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Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Crotalidae  

Prairie Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis (Rafinesque, 1818)

Current SSAR Comments:
See comments under Crotalus.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.12.46.05)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 1.36 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Green Rattlesnake (Crotalinus viridis: Rafinesque, Constantine S. 1818. Further account of discoveries in natural history, in the western states. The American Monthly Magazine and Critical Review 4():39-42); Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus confluentus: Cooper, James G., George Suckley, William Cooper, George Gibbs, Asa Gray, and John L. Le Conte. 1859. The natural history of Washington territory, with much relating to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oregon, and California, between the thirty-sixth and forty-ninth parallels of latitude, being those parts of the final reports on the survey of the Northern Pacific railroad route, containing the climate and physical geography, with full catalogues and descriptions of the plants and animals collected from 1853 to 1857. Bailliere Bros., London, H. Bailliere;, New York, New York. pp.); Confluent Rattlesnake (Crotalus confluentus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Say's Rattlesnake (Crotalus confluentus: Brown, Arthur, E. 1902. Report of the Board of Directors. Pages 5-22 in Thirtieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. Allen, Lane, and Scott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. pp.); Massasauga (Crotalus confluentus: Branson, Edwin B. 1904. Snakes of Kansas. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 2(13):353-430); Prairie Rattler (Crotalus confluentus: Stejneger, Leonard and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Plains Rattlesnake (Crotalus confluentus: Strecker, John K. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio (4):1-31); Prairie Rattler (Crotalus confluentus confluentus: Brennan, Lawrence A. 1934. A check list of the amphibians and reptiles of Ellis County, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 37():189-191); Grand Canyon Rattlesnake (Crotalus abyssus: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Arizona Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis nuntius: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Confluent Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Massasauga (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Large Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Common Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Great Basin Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Plains Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Prairie Rattler (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Missouri Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Western Spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Wright, Albert Hazen. 1950. Common names of the snakes of the United States. Herpetologica 6(6):141-186); Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1818 Rafinesque, Constantine S. Further account of discoveries in natural history, in the western states. The American Monthly Magazine and Critical Review 4():39-42

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Thursday 30 January 2025 02:01 CT