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Crotalus viridis helleri

TandJ

TandJ

Ole' Stoic Viper...
Hey Stephen... Found this one on that road last night on the way home ..


rattlesnake07-11-09(2).jpg


rattlesnake07-11-09.jpg
 
Actually, it was about 20miles west of the Schmit House.. *LOL* Good thing too!
 
Very nice helleri, Tim!

But I gotta say...that molossus is just breathtaking. I want a black-tail rattler...:(
 
I just wanted to add some information...for anyone that might care...

Pacific Rattlesnakes, like the Southern one TandJ posted to start this thread, were seperated from Western Rattlesnakes several years. Western rattlesnakes were classified as Crotalus viridis and included Northern and Southern Pacific, Great Basin, Prairie, Hopi, Grand Canyon, and a couple other subspecies of rattlesnake (C.v. oreganus, C.v. helleri, C.v. lutosus, C.v. viridis, C.v. nuntius, C.v. abyssus).

This HUGE complex of rattlesnakes was seperated a few years ago into Western rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) and Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus), and some were elevated to full species status. The main seperation of species was the impassable Rocky Mountains, which clearly delineated the new oreganus complex from the existing viridis complex, making seperation not only fairly easy...but pretty straight forward. Until this year...

Currently, the snake which started this thread, a Southern Pacific, is classified as Crotalus oreganus helleri, not Crotalus viridis helleri. However...that will change again next year. All three subspecies of the oreganus complex are being elevated to ful species status. By 2010, Pacific rattlers will be classified as Northern Pacific--Crotalus oreganus, Southern Pacific--Crotalus helleri, and Great Basin--Crotalus lutosus. In other words...they are no longer sub-species of the Pacific Complex, but rather, each wil be classified as a compeltely seperate and distinct species. This is due to locality data, mtDNA research, and other factors which have proven that these snakes are not as closely related as they were once thought to be.

Not that any of this is important...just interesting (at least to me) tidbits regarding the taxonomy of Western and Pacific rattlesnakes over the last 10 years...

Either way...that's still a gorgeous Southern Pacific...and I still want a Black Tail rattler...;)
 
good thing i havent memorized the real names of those rattlers yet
i'll put that on my to do list in 2011 just to be safe
 
Anytime I have an encounter with a hot, I do flips.. Believe me, the last thing I want is my ole butt to get bit.. Although I truely suspect some day I am going to be tagged, hopefully its a dry one, as I really try to respect these guys..

I have an aquantance that was biten by a Helleri.. Needless to say, that hand is pretty messed up.. I have another friend that was bite by his Stilletto snake.. Esssshh.. Of course I really don't intend to become a Stat..

Regards.. Tim of T and J
 
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