rattlesnake

[Eng. rattle, s., and snake.] Zool.: The English name for any species of the American genus Crotal us (q. v.), the tail of which is furnished with a rattle [RATTLE, 8., II. 2]. Garman ( Reptiles and Batrachians of North America ) enumerates twelve species and thirteen varieties, falling into two groups: (1) Having the upper side of the head covered with nine dermal shields; (2) having the shields behind the eyes broken up or replaced by small scales. The second group com prises the more formidable kinds, generally described as Crotal us horrid us and C. duri us . The first name was formerly applied to the reptile extending from Paraguay and Chili, through Brazil, into Mexico, and the latter to the North American rattlesnake. In recent American works this nomenclature is reversed. The poison of the Rattlesnake is usually fatal to man, though fortunately they are sluggish, and never attempt to strike unle they are molested. They are widely distributed on the American continent; but advancing cultivation is rapidly thinning their numbers, and the half-wild hogs of the settlers, peccaries, and deer contribute materially to this result. They are far from uniform coloration: often the ground-color "Receiving such a rattle for his former contempt." - brownish, sometimes yellow or blackish with Heylin: Life of Laud , p. 257. 6. One who talks rapidly and thoughtle ly; an empty chatterer; a jabberer. II. Technically : 1. Bot .: A popular name for two plants, the seeds of which rattle in the seed-ve el. Red Rattle is Pedicular is sylvatic a : Yellow Rattle, or Rattlebox, Rhinanthus crista - gall i . 2. Zool.: An organ developed in the genus Crotal us. The tail terminates in a series of horny rings, varying in number with the age of the individual, as one is added at each sloughing, which occurs more than once in the year. The last (3-8) vertebræ coalesce to form a compre ed conical bone, covered by muscle, and thick spongy skin, which secretes the rings in succe ion, each one being larger than the one secreted before it, as the secreting surface becomes larger. The pieces hang loosely, but securely, together, the basal ring of one joint grasping the projecting second ring of the preceding joint, and so on. The first joint alone has vital connection with the skin of the animal, and, being vibrated by the muscles of the skin, communicates a quivering motion, accompanied by a slight rattling sound, to the dry horny pieces behind it. "The habit of violently agitating the tail is by no means peculiar to the rattlesnake, but has been observed in other venomous as well as innocuous snakes, with the ordinary termination of the tail, when under the influence of fear or anger. The special object for which the rattle has been developed in these snakes is unknown." Encyc. Brit. (ed. 9th), xx. 293. rattle-bladder, s. A bladder partially filled with peas or the like to make a noise and frighten birds off corn. IMG:content-0236.png:[blocks in formation] "Our lascivious, impudent, rattle - pated gadding females."-Prynne: 1 Histrio - Mastiz, i. v.