Crotalus polisi

Crotalus polisi, or the Horsehead Island speckled rattlesnake, is a species of rattlesnake from Isla Cabeza de Caballo, Baja California, Mexico. The species is named after the late Gary Allan Polis, an arachnologist and desert food-web ecologist from the University of California after his death in the capsizing of his research vessel in 2000. As with all rattlesnakes, it is venomous.^[2]

Crotalus polisi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Viperidae
Genus:	Crotalus
Species:	C. polisi
Binomial name
Crotalus polisi Meik et al., 2018[1]

While a young species, C. polisi shows rapid divergence from its sister species, possibly relating to its dwarfism.^[1]

Description

Crotalus polisi is distinguished from most similar species by its nasorostral scales, except Crotalus mitchellii which shares them. The species is distinguished from C. mitchelli by its generally higher number of tail bands and dorsal blotches, as well as its fewer counts of some specific scale types, shorter ultimate supralabial scale and generally smaller body size.^[2]

C. polisi has a pattern mostly consisting of slate or charcoal grey with indistinct dorsal blotches.^[2]

References

1. Meik, Jesse M.; Schaack, Sarah; Flores-Villela, Oscar; Streicher, Jeffrey W. (2018-03-30). "Integrative taxonomy at the nexus of population divergence and speciation in insular speckled rattlesnakes". Journal of Natural History. 52 (13–16): 989–1016. Bibcode:2018JNatH..52..989M. doi:10.1080/00222933.2018.1429689. ISSN 0022-2933.
2. Crotalus polisi at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2025-01-01.