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Klappentext This book is written to outline our present knowledge of rattlesnake habits and life histories. It includes numbers of field observations from varied sources in the hope that it may aid in the correction of some of the dubious accounts long current in popular natural histories. Zusammenfassung This virtual encyclopedia of the rattlesnake became a natural history sensation when it was first published in 1956. The republication of the Second Edition! with a new foreword by Harry W. Greene! will give amateur and professional herpetologists alike reason to rejoice. Inhaltsverzeichnis Publisher's Foreword Abridger's Note Introduction Purpose Sources of Information 1. Status Classification and Nomenclature A List of Rattlesnake Species and Subspecies Venomous Snakes in the United States Other than Rattlesnakes Confusion Regarding Rattlesnakes Distinguishing Venomous from Harmless Snakes The Use of Common Names 2. Morphology Length Body Proportions Bulk Head and Tail Dimensions Squamation Color and Pattern Freaks and Aberrants Two-Headed Snakes Defective Young Albinism Melanism Hybrids 3. The Rattle Function and Utilization The Function of the Rattle Conditions of Use Rattle Nomenclature The Character of the Sound Method of Vibration and the Production of Sound Speed of Vibration Formation and Length Chronology of Rattle Formation Rattle-String Length 4. Bodily Functions Life Persistence and Frailty Longevity Skin Shedding The Shedding Operation Effect of Shedding on Sight Water Requirements during Shedding The Season of Shedding Shedding Frequency Locomotion Horizontal Undulatory Progression Rectilinear Progression Sidewinding Concertina Progression Rattlesnake Speed Misunderstood Features of Crawling Snake-Tracks Senses Sight and the Eye Hearing The Tongue and Sense of Smell The Facial Pits Touch Distant Detection Aggregation and Sex Recognition Intelligence 5.Behavior Physiological Temperature Limitations Maximum Temperature Limits Minimum Temperature Limits Optimum Temperature Range Temporal Variations in Habits Seasonal Variations in Activity Effects of Reproductive Cycle on Seasonal Activity Denning Dates and the Risk of Immobility Rattlesnakes as Weather Indicators Summer Migrations and Estivation Effects of Humidity Diurnal Variations in Activity The Basking Range Other Temperature-Control Expedients Defensive and Warning Behavior Disposition and Temperament Protective Coloration and Concealment Flight Defensive Attacks Warning Mechanisms Mythical Defensive Actions Distinguishing the Resting from the Striking Coil The Strike Climbing Proclivities Swimming Ability How the Rattles are Held Actions in the Water Tales of Swimming Rattlesnakes Danger from Swimming Rattlesnakes 6. Populations and Ecology The Importance of Ecological Factors Ranges Range Limits Altitudinal Range Island Habitats Population Factors Population Densities Effect of Dens on Population Estimates Rarity of Particular Species Population Trends Proportion of Rattlesnakes in Snake Populations Composite Populations Hibernating Dens and Their Uses Physical Character of Dens Den Populations Persistence of Dens Spacing of Dens Life at the Dens Animals that Hibernate with Rattlesnakes Aggregation and ...
