NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Grand Canyon Rattlesnake [abyssus]
Crotalus oreganus Holbrook, 1840
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.
A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus) in defensive position. Placer County, California.
Connor Long · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Crotalus oreganus, commonly known as the Western rattlesnake or northern Pacific rattlesnake, is a venomous pit viper species found in western North America from the Baja California Peninsula to the southern interior of British Columbia.
Wikipedia contributors, Crotalus oreganus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:12:37.752759+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Crotalus oreganus Holbrook, 1840
- Name authority
- Holbrook, 1840
- Common name
- Grand Canyon Rattlesnake [abyssus]
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyViperidae
- subfamilyCrotalinae
- genusCrotalus
- speciesCrotalus oreganus Holbrook, 1840
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Crotalus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Speckled RattlesnakeCrotalus pyrrhus (Cope, 1866) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Queretaran Dusky RattlesnakeCrotalus aquilus Klauber, 1952 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mexican Dusky RattlesnakeCrotalus armstrongi Campbell, 1979 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Isla Angel RattlesnakeCrotalus angelensis Klauber, 1963 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Crotalus lorenzoensis Radcliff & Maslin, 1975 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aruba Island RattlesnakeCrotalus unicolor Lidth de Jeude, 1887 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Uracoan RattlesnakeCrotalus vegrandis Klauber, 1941 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Horsehead Island speckled rattlesnakeCrotalus polisi Meik, Schaack, Flores-Villela & Streicher, 2018 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Guerreran Pygmy RattlesnakeCrotalus exiguus Campbell & Armstrong, 1979 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Catalina Island RattlesnakeCrotalus catalinensis Cliff, 1954 | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Arizona Black RattlesnakeCrotalus cerberus (Coues, 1875) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Crotalus enyo (Cope, 1861) | ViperidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Crotalus lucifer Baird & Girard, 1852 Baird & Girard, 1852 | synonym |
| Crotalus viridis oreganus Klauber, 1949 Klauber, 1949 | synonym |
| Crotalus confluentus abyssus Klauber, 1930 Klauber, 1930 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Crotalus&species=oreganus 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:ZPCJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.