Timber rattlesnake

Timber rattlesnake
Temporal range: MiocenePresent
A wild C. horridus encountered within Cooper's Rock State Forest, West Virginia, United States.

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Crotalus
Species:
C. horridus
Binomial name
Crotalus horridus
Timber rattlesnake range
Synonyms
List
  • Crotalus horridus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Crotalus boiquira Lacépède, 1789
  • Crotalus atricaudatus Latreille In Sonnini & Latreille, 1801
  • Crotalus zetazomae Brickell, 1805
  • Crotalinus cyanurus
    Rafinesque, 1818
  • Crotalus catesbaei
    Hemprich, 1820
  • Crotalurus cyanurus
    – Rafinesque, 1820
  • Caudisona horrida
    – Fleming, 1822
  • Crotalus horidus Gray, 1825
    (ex errore)
  • Crotalus durissus var. concolor
    Jan, 1859
  • Crotalus durissus var. melanurus Jan, 1859
  • Crotalus durissus var. mexicana Jan, 1863
  • Crotalus fasciatus Higgins, 1873
  • Crotalus horridus var. atricaudatus Garman, 1884
  • Crotalus horridus
    Boulenger, 1896
  • Crotalus durissus cincolor
    Notestein, 1905 (ex errore)
  • Crotalus horridus horridus
    Gloyd, 1935
  • Crotalus horridus atricaudatus
    – Gloyd, 1935
  • Crotalus horridus
    Collins & Knight, 1980

The timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), also known commonly as the canebrake rattlesnake and the banded rattlesnake, 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, 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 second only to its relatives to the west, the prairie rattlesnake, as the most northerly distributed venomous snake in North America. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.