Crotalus aquilus

Crotalus aquilus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Subfamily:	Crotalinae
Genus:	Crotalus
Species:	C. aquilus
Binomial name
Crotalus aquilus Klauber, 1952
Synonyms
Crotalus triseriatus aquilus Klauber, 1952 Crotalus triseriatus quadrangularis Harris & Simmons, 1978 C[rotalus]. aquilus – Dorcas, 1992 Crotalus aquilus – Liner, 1994 Crotalus aquilus – McDiarmid et al., 1999

Common names: Querétaro dusky rattlesnake,^[1] Queretaran dusky rattlesnake^[2]

Crotalus aquilus is a venomous pit viper species found in the highlands of central Mexico. No subspecies is currently recognized.^[3] The specific name, aquilus, is Latin for "eagle" and refers to the high altitude at which this species is found.

Description

This species grows to a maximum reported total length of 67.8 cm (26.7 in), but most adult specimens, which have been described as heavy-bodied, are less than 50 cm (20 in) long.^[1]

Geographic range

They are found in the highlands of central Mexico in Guanajuato, Hidalgo, México, Michoacán, and San Luis Potosí. The type locality given is "near Alvarez, San Luis Potosí, Mexico".

Habitat

These snakes are found in the open grassy and generally rocky habitats north of the Transverse Volcanic Cordillera. They also occur in pine-oak forest, open karstic areas, grassy mountain meadows, and stony mesquite-grassland.^[1]

Conservation status

This species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2001).^[4] Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because they are unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend was down when assessed in 2007.^[5]

See also

• List of crotaline species and subspecies
• Crotalus by common name
• Crotalus by taxonomic synonyms
• Crotalinae by common name
• Crotalinae by taxonomic synonyms
• Snakebite

References

1. Campbell, J.A.; Lamar W.W. (2004). The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. pp. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-8014-4141-2..
2. Klauber, L.M. (1997). Rattlesnakes: Their Habitats, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind. Second Edition. First published in 1956, 1972. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 870 pp. 1500 plates. ISBN 0-520-21056-5.
3. "Crotalus aquilus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
4. Crotalus aquilus at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 13 September 2007.
5. 2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1) at the IUCN Red List. Accessed 13 September 2007.

Further reading

• Klauber, L.M. 1952. Taxonomic studies on rattlesnakes of Mainland Mexico. Bull. Zool. Soc. San Diego 26: 1-143.