Timber Rattlesnake

About the Timber Rattlesnake

The timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), also known commonly as the banded rattlesnake, and the canebrake rattlesnake in the southern United States, is a species of pit viper in the family Viperidae. The species is native to the eastern United States. Like all other pit vipers, it is venomous, with a very toxic bite. Its venom is extremely potent, and both hemorrhagic and neurotoxic venom are present depending on population and location. C. horridus is the only rattlesnake species in most of the populous Northeastern United States and is one of the most northerly distributed venomous snakes in North America. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

The timber rattlesnake was one of the many reptile species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his Systema Naturae, and still bears its original name Crotalus horridus. The subspecies C. h. atricaudatus (Latreille in Sonnini and Latreille, 1802), often referred to as the canebrake rattlesnake, is currently considered invalid. Previously, it was recognized by Gloyd (1936) and Klauber (1936). Based on an analysis of geographic variation, Pisani et al. (1972) concluded... Wikipedia →