 297
Crotalus viridis viridis — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 529
Crotalus viridis nuntius — CROTHER 2000: 60
Crotalus viridis nuntius — ASHTON et al. 2001
Crotalus viridis viridis — ASHTON et al. 2001
Crotalus viridis — ERNST & ERNST 2003: 536
Crotalus viridis viridis — CAMPBELL & LAMAR 2004
Crotalus viridis nuntius — CAMPBELL & LAMAR 2004
Crotalus viridis — BEAMAN & HAYES 2008
Crotalus viridis — HOSER 2009
Crotalus viridis — CROTHER et al. 2012
Crotalus viridis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 196
Crotalus viridis nuntius — LILLYWHITE 2014: 23
Crotalus viridis — DAVIS et al. 2016
Crotalus viridis — GARCÍA-PADILLA et al. 2025 
DistributionSW Canada (S Alberta, Saskatchewan), W USA (E Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, S Utah, Iowa, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado),
Mexico (N Chihuahua, NW Coahuila)

viridis: the Great Plains (Oklahoma, NW Texas, New Mexico) to the Rocky Mountains and from S Canada to Mexico (N Sonora, N Chihuahua, N Coahuila); Type locality: “Upper Missouri”. Restricted to “the prairies between the Cannonball and Heart rivers, within 40 km of the Missouri River in North Dakota” a location far distant from the previous restriction of the type locality to ‘‘vicinity of Kansas City, Missouri’’ (Schmidt 1953: 226).

nuntius: NE Arizona  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesType: lost (fide HOLYCROSS et al. 2008)
Holotype: SDNHM = SDSNH 3105 [nuntius]
Holotype: USNM 4233 [Crotalus lecontei] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1568 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: Douglas et al. (2002) and Davis et al. 2016 synonymized C. v. nuntius with C. v. viridis although some recent authors consider it as valid. Crother et al. (2012) follow Douglas et al. 2002 and do not list it as valid.

Original description: “N. Sp. Crotalinus viridis (Green Rattlesnake.) Body slender, green, with several rows of brown oblong spots above, belly white. A curious species, found also by Mr. Bradbury, in the upper Missouri. It was 2 feet long, and had 3 rattles.” (Rafinesque 1818: 41).

Distribution: After Davis et al.2016 split viridis and oreganus, they are parapatric. See map in Davis et al. 2016 (Fig. 2). Not in California or Baja California fide IUCN assessment (see link).

ASHTON et al. (2001) split C. viridis into two evolutionary species, C. viridis and C. oreganus. CROTHER (2003) and others also followed that scheme. Douglas et al (2002) were first to elevate six (6) members of the viridis group to full species (C. abyssus, C. cerberus, C. concolor, C. helleri, C. lutosus, and C. oreganus).

Nomenclature: Hoser’s 2009 classification and nomenclature has been rejected as unnecessary and unavailable by WÜSTER & BERNILS 2011. 
EtymologySupposedly named after Latin viridis = green, even though the species is (usually) not green. 
References
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