rattlesnake

rattlesnake /rat·tle·snake/ (rat´'l-snak) any of the New World pit vipers of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus, having a series of cornified interlocking segments at the tip of the tail; when disturbed they vibrate the tail to produce the characteristic rattling or buzzing sound. Included are the massasauga, the eastern diamondback r. (C. adamanteus), the Mojave r. (C. scutulatus scutulatus), the prairie r. (C. viridis viridis), the pygmy r. (S. miliarius), the timber r. (C. horridus), and the western diamondback r. (C. atrox).

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rattlesnake

a snake of the genera Crotalus or Sisustrus, both members of the family Crotalidae and of the series Splenoglypha which have movable fangs. Rattlesnakes are characterized by the retention of dried skin segments at the end of the tail which give them their ominous rattle. The bites of these snakes cause severe local inflammation with much tissue destruction. See also snakebite.