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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Catalina Island Rattlesnake

Crotalus catalinensis Cliff, 1954

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

; Pictures of fine cold-blooded animals Santa Catalina Rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis)

; Pictures of fine cold-blooded animals Santa Catalina Rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis)

Yinan Chen · Public Domain · Image source

Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

The Santa Catalina rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis) is a species of pit viper endemic to Isla Santa Catalina in the Gulf of California just off the east coast of the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Like all other pit vipers, it is venomous. No subspecies are currently recognized. A relatively small and slender species, its most distinctive characteristic is that it lacks a rattle. They are also a generally nocturnal species. Though the species is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, there are few efforts for the snake's conservation.

Wikipedia contributors, Crotalus catalinensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:56:13.710878+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Crotalus catalinensis Cliff, 1954
Name authority
Cliff, 1954
Common name
Catalina Island Rattlesnake
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Viperidae
Genus
Crotalus
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
  11. infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
  12. familyViperidae
  13. subfamilyCrotalinae
  14. genusCrotalus
  15. speciesCrotalus catalinensis Cliff, 1954

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Crotalus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Southwestern Speckled RattlesnakeCrotalus pyrrhus (Cope, 1866)ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Queretaran Dusky RattlesnakeCrotalus aquilus Klauber, 1952ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Mexican Dusky RattlesnakeCrotalus armstrongi Campbell, 1979ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Isla Angel RattlesnakeCrotalus angelensis Klauber, 1963ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Crotalus lorenzoensis Radcliff & Maslin, 1975ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Aruba Island RattlesnakeCrotalus unicolor Lidth de Jeude, 1887ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Uracoan RattlesnakeCrotalus vegrandis Klauber, 1941ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Horsehead Island speckled rattlesnakeCrotalus polisi Meik, Schaack, Flores-Villela & Streicher, 2018ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Guerreran Pygmy RattlesnakeCrotalus exiguus Campbell & Armstrong, 1979ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Arizona Black RattlesnakeCrotalus cerberus (Coues, 1875)ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Crotalus enyo (Cope, 1861)ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Crotalus lepidus (Kennicott, 1861)ViperidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 244 records assigned to Viperidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Mexico (restricted to Santa Catalina Island in the Gulf of California

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Crotalus&species=catalinensis Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:ZPB6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.