Crotalus enyo

Species of snake

Crotalus enyo, commonly known as the Baja California rattlesnake or Lower California rattlesnake, is a pit viper species native to the coast and islands of northwestern Mexico. Like all other pit vipers, it is venomous. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.

The maximum reported length of this species is (Klauber, 1972). The head is remarkably small and narrow, while the eyes are proportionately large.

Snakes of this species, regardless of their size, are known to eat small rodents, lizards, and centipedes. This is in contrast to many other rattlesnake species that prey on lizards almost exclusively as juveniles, switching to mammals as adults. With C. enyo, small snakes eat lizards more often than do large ones, and large snakes eat mammals more often than do small ones. Adults also prey on large centipedes of the genus Scolopendra.

Captive specimens have produced litters of two to seven young. Newborn specimens with lengths of between have been mentioned. Grismer (2002) reported finding neonates in the wild between late July and mid October, which would indicate the species mates in the spring and gives birth in the summer or early fall.

SubspeciesTaxon authorCommon nameGeographic rangeC. e. cerralvensisCliff, 1954Cerralvo Island rattlesnakeIsla Cerralvo in the Gulf of CaliforniaC. e. enyo(Cope, 1861)Lower California rattlesnakeBaja California, Mexico, from about El Rosario southward down the peninsulaC. e. furvusLowe & Norris, 1954Rosario rattlesnakeBaja California, Mexico, from about Río San Telmo south to around El Rosario

All three of the current subspecies were recognized by Beaman and Grismer (1994) in their review, but they indicated C. e. furvus should not be considered a separate subspecies, and C. e. cerralvensis would best be considered a full species.