The Rattlesnake Conservancy

Thanks to Cova Gentry for sharing her caving gear sporting a TRC decal! You never know where The Rattlesnake Conservancy might show up next. 🐍✨

Where have you taken your TRC gear? We’d love to see! Don't have any yet? Grab yours at savethebuzztails.org/shop

It's Meet the Species Monday! This week's species is the Guerreran long-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus ericsmithi).

Fun fact: The tail length of this rattlesnake is 15% of its total body length! Additionally, the Guerreran long-tailed rattlesnake possesses one of the smallest rattles of the rattlesnakes.

This small rattlesnake is endemic to the Mexican state of Guerrero in the mountains of the Sierra Madre del Sur. Long-tailed rattlesnakes are considered lower montane habitat specialists and reside in the ecotone of tropical deciduous to pine-oak forests. This species was described in 2008, and little ecological research has been conducted for it.

ID Tips: The long-tailed rattlesnakes do not overlap in range. This is a beautiful, small, brightly patterned rattlesnake with one of the smallest rattles.

Photo by © Katiya (Yekaterina Pavlova)
Link to license for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Join us June 6-7!

This two-day course combines classroom instruction in important topics like native venomous snake species, ecology, snake anatomy and physiology, reproductive behavior, venom toxinology, emergency snakebite management, captive husbandry, and more; with hands on techniques like single hooking, double hooking, bagging, and containing venomous snakes.

These courses have been taught to thousands of students across the United States and set the industry standard in safe handling practices!

It's Meet the Species Monday and Star Wars Day! This week's species is the Louse Island speckled rattlesnake (Crotalus thalassoporus)--the name almost sounds like something from another universe.

According to García-Padilla et al., the Louse Island speckled rattlesnake is a conservation priority level one species for Mesoamerica, meaning it is at a high risk of extinction due to small population size, small range size, climate change, and other factors. It is not currently listed as endangered or threatened nationally or internationally. Prior to 2018, this species was previously unknown to science. Its scientific name is derived from the Greek word for “seafarer", due to its presence as a species arising from ancient migrations across water.

ID Tips: You won't find another rattlesnake like this on the island. Louse Island speckled rattlesnakes are a smaller, dwarf form of speckled rattlesnakes from the mainland.

Photo by © Tania Pérez Fiol
Link to license for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/