dear reptile nerds, this one's for you.

Crotalus is a genus of venomous pit vipers found only in the Americas from southern Canada to northern Argentina. Twenty-nine species are currently recognized. In America, most of these snakes are located towards the west coast. South-central Arizona, the gulf California, some branch out to Nevada, Idaho, Texas, New Mexico and Oregon also. I am feeling pretty safe over here in western New York, but I have traveled to and hiked in Arizona (circa 2009) and it was a good thing we had been drinking, or I may have been worried for my safety.

Venomous Reptiles of the United States, Canada, and Northern Mexico: Crotalus (Volume 2) by Carl and Evelyn Ernst is the most accurate and interesting view of North America’s rattlesnakes available to us. In this guide to everything crotalus, Ernst and Ernst include interesting stories as these rattle snakes are carefully described; what they eat, who preys them, how they function, etc. Those of you who live or travel in the above mentioned areas...hide ya kids, hide ya wife...rattlesnakes are gonna find you, they're gonna find youuu, so you can run and tell that, homeboy. (Those of you who do not see the humor in that last sentence need to watch more YouTube videos).