:''Common names: Aruba rattlesnake,U.S. Navy. 1991. Poisonous Snakes of the World. US Govt. New York: Dover Publications Inc. 203 pp. . Aruba island rattlesnake,Klauber LM. 1997. Rattlesnakes: Their Habitats, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind. Second Edition. First published in 1956, 1972. University of California Press, Berkeley. .'' Cascabel (Papiamento). ''Crotalus unicolor'' is a

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 ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

found only on the Caribbean island of Aruba, off the coast of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. It is sometimes still classified as a subspecies of ''

Crotalus durissus ''Crotalus durissus'', known as the South American rattlesnake, tropical rattlesnake,Mehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. and by other names, is a highly venomous pit viper species found ...

''.

Description

Moderately sized, this species attains an adult length of approximately 90 cm, and weighs about one kilogram. It is light

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

tan Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

, or almost

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

in color, reflecting the soil color of its native habitat, with darker brown diamond-shaped markings, but colors may vary from white to apricot, or brown to slate. The markings are sometimes nearly invisible, or only visible in a narrow stripe down the middle of the back.

Geographic range

The snakes are endemic to the island of Aruba. They exist only in thornscrub and desert habitats on the southeastern half of the island.Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. 2 volumes. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. . The type locality given is "Aruba."

Conservation status

These snakes are found only on the island of Aruba, where they are mostly limited to the rocky, dry southern tip of the island. Due to their extremely limited geographic range, about 230 animals are left in the wild, and the ever encroaching human habitation into their territory (with only about 25 square kilometers left undeveloped), the Aruba Island rattlesnake is among the rarest rattlesnakes in the world. Unfortunately, while exporting from the island is illegal, it has no other legal protection on the island either. The snake is now a part of the

Species Survival Plan The American Species Survival Plan or SSP program was developed in 1981 by the (American) Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the ...

for captive breeding.

Feeding

Its diet consists of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s and lizards.

Reproduction

Males reach sexual maturity in four years; females in five. After a gestation time of four months, females give birth to between five and fifteen live young at a time.

References

* van Lidth de Jeude, Theodorus Willem. 1887. ''On a collection of reptiles and fishes from the West-Indies''. Notes from the Leyden Museum, 9: 129-139.

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q22111315, from2=Q3730272 unicolor Snakes of the Caribbean Fauna of Aruba Reptiles described in 1887