Crotalus scutulatus - Mohave rattlesnake

Meaning
Scutulatus – taken from Latin scutula- meaning a small plate or shield – -atus means provided with, possibly referring to the skin or dorsal pattern.
Salvini – possibly honoring Osbert Salvin, a British naturalist

Distribution
Crotalus scutulatus is found through southwestern United States in the states California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and well into central Mexico.
C. s. salvini is found in middle/southern Mexico

Habitat
Seen their large range they can be found in a variety of different habitats. Terrains ranging from high desert or lower mountain slopes to rocky hillsides with sparse vegetation, from pine-oak forests to floodplains. From near sea level to about 2500 m in altitude

Description
C. s. scutulatus:
Has an average length of less than 100 cm but the largest recorded was 137.3 cm (Tennant, 1984).
The ground color varies from greenish gray, yellow, tan, olive green, to brown often depending on the surroundings. They have a dark, diamond or near diamond-shaped dorsal markings on its back and black and white bands on the tail. The white bands tend to be broader then the black bands. C. scutulatus has 2 or 3 large scales on top of the head between the supraoculars and the light postocular stripe passes behind the corner of the mouth.

C. s. salvini:
Has an average length of 90 cm, neonates usually between 20-30 cm at birth.
The ground color is beige, brown or yellow with 30-35 dark brown to black dorsal blotches.
The tail is also banded but not as contrasting. A dark postocular stripe in usually present but not well defined .

Diet
Prey mainly consist out of small mammals, including ground squirrels, mice, rats, rabbits and hares, and occasionally lizards, snakes, and toads.

Venom
C. scutulatus is regarded as one of the most toxic rattlesnake. They have a potent venom with a neurotoxin in it called “Mohave toxin” however there is a difference between populations.
C. scutulatus from the south-central Arizona region don’t have the Mohave toxin and are referred to as “Venom B” type snakes. C. scutulatus outside this region are designated “Venom A” type populations and do have the Mohave toxin. Based on the LD50 list the values in lab mice show that, Venom A bite from Mohave rattlesnakes is more than ten times as toxic as Venom B.
Bite symptoms in humans by “Venom B” type’s causes pronounced proteolytic and hemorrhagic effects, like most other rattlesnake species. These effects you however do not find or are significantly reduced in from bites by Venom A snakes. Which can produce vision abnormalities, difficulty swallowing and speaking, skeletal muscle weakness, difficulty breathing and even respiratory failure or shock

Extra
The English name "Mohave rattlesnake" is widespread and well known, but the fact is that only a little of the snake's range lies within the Mohave Desert.
Both of the venom types of C. s. scutulatus are used in the production of CroFab.