RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY TEMPERATURE AND THE MICROENVIRONMENT IN Crotalus molossus AND Crotalus ravus IN TEPEYAHUALCO, PUEBLA, MEXICO

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22201/fc.25942158e.2026.1.1345

Keywords:

Serpientes, Microhábitat, Temperatura Corporal

Abstract

Body temperature plays a fundamental role in various physiological and behavioral processes in reptiles. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between body temperature and the microenvironment in two species of rattlesnakes, Crotalus molossus and C. ravus, in Tepeyahualco, Puebla. To this end, individuals of both species were collected and analyzed, recording morphometric data, body temperature, and microhabitat temperature (air and substrate). The results indicated a positive correlation between body temperature and ambient temperature, confirming that both species are thermoconformist and thigmothermic. This study provides information on the thermal ecology of these snakes, which will contribute to the development of conservation strategies in the face of the effects of climate change.

References

rnaud, G. (2015). Conservación de la serpiente de cascabel sin cascabel Crotalus catalinensis, de la isla Santa Catalina, Golfo de California. Revista Digital de Divulgación Científica, 1, 51–61. https://doi.org/10.18846/renaysoc.2015.01.01.01.0005

Arnaud, G. K., & Martins, M. (2019). Living without a rattle: the biology and conservation of the rattlesnake, Crotalus catalinensis, from Santa Catalina Island, Mexico. In Islands and snakes. New York: Oxford University Press.

Balderas-Valdivia, C. J., Barreto-Oble, D., & Madrid-Sotelo, C. A. (2009). Contribución a la historia natural de Crotalus molossus. Biodiversidad del ecosistema del Pedregal de San Ángel. UNAM, México, DF, 363–369.

Beaupre, S. J. (1995). Effects of geographically variable thermal environment on bioenergetics of mottled rock rattlesnakes. Ecology, 76, 1655–1665. https://doi.org/10.2307/1938166

Beck, D. D. (1995). Ecology and energetics of three sympatric rattlesnake species in the Sonoran Desert. Journal of Herpetology, 29(2), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.2307/1564558

Blair, C., & Sánchez-Ramírez, S. (2016). Diversity-dependent cladogenesis throughout western Mexico: Evolutionary biogeography of rattlesnakes Viperidae: Crotalinae: Crotalus and Sistrurus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 97, 145–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2015.12.020

Borja, M., Neri-Castro, E., Gutiérrez-Martínez, A., et al. (2023). Ontogenetic change in the venom composition of one Mexican black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus nigrescens) from Durango, Mexico. Toxicon, 234, 107280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107280

Borja, M., Castañeda-Gaytán, G., Alagón, A., et al. (2025). Venom variation and ontogenetic changes in the Crotalus molossus complex: Insights into composition, activities, and antivenom neutralization. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology, 110129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpc.2025.110129

Brischoux, F., Dupoué, A., Lourdais, O., & Angelier, F. (2016). Effects of mild wintering conditions on body mass and corticosterone levels in a temperate reptile, the aspic viper (Vipera aspis). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology -Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology, 192, 52–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2015.11.015

Bryson Jr., R. W., Mueller, J. M., & Lazcano, D. (2008). Observations on the thermal ecology on montane Mexican rattlesnakes. En Hayes, W. K., Beaman, K. R., Cardwell, M. D., Bush, S. P. (Ed.). The Biology of Rattlesnakes (pp. 287-290). Loma Linda University Press.

Campbell, J. A., & Lamar, W. W. (2004). Venomous reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. Cornell University Press.

Carbajal-Márquez, R. A., Cedeño-Vázquez, J. R., Martínez-Arce, A., Neri-Castro, E., & Machkour-M’Rabet, S. C. (2020). Accessing cryptic diversity in Neotropical rattlesnakes (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalus) with the description of two new species. Zootaxa, 4729, 451–481. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4729.4.1

Da Cunha, O., Fournier, C., Horne, L. M., Seymoure, B. M., & Johnson, J. D. (2024). You can't see me: Background matching is independent of body temperature in the Western diamond-backed rattlesnake