Massasauga
Sistrurus catenatus
Summary 5
The massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) is a rattlesnake species found in midwestern North America from southern Ontario to northern Mexico, and parts of the United States in between. Three subspecies are currently recognized including the nominate subspecies described here. As with all rattlesnakes, it is a pit viper (and as with all pit vipers, it is venomous).
Description 6
Adults of S. catenatus are not large, ranging from 60 to 75 cm (24 to 30 in) in length. The color pattern consists of a grey or tan ground color with a row of large rounded brown/black blotches or spots down the center of the back and three smaller rows of alternating spots down each side. Solid black melanistic examples are also known, as well as cases where the back blotches join with those on the sides. Young massasauga are well-patterned but paler than the adults. It has heat-sensing pits on each side of its smallish head, the scales are keeled, and the anal scale is single.
Geographic range 6
S. catenatus is found in North America from Ontario, Canada and western New York southwest to southeastern Arizona in the United States and northern Tamaulipas, Mexico. In Mexico, isolated populations exist in southern Nuevo León, north-central Coahuila, and Samalayuca, Chihuahua. It occurs in various habitats ranging from swamps and marshes to grasslands, usually below 1500 m elevation. The type locality given is "... on the prairies of the upper Missouri" (Valley, USA).
According to Campbell and Lamar (2004), a population also exists in southeastern Colorado that is morphologically somewhat intermediate between S. c. tergeminus and S. c. edwardsii.
Common names 6
Common names of the massasauga include: massasauga rattlesnake, massasauga rattler (Ontario), black massasauga, black rattler, black snapper, gray rattlesnake (Iowa), little grey rattlesnake (Canada), muck rattler, prairie rattlesnake, spotted rattler, swamp rattler, víbora de cascabel (Mexico), dwarf prairie rattlesnake, eastern massasauga great adder, ground rattlesnake, Kirtland's rattlesnake, little black rattlesnake, Michigan point rattler (Michigan), prairie massasauga, rattlesnake, small prairie rattlesnake, snapper, swamp massasauga, swamp rattlesnake, and triple-spotted rattlesnake.
The Native American word, "massasauga", means "great river-mouth" in the Ojibwe language and was probably given to describe grasslands surrounding the river deltas in Ojibwe country.
Conservation status 6
The speciesS. catenatus is classified as least concern (LC) on the IUCNRed List of Threatened Species. Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because they are unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend is unknown. The eastern massasauga has been listed as a candidate species on the United States Endangered Species Act since 1999.
The eastern massasauga is listed as an endangered species in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri (also considered extirpated), New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Michigan, the only state in which it is not considered endangered, lists it as "special concern". The subspecies is a candidate for federal listing. As of 2016, the massasauga is listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The massasauga is listed as threatened under both Ontario's Endangered Species Act, 2007, and the federal Species at Risk Act, and is protected under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. It is found only near the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, the Bruce Peninsula, the North Shore of Lake Huron, Wainfleet Bog, and Ojibway Prairie. It is becoming rare in Canada due to persecution and loss of habitat and is designated as "threatened" by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), as well as the Committee on the Status of Species-at-risk in Ontario (COSSARO).
In Pennsylvania, the species has experienced a rapid decline largely because of habitat loss. Historically, this has been due to human activity and more recently primarily from natural forest succession. By 1988, the snake had disappeared from half of the counties that constituted its historical range. A 2003–2005 survey showed only four locations in two counties with confirmed populations. It is classified as "critically imperiled" to "imperiled" in the commonwealth.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Clint Fulsom, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Clint Fulsom
- (c) Jake Scott, all rights reserved, uploaded by Jake Scott
- (c) Rachel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Rachel
- (c) Charmi Z., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Charmi Z.
- Adapted by Desmon M Dunn from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistrurus_catenatus
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasauga
