:''Common names: Oaxacan small-headed rattlesnake.
''
''Crotalus intermedius gloydi'' is a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of
venomous
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
pitviper
The Crotalinae, commonly known as pit vipers,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . crotaline snakes (from grc, κρόταλον ''krotalon'' castanet), or pit adders, are a subf ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Viperidae
The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...
. The subspecies is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in the states of
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
and
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
.
Etymology
The
subspecific name
In zoological nomenclature, a subspecific name is the third part of a trinomen. In zoology there is only one rank below that of species, namely "subspecies".
In botanical nomenclature, there are several levels of subspecific names, such as ''vari ...
, ''gloydi'', is in honor of
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
herpetologist
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...
Howard K. Gloyd Howard Kay Gloyd (February 12, 1902 – August 7, 1978) was an American herpetologist who is credited with describing several new species and subspecies of reptiles, such as the Florida cottonmouth, '' Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti''.
Also, he ...
.
[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Crotalus intermedius gloydi'', p. 102).]
Description
This subspecies, ''Crotalus intermedius gloydi'', can be identified by its scalation. It is characterized by having the
postnasal scale in broad contact with the first
supralabial scale
In reptiles, the supralabial scales, also called upper-labials, are those scales that border the mouth opening along the upper jaw. They do not include the median scaleWright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates ( ...
. Also, the postnasal is usually not in contact with any other supralabial scale.
Geographic range
''Crotalus intermedius gloydi'' is found in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, in south, central and northern
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, as well as in central
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
.
The
type locality given is "Cerro San Felipe (elevation 10,000 ft.
3,048 m near
5 km northwest ofOaxaca, Oaxaca
Oaxaca de Juárez (), also Oaxaca City or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec: ''Ndua''), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding Municipality of Oaxaca. It is in the Centro ...
, Mexico".
[Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. 870 pp., 1,500 plates. .]
References
Further reading
*
Bryson RW (2007). "''Fotopirsch auf Gebirgsklapperschlangen''
Photo Stalking of Mountain Rattlesnakes. ''Reptilia (Münster)'' 12 (66): 32–37. (in German).
*
Davis WB,
Dixon JR (1957). "Notes on Mexican Snakes (Ophidia)". ''Southwestern Naturalist'' 2 (1): 19–27. (''Crotalus intermedius gloydi'', new combination).
*Nixon, Rob; Langner, Christian (2017). "''Erster Hinweis auf epizoisches Algenwachstum an Segmenten der Rassel der Mexikanischen Zwergklappenschlange ''Crotalus intermedius gloydi'' Taylor, 1941''
First indication of epizoic algal growth on segments of the rattle of the Oaxacan Small-headed Rattlesnake , ''Crotalus intermedius gloydi'' Taylor, 1941. ''Sauria'' 39 (1): 47–50 (in German).
*
Taylor EH (1941). "Herpetological Miscellany, No. II". ''University of Kansas Science Bulletin'' 27 (7): 105-132 + Plates III-VI. (''Crotalus triseriatus gloydi'', new subspecies, pp. 130–132, text figure 7).
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5188950
intermedius gloydi
Endemic reptiles of Mexico
Fauna of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca