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Home/Species/ Panamint Rattlesnake

Crotalus stephensi

Klauber, 1930

Panamint Rattlesnake

G4Apparently Secure (G4G5) Found in 27 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.894005
Element CodeARADE02150
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyViperidae
GenusCrotalus
Other Common Names
Panamint rattlesnake (EN)
Concept Reference
Douglas, M. E., M. R. Douglas, G. W. Schuett, L. W. Porras, and B. L. Thomason. 2007. Genealogical concordance between mitochondrial and nuclear DNAs supports species recognition of the Panamint rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii stephensi). Copeai 2007:920-932.
Taxonomic Comments
Elevated to species by Douglas et al. (2007).

The traditional view of rattlesnake taxonomy that recognizes the two monophyletic sister genera Crotalus and Sistrurus (e.g. Brattstrom 1964) has recently been challenged. Stille (1987) and McCranie (1988) presented data that suggested Sistrurus is not monophyletic and rendered Crotalus paraphyletic. Parkinson (1999) found Sistrurus monophyletic but its position rendered Crotalus paraphyletic. Knight et al. (1993) used mtDNA to defend the traditional generic taxonomy, but in order to do so ignored the most parsimonious tree. The genus Crotalus is monophyletic when including the Mexican C. ravus (Murphy et al. 2002), and is supported as such in most recent phylogenies, as well as being the sister taxon to a monophyletic Sistrurus (e.g., Pyron et al. 2013) (Crother 2017).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2013-07-11
Change Date2013-07-11
Edition Date2013-07-11
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 300
Range Extent Comments
Range includes a portion of southern California (not the southernmost part) and adjacent southwestern Nevada (Douglas et al. 2007).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a fairly large number of occurrences (subpopulations) and locations.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Typical habitat includes canyons, foothills, buttes, and erosion gullies of rocky desert areas; sometimes this snake ranges away from rocks into sandy arroyos or onto desert flats with shrubs and animal burrows for cover. Vegetation may include various shrubs or pinyon-juniper woodland. This is a terrestrial species that occasionally climbs into low vegetation. When inactive, it occurs under rocks or bushes or in crevices, caves, abandoned mines, or animal burrows.

Ecology

Generally solitary in summer, may congregate at favorable hibernation dens.
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - ConiferShrubland/chaparralDesertBare rock/talus/scree
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaSNRYes
NevadaSNRYes
Roadless Areas (27)
California (19)
AreaForestAcres
Benton RangeInyo National Forest9,637
Birch CreekInyo National Forest28,816
Black CanyonInyo National Forest32,421
Boundary Peak (CA)Inyo National Forest210,884
Coyote NorthInyo National Forest11,932
Coyote SoutheastInyo National Forest53,159
Glass MountainInyo National Forest52,867
HortonInyo National Forest5,717
Nevahbe RidgeInyo National Forest302
North LakeInyo National Forest2,406
PaiuteInyo National Forest58,712
Rock Creek WestInyo National Forest3,626
Soldier CanyonInyo National Forest40,589
South SierraInyo National Forest41,853
Table Mtn.Inyo National Forest4,215
TinemahaInyo National Forest27,060
Wheeler RidgeInyo National Forest15,744
Whisky CreekInyo National Forest865
Wonoga Pk.Inyo National Forest11,272
Nevada (8)
AreaForestAcres
Angel Peak NorthHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest12,577
Angel Peak SouthHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest6,540
Bald Mtn.Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest41,598
Boundary Peak (NV)Inyo National Forest21,851
Charleston - Macks CynHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest11,378
Charleston - McfarlandHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest2,465
Lovell Summit SouthHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest28,455
PotosiHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest5,145
References (10)
  1. Brattstrom, B. H. 1964. Evolution of the pit vipers. Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History 13(11):185-268.
  2. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  3. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  4. Douglas, M. E., M. R. Douglas, G. W. Schuett, L. W. Porras, and B. L. Thomason. 2007. Genealogical concordance between mitochondrial and nuclear DNAs supports species recognition of the Panamint rattlesnake (<i>Crotalus mitchellii stephensi</i>). Copeai 2007:920-932.
  5. Knight, A., D. Styer, S. Pelikan, J. A. Campbell, L. D. Densmore III, and D. P. Mindell. 1993. Choosing among hypotheses of rattlesnake phylogeny: a best-fit rate test for DNA sequence data. Systematic Biology 42(3):356-367.
  6. McCranie, J. R. 1988. Description of the hemipenis of <i>Sistrurus ravus </i>(Serpentes: Viperidae). Herpetologica 44:123-126.
  7. Murphy, R. W., J. Fu, and A. Lathrop. 2002. Phylogeny of the rattlesnakes (<i>Crotalus </i>and <i>Sistrurus</i>) inferred from sequences of five mitochondrial DNA genes. Pages 69-92 in G. W. Schuett, M. Hoggren, M. E. Douglas, and H. W. Greene, editors. Biology of the Vipers. Eagle Mountain Publishing, Eagle Mountain, Utah.
  8. Parkinson, C. L. 1999. Molecular systematics and biogeographical history of pitvipers as determined by mitochondrial ribosomal DNA sequences. Copeia 1999:576-586.
  9. Pyron, R. A., F. T. Burbrink, and J. J. Wiens. 2013. A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes. BMC Evolutionary Biology 29:131.
  10. Stille, B. 1987. Dorsal scale microdermatoglyphics and rattlesnake (<i>Crotalus </i>and <i>Sistrurus</i>) phylogeny (Reptilia: Viperidae: Crotalinae). Herpetologica:98-104.