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The Midget Faded Rattlesnake
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by live4hots on March 10, 2005
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Hey,
Way to go T.C.!! Great info and very well said!! This is a man who has surely done his research.I look forward to seeing your offspring .If you get around to breeding those Gilas...you know I will have to take one:)) Anyway GREAT article and look forward to seeing those RARE c.b. babies.
Keep up the good work bro!!
Trey
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RE: The Midget Faded Rattlesnake
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by timberrattlesnake89 on March 11, 2005
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Also,
Shouldn't it be Crotalus viridus concolor instead of Crotalus concolor. Since it is a subspecies of the prarie rattlesnake(Crotalus viridus viridus).
Phillip Higgins
Live and Let Live
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RE: The Midget Faded Rattlesnake
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by TCH_Zoological on March 12, 2005
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Phillip,
In the first paragraph of my article I describe the most recent reseach which concluded that concolor as well as many others should no longer be a subspecies but a full species such as Crotalus atrox, Crotalus tigris etc. The "western" rattlesnake group has undergone a "renovation" in regards to taxonomy. The only viridis accepted now are the Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis) and the Hopi Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis nuntius).
In 2001 K.G. Ashton and A. de Queiroz suggested that the western rattlesnake group (ie. Crotalus viridis ssp.) be split into two separate clades (groups) the Western group (C. v. viridis and C. v. nuntius) The Eastern group (C.oreganus oregauns) as the basal most form. Therefore in 2001 Midget Fadeds were called Crotalus oreganus concolor. In fact Arizona and Utah still refer to the Midget Faded as a subspecies of the Northern Pacific.
Then a much more in depth study of the same taxonomic group was conducted.
In 2002 Douglas et al. (see literature cited) suggested that ALL species of the former viridis/oreganus group except for Prairies (Crotalus viridis viridis) and Hopis (Crotalus viridis nuntius) should be elevated to full species status (ie. Crotalus concolor, Crotalus helleri, Crotalus cerberus etc.)
It usually takes time before systematic changes get around to everybody. And of course not everyone accepts the changes. However, most state agencies and scientific forums have started calling the Midget Faded (Crotalus concolor) or (Crotalus o. concolor).
As (Crotalus viridis concolor is still accepted but no-longer preferred.
I hope this helps clairify. Thanks for the questions.
T.C.
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RE: The Midget Faded Rattlesnake
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by timberrattlesnake89 on March 12, 2005
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It is very much like now they are changing the rat snake family of north america from Elaphe to Pantherisis.
Thanks for clarifying,
Phillip
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RE: The Midget Faded Rattlesnake
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by SCherps on November 16, 2005
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Re: Ashton and Queiroz (2001) mTDNA study and subsequent realignment to eastern and western clades. I think you meant to say that, although a monophyletic but divergent group, C. viridis represents the EASTERN clade and C. oreganus the WESTERN clade. It appears you had it backward.
B. Starrett
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RE: The Midget Faded Rattlesnake
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by TCH_Zoological on December 15, 2005
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Good call. Thanks. I got my wires crossed so to speak. I knew what I meant but said the opposite. I should drink you a buy....haha I mean buy you a drink...lol.
T.C.
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RE: The Midget Faded Rattlesnake
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by NestofWeasels on March 1, 2008
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I only became familiar with the Faded Midget Rattlesnake (MFT) in September of 2007, after nearly stepping on one while vacationing near Escalante, Utah. Under normal circumstances, this would have merely been an unfortunate end for the snake but, on this late afternoon just before sunset, I happened to be virtually bare-foot in plastic sandals! That would have ruined my week!
My feet and lower legs are usually well protected with boots and even snake gaiters but I was on a short mission in the State Park campground to dump some trash at the main dumpster. Being aware of my unprotected status, I was careful to watch where I was stepping in the fading light and I stuck to the asphalt road. When I was almost back to my campsite, I was looking up and to my left – distracted by a beautiful vintage truck camper, when the corner of my right eye detected a “line” on some tan alluvial deposits “shoot” from left to right while forming a coil in front of my right foot. I was already moving my right foot but I somehow managed to hop in mid-air and land straddling the small snake. Only then did the “sweet” little fellow emitted a “buzz” that could have easily been mistaken for a cricket!
My first impression was that I had just encountered a juvenile Western Rattlesnake (WR) which is a snake I am very familiar with. Note that I was essentially fooled by the delicateness of this creature and I was still somewhat unobservant due to the shock of my near-miss. The snake finally continued on its way but I decided that I needed to warn my fellow campers of my encounter since one juvenile rattlesnake in August or September usually means “several” are about. Some nearby campers had even just arrived in the fading light and were poking around rocks and brush in a manner that is ill advised in the best of circumstances.
My ‘Paul Revere act’ resulted in a social get-together with several people out in the road. As we were talking, I was surprised to see the snake reenter the road from the brush. As I continued to chat with neighbors, I observed the snake off and on so that my senses started to gather details that belied my initial notion that this was a juvenile WR. Realizing that it was actually an adult, I decided that it was an emaciated example and I remember thinking that it would not survive the approaching winter. It was not until I returned home to Maryland and did some research on Utah’s DNR site that I realized that I had really encountered an MFT.
As we ‘partied’ in the road with our fellow campers, the snake’s explorations made it apparent that it was just going to zig-zag up the road all night looking for a meal. At that rate, someone was bound to encounter the snake with one or the other becoming a ‘loser’. I decided I needed to go notify the onsite DNR representative to see what the removal protocol was. The representative grabbed his snake tongs and a plastic garbage bag {grin!} and I held the bag while he tong’ed the snake. When he grasped the snake, I was surprised that the snake did not seem to strike at the tongs at all. Rather, it merely tried to wriggle free.
Other than the coiled aggressive-defensive stance that the snake took when I almost stepped on it, the snake had quickly habituated to our presence. It happily continued to hunt around our feet without apparent concern. This is in contrast to Common King Snakes (CKS) of which I am more familiar owing to my Middle-Atlantic environment. My wife and I had encountered a juvenile CKS just a few months before. The CKS initially tried to flee but we cornered it so as to observe it for a few minutes. Characteristically, the CKS tail-vibrated and made aggressive mock strikes at us. The most amusing part was when we started to leave the CKS and it chased us for a little bit – continuing to make mock strikes as though it had _us_ on the run {grin!}.
I recently read of an encounter where several hikers in a party stepped over a ‘small’ rattlesnake on a remote trail in the Dark Canyon Wilderness or Beef Basin area of Utah without noticing it. I speculate that the snake in question was an MFT based on my first hand observation of the species rather docile behavior. These areas are in the MFT’s exclusive range as described by the Utah DNR.
I have not been able to find much information on the MFT but I found your article to be cutting-edge. I was fascinated to read of your citations that have tended to elevate the MFT (among others) out of the pigeon-hole of the WRs. Equally, I was fascinated by your information regarding the venom constituents of the MFT.
My question is: Given the revelations of the unique qualities of MFT venom, is there any evidence that the currently available CROFAB polyvalent immunoglobulin adequately counteracts the action of the MFT venom? Noting that the constituent western venoms employed to formulate CROFAB includes Crotalus atrox (Western Diamondback rattlesnake) and Crotalus scutulatus (Mojave rattlesnake), is there any notion that these venoms provide adequate overlap sufficient to be effective against MFT envenomations? It seems to be adequte against the garden-variety Western Rattlesnake. My guess, since you describe scant husbandry of the MFT, is that there is very little data with which to form an assertion.
Thanks for a wonderful article!
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