Crotalus cerastes: Difference between revisions

| image_caption = [[Death Valley National Park]]

| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Frost, D.R. |author2=Hammerson, G.A. |author3=Gadsden, H. |date=2007 |title=''Crotalus cerastes'' |volume=2007 |page=e.T64315A12764960 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64315A12764960.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>

'''''Crotalus cerastes''''', known as the '''sidewinder''', '''horned rattlesnake''' or '''sidewinder rattlesnake''',<ref name="W&W57">Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. Handbook of Snakes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1105 pp. {{ISBN|0-8014-0463-0}}.</ref> is a [[Crotalinae|pit viper]] [[species]] belonging to the genus ''[[Crotalus]]'' (the rattlesnakes), and is found in the desert regions of the [[Southwestern United States]] and northwestern Mexico. Like all other pit vipers, it is [[venomous snake|venomous]]. Three [[subspecies]] are currently recognized.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=174311 |taxon=''Crotalus cerastes'' |accessdate=5 February 2007}}</ref>

Usually, 21 rows of [[keeled scales|keeled]] [[dorsal scales]] occur midbody.<ref name="W&W57"/><ref name="B&K79">Behler JL, King FW. 1979. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. LCCCN 79-2217. {{ISBN|0-394-50824-6}}.</ref> Males have 141 or fewer [[ventral scales]]; females have 144 or fewer.<ref name="W&W57"/> It is sometimes referred to as the horned rattlesnake because of the raised [[supraocular scales]] above its eyes. This adaptation may help shade the eyes or prevent sand drifting over them as the snake lies almost buried in it.<ref name="Sti74"/> As only pressure on top of the horns will cause them to fold down, it is concluded that they strike against the roof of rodent burrows to protect their eyes. <ref>name=SC>{{cite book|last1=Campbell|first1=Sheldon|last2=Shaw|first2=Charles E.|title=Snakes of The American West|year=1974|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-394-48882-0}}</ref>

The color pattern consists of a ground color that may be cream, buff, yellowish-brown, pink, or ash gray, overlaid with 28–47 dorsal blotches subrhombic or subelliptical in shape.<ref name="C&L04"/> In the nominate subspecies, the belly is white and the proximal lobe of the rattle is brown in adults. [[Laurence Monroe Klauber|Klauber]] and [[Wilfred T. Neill|Neill]] describe the ability of this species to display different coloration depending on the temperature—a process known as [[Chromatophore#Background_adaptation|metachrosis]].<ref name="W&W57"/>

Common names include sidewinder, horned rattlesnake, sidewinder rattlesnake, Mojave Desert sidewinder (for ''C. c. cerastes''),<ref name="W&W57"/> and sidewinder rattler.<ref name="Car63">Carr A. 1963. The Reptiles. Life Nature Library. Time-Life Books, New York. LCCCN 63-12781.</ref>

==Habitat==

In the Southwestern United States, this species is found in the desert region of southeastern [[California]], southern [[Nevada]], southwestern [[Utah]], and western [[Arizona]]. In northwestern Mexico, it is found in western [[Sonora]] and eastern [[Baja California]].

This species is classified as least concern on the [[IUCN Red List]] (v3.1, 2001).<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> 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 was stable when assessed in 2007.<ref name="ICUN-31">{{Redlist CC2001|date=13 September|year=2007}}</ref>

