Crotalus catalinensis

Appearance

Of the two distinct color variations, the predominant variant has a light cream-colored base, with reddish-brown blotching down the back, and black and white banding around the tail. The other variant has a much lighter, ash gray color, with darker gray blotching.

This species is relatively slender and stunted, growing to a maximum of 73.1 cm (2 ft 4.8 in) in length.

Range and habitat

This snake is found only on Isla Santa Catalina in the Gulf of California off the coast of southern Baja California. This island is also the type locality for the species. The island is fairly small, being only 43 square kilometers (17 sq mi).

This population of cats formerly invaded the island and have since been eradicated in 2002. The presence of these cats have negatively affected many populations of several other island reptile species.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet

While most members of this genus, Crotalus, are almost entirely terrestrial due to their heavy body structure, this species' small size makes it a swift and skillful climber. Previous researchers hypothesized that the ability of the Santa Catalina rattlesnake to climb, combined with its lack of a rattle allowed it to hunt roosting birds, but detailed research into the species' diet has revealed that the Santa Catalina rattlesnake maintains a mammal-based diet like most rattlesnakes.

The Santa Catalina rattlesnake is thought to climb off of the hot ground and into bushes to thermoregulate.

In crisis

Even though the species is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, there are few efforts for the snake's conservation. This species is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List with the following criteria: B1ab(v) (v3.1, 2001). This means that the best available evidence indicates it is considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild because its geographic range is estimated to be less than 100 km2 (39 sq mi), it exists at only a single location, and a continuing decline has been observed, inferred, or projected in the number of mature individuals.

It is threatened due to collecting and the introduction of alien predator species, such as domestic cats. There is no guarantee that the cats will not be reintroduced into the area, that could cause problems for the snake, whether that be from being preyed on themselves or through the population decline of their main food sources.

Crotalus catalinensis is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Crotalus catalinensis, Wikidata item Q631782. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.