Massasauga

Sistrurus catenatus, (Rafinesque)

Colouration: The most common ground-colour is grayish-brown. There is a series of large, rich brown blotches on the back, these faintly bordered with white. On each side of the body are three series of smaller blotches, the lower extending over the edges of the abdominal plates. The tail is ringed (above) with dark brown, alternating with the body colour.
Dimensions: The following measurements appeal to an adult, female specimen:
Distribution: Until a comparatively recent date, the Massasauga extended its range eastward as far as western New York, but it has been noted that this snake rapidly disappears with the cultivation of land for agricultural purposes. It now occurs from Ohio to central Nebraska, its southern limit in the eastern portion of the range being apparently above Indianapolis, thence to the west the range slopes downward into Kansas; further in the Southwest, the typical form is replaced by a distinct variety--Edward's Massasauga. The Massasauga ranges well into the north. It occurs in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. It occurs in several portions of Canada, being recorded from the shores of Lake Huron and on the peninsula of Ontario.
Habits: The Massasauga is more essentially a Rattlesnake than the diminutive species of Sistrurus previously described. Its rattle sounds a fairly loud note of warning, and the noise made by a fair-sized specimen would readily attract a man's attention. The bite of an adult, if properly delivered--both fangs thoroughly perforating the flesh--might readily produce the death of a man.

A considerably larger and proportionately stouter snake than the preceding. The tail is much shorter and the rattle more developed.

The head markings are well illustrated in the photograph and the separate figures of the head from the top and side. Beneath, the colour is dull gray marbled with black, or entirely black. The throat is paler.

Variation.--Various phases of the ground-colour are to be found. Some specimens are very dark brown, with an obscure pattern. Occasional black specimens are found with the pattern barely discernible. One constant and distinct variety occurs; it is separately described.

Total Length . . . . . 26 inches.

Length of Tail, not including rattle . . . . . 2 1/8 inches.

Greatest Diameter . . . . . 1 1/8 inches.

Width of Head . . . . . 3/4 inches.

Length of Head . . . . . 1 8/16 inches.

This specimen had a rattle consisting of five rings, of uniform size.

Specimens of the length of a yard are not rare. Occasional specimens will measure three and a half feet.

The Massasauga is a snake of swampy situations. Its habits, and those of the allied southeastern species, more nearly relate to the copperhead snake and the water moccasin, than to the species of the large Rattlesnake genus; for Rattlesnakes generally eat nothing but warm-blooded prey--mammals and birds--while the Pigmy Rattlesnakes feed largely upon frogs. These omnivorous habits, so like the feeding of those Pit Vipers without rattles, must be compared with the close structural relationship of the moccasin and copperhead snake and the snakes of Sistrurus; all have large shields, covering the head.

Most of the writer's specimens of the Massasauga were received from Michigan and the collector explains that they frequent a considerable area of swampy land. He goes on to say that they are occasionally found in the neighbouring farming country, but their presence in the drier area seems to indicate a wandering from one swamp to another. Of this lot of specimens, the snake having the biggest rattle possessed seven segments. The longest rattle of this species examined, consisted of eight joints. As captives the specimens soon became tame and fed readily. They seldom rattled, and then but for five or ten seconds' time. They would take young birds, mice and frogs, and, like the copperhead snake, different kinds of food according to the seasons, a trait probably developed by necessity while in a wild state. One of the Michigan specimens gave birth to seven young; the female was about two feet in length and her youngsters so small that one of them could have readily coiled upon a silver half-dollar and left a good margin about it.