The common name sidewinder alludes to its unusual form of locomotion, which is thought to give it traction on windblown [[desert]] sand, but this peculiar locomotor specialization is used on any substrate over which the sidewinder can move rapidly. As its body progresses over loose sand, it forms a letter J-shaped impression, with the tip of the hook pointing in the direction of travel. [[Sidewinding]] is also the primary mode of locomotion in other desert sand dwellers, such as the horned adder (''[[Bitis caudalis]]'') and Peringuey's adder (''[[Bitis peringueyi]]''), but many other snakes can assume this form of locomotion when on slick substrates (e.g., mud flats). Sidewinder rattlesnakes can use sidewinding to ascend sandy slopes by increasing the portion of the body in contact with the sand to match the reduced yielding force of the inclined sand, allowing them to ascend up to [[Angle of repose|the maximum possible sand slope]] without slip.<ref name="sciencemag.org">{{cite journal|author1=Marvi, Hamidreza|author2=Gong, Chaohui|author3=Gravish, Nick|author4=Astley, Henry|author5=Travers, Matthew|author6=Hatton, Ross L.|author7=Mendelson, Joseph R. III|author8=Choset, Howie|author9=Hu, David L.|author10=Goldman, Daniel I.|title=Sidewinding with Minimal Slip: Snake and Robot Ascent of Sandy Slopes|journal=Science|date=10 October 2014|volume=346|issue=6206|pages=224–9|doi=10.1126/science.1255718|pmid=25301625|arxiv=1410.2945|bibcode=2014Sci...346..224M |s2cid=23364137|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1255718}}</ref> In [[cybernetics]], incorporating this control scheme into a [[snakebot]] can enable the robot to replicate sidewinding movement.<ref name="sciencemag.org"/> Activity range does not change with sex or body size.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Secor |first=Stephen M. |date=1994 |title=Ecological Significance of Movements and Activity Range for the Sidewinder, Crotalus cerastes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1447179 |journal=Copeia |volume=1994 |issue=3 |pages=631–645 |doi=10.2307/1447179 |jstor=1447179 |issn=0045-8511}}</ref>

Juveniles use their tails to attract lizard prey, a behavior termed "[[caudal luring]]". Adults lose this behavior as they make the transition from lizard prey to their primary diet of desert rodents, birds, and other snakes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Crotalus_cerastes/ | title=Crotalus cerastes (Sidewinder) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> Sidewinder juveniles appear to mimic both life stages of [[lepidopterans]] in their luring motions. Their fast luring motions resemble the fluttering of a moth, and their slower tail movements resemble a caterpillar. Both movements have been observed to attract prey lizards.<ref name="reiserer-schuett">Reiserer, R. S. and G. W. Schuett (2008) Aggressive mimicry in neonates of the sidewinder rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes (Serpentes: Viperidae): stimulus control and visual perception of prey luring. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 95:81-91(11).</ref>

Females produce up to 18 young, with an average of about 10 per litter. Like most other [[Viperidae|viperids]], the young are born enveloped in thin embryonic membranes, from which they emerge shortly after being expelled from the mother. The young stay with their mother in a burrow for 7–10 days, shed for the first time, then leave their natal burrow. During this time, the mother is thought to guard and protect them from predators.

Sidewinders mature at 2–3 years of age, are capable of reproducing annually, and give birth to live young. Some females skip reproductive opportunities.<ref name=reiserer2001>Reiserer, R. S. 2001. Evolution of Life Histories in Rattlesnakes, University of California, Berkeley. Advisors: Harry W. Greene and James L. Patton. ProQuest Digital Dissertations: http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/gateway.</ref> Some might even skip two years if the food supply is scarce. Sidewinders mate in April through May and sometimes in fall. When the male and female mate, the male snake crawls along the female's back, rubbing her with his chin to stimulate or arouse her. The male then will wrap his tail around her tail, and then will try to bring their cloacae together. The cloaca is the posterior body opening through which snakes both excrete waste and reproduce. If the female wants to mate, she lifts her tail and allows him to mate with her. The snakes can mate for several hours, and if one of the snakes decides to move, the other is dragged along. Females might mate with several males in a season. Females give birth to five to 18 young in late summer to early fall. The young are born 6-8 inches long. The birth takes only 2–3 hours altogether. Within a few minutes of being born, the newborn sidewinder escapes from a thin, transparent membrane. The young stay at their natal burrow for 7–10 days until they shed,<ref name="reiserer"/> and then they disappear and have no future contact with their mother or their littermates. While the density of sidewinders can be up to one individual per [[hectare]], they rarely encounter each other except during mating season.<ref name="reiserer2001"/>

Sidewinders have an extraordinarily accelerated lifecycle, with natural life expectancies of females of about 5 years.<ref name="reiserer2001"/> Males may live quite a bit longer (maximum known natural lifespan of 13 years). Sidewinders can live more than 20 years when well fed in captivity (even females). Thus, energetics apparently factor heavily into natural female mortality,<ref name="reiserer2001"/> whereas predation might be the primary pressure on males. In the wild, females often die of exhaustion after giving birth, but the lives of sidewinders are also cut short by predation, diseases, and vehicle encounters.

