Eastern massasauga

Eastern massasauga

Vulnerable (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Viperidae
Genus: Sistrurus
Species:
S. catenatus
Binomial name
Sistrurus catenatus
(Rafinesque, 1818)
Historical distribution (ca. 1900), now extirpated from much of its range.
Synonyms
  • Crotalinus catenatus
    Rafinesque, 1818
  • Crotalusrus (Crotalus) catenatus
    — Rafinesque, 1820
  • Crotalus messasaugus
    Kirtland In Mather, 1838
  • Crotalophorus Kirtlandi
    Holbrook, 1842
  • Crotalophorus consors
    Baird & Girard, 1853
  • Crotalophorus Kirtlandi
    — Baird & Girard, 1853
  • Crotalophorus massasauga
    — Baird, 1854
  • C[rotalus]. consors
    Coues In Wheeler, 1875
  • [Sistrurus] catenatus
    Garman, 1883
  • [Sistrurus catenatus] Var. consors — Garman, 1884
  • Crotalophorus catenatus catenatus Cope, 1892
  • Sistrurus catenatus catenatus
    Stejneger, 1895
  • Sistrurus catenatus
    Boulenger, 1896
  • Sistrurus catenatus catenatus
    — Cope, 1900
  • Crotalus messaugus
    Golay et al., 1993

The eastern massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) is a species of rattlesnake found in eastern North America, from southern Ontario, Canada, eastern regions of the Midwestern states, and parts of the Great Lakes region in the United States. Like all rattlesnakes, it is a pit viper and is venomous; it is the only species of venomous snake in Ontario.