AnimalvsAnimal
A coiled prairie rattlesnake. (9bde44e8 ae17 4857 8b26 e4752e1282c4)🐍

Photo: NPS Photo · Public domain

SpeciesViperidae
Reptiles

🐍Crotalus viridis

Crotalus viridis Rafinesque, 1818

The prairie rattlesnake or Great Plains rattlesnake is a venomous pit viper species native to the western United States, southwestern Canada, and northern Mexico. Currently, two subspecies are recognized, including the prairie rattlesnake, the nominate subspecies, and the Hopi rattlesnake.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Photos
2
Measurements
8
vs you
≈ 1/38th of your weight
Also called
Prairie Rattlesnake, Western Rattlesnake
Conservation status
LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2007.

Population trendStable
Key measurements
Body mass
1.65 kg
Body length
1.65 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
24 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Crotalus viridis

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
1.65 kgrecord 2.24 kg · ReptTraits
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Body length
1.65 mmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Maximum lifespan
24 yearsrecord 24 years · ReptTraits
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Activity cycle
Nocturnal
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Foraging mode
Mixed
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Venomous
Yes
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Snout–vent length
0.68 mmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
1.6 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Crotalus viridis yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classSquamata
  4. ›familyViperidae
  5. ›genusCrotalus
  6. ›speciesCrotalus viridis
Full lineage
  1. orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
  2. infraorderSnakes · Serpentes
  3. subfamilyCrotalinae
  4. genusCrotalus
All 14 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. superorderLepidosauria
  10. orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
  11. infraorderSnakes · Serpentes
  12. familyViperidae
  13. subfamilyCrotalinae
  14. genusCrotalus
More

More about the Crotalus viridis

In other languages
Crotalus viridis (es), Bozkır çıngıraklı yılanı (tr), Westliche Klapperschlange (de), Grzechotnik preriowy (pl), Crotalus viridis (fr), Žalioji barškuolė (lt) … and 17 more languages
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