.png)
Photo credit:
Rick C. West
Common name
Venezuelan Rattlesnake
Scientific name
Crotalus durissus cumanensis
Conservation Status
Least Concern
Federal and State Protections
Range Map
Countries of Occurrence
Venezuela, Colombia
Adult size
Up to 175cm (68.9in), possibly larger
States or Providence
La Guarija (CO), Cesar (CO), Magdelena (CO), Atlántico (CO), BolÃvar (CO), Anitoquia (CO), Córdoba (CO), Santander (CO), Boyacá (CO), Caldas (CO), Cundinamarca (CO), Sucre (CO), Arauca (CO), Casanare (CO), Norte de Santander (CO), Tolima (CO), Vichada (CO), Meta (CO)
Anzoátegui (VE), Aragua (VE), Apure (VE), Barinas (VE), BolÃvar (VE), Carabobo (VE), Cojedes (VE), Falcón (VE), Guárico (VE), Vargas (VE), La Guaira (VE), Lara (VE), Mérida (VE), Miranda (VE), Monagas (VE), Nueva Esparta (VE), Portuguesa (VE), Sucre (VE), Táchira (VE), Trujillo (VE), Yaracuy (VE), Zulia (VE),
Counties
Species Description
The Venezuelan rattlesnake can be found in Colombia and Venezuela. It occurs in dry or semi-dry forests, savannas, the fringes of wetland praires and valleys, but can also occur as high as 6600 ft elevation.
The Venezuelan rattlesnake has a high level of regional variance in venom depending on where the individuals are found. Overall, this subspecies' venom contains crotoxin, a neurotoxic venom component, in addition to nephrotoxins and myotoxins, with quantities of each varying across its distribution in Venezuela and Colombia. Some regions also contain procoagulant (hemotoxic) venoms.
Fun fact: The venom of the Venezuelan rattlesnake has been shown to be effective in inhibiting the growth of Candida, a fungus that causes yeast infections, and Sporothrix, a fungus that causes rose handler's disease. This can lead to the development of new antifungal medications as fungal diseases become resistant to our current treatments!