Norris (2004) lists these venom yields: 33&nbsp;mg average and 63&nbsp;mg maximum ([[Laurence Monroe Klauber|Klauber]], 1956), and 30&nbsp;mg average and 80&nbsp;mg maximum (Glenn & Straight, 1982).<ref name="Nor-C&L04">Norris R. 2004. Venom Poisoning in North American Reptiles. ''In'' Campbell JA, Lamar WW. 2004. The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca and London. 870 pp. 1500 plates. {{ISBN|0-8014-4141-2}}.</ref> Brown (1973) gives a venom yield of 33&nbsp;mg ([[Laurence Monroe Klauber|Klauber]], 1956) and {{LD50}} values for mice of 2.6&nbsp;mg/kg [[Intravenous therapy|IV]], 3.0, 4.0, 2.3&nbsp;mg/kg [[Peritoneum#Intraperitoneal|IP]] and 5.5&nbsp;mg/kg [[Subcutis|SC]] for toxicity. With these figures, Brown calculated that the LD₅₀ for an adult human being weighing 70&nbsp;kg would be 385&nbsp;mg (SC).<ref name="Bro73">Brown JH. 1973. Toxicology and Pharmacology of Venoms from Poisonous Snakes. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas. 184 pp. LCCCN 73-229. {{ISBN|0-398-02808-7}}.</ref>

[[Envenomation]] can cause pain, swelling, hemorrhagic bleb formation, and [[ecchymosis]] (''i.e.'', [[hemotoma|bruising]]). Swelling, while not particularly severe, occasionally may involve entire limbs and the trunk. Envenomation's systemic symptoms include nausea, dizziness, chills, [[coagulopathy]] (blood disorders), and shock.<ref name="Nor-C&L04"/> Klauber (1997) includes an account of a man who had been bitten on the first joint of the index finger of the right hand, with only a single fang penetrating. Although the bite was described as no more painful than a pin prick, a doctor was seen within about 25 minutes, and 10&nbsp;cm³ of [[antivenom|antivenin]] were administered. Within 2.5 hours, his entire arm was swollen and the pain was severe, "as if the arm were soaked in a bucket of boiling oil."<ref name="Kla97">Klauber LM. 1997. Rattlesnakes: Their Habitats, Life Histories, and Influence on Mankind. Second Edition. First published in 1956, 1972. University of California Press, Berkeley. {{ISBN|0-520-21056-5}}.</ref>

Ovine-derived antivenom, CroFab, for North American pit viper envenomation, has been widely available since 2001. Consultation with a local expert or regional poison control center should be obtained before administering antivenom. The previous antivenin (ACP) is no longer manufactured.

|style="width:40%"|In the United States in the desert areas from northeastern [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]] and [[San Bernardino County, California]], northward to southern [[Mono County, California]], east across [[Nevada]] to [[Washington County, Utah]], and south through [[La Paz County, Arizona]], in desert lowlands at elevations between 152 and 1,829&nbsp;m

|In the United States from [[Yuma County, Arizona|Yuma]], [[Maricopa County, Arizona|Maricopa]], [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima]], and [[Pinal County, Arizona|Pinal]] Counties in Arizona, southward into [[Sonora]], Mexico

|The desert areas in the United States from central and eastern [[Riverside County, California]], to Pinal County, Arizona, south to northwestern Sonora in Mexico, and northwest to northeastern Baja California, from the [[Colorado River]] to the desert foothills at elevations between 152 and 610&nbsp;m

* [[Edward Hallowell (herpetologist)|Hallowell, E.]] Descriptions of new Reptiles from California. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 7: 91–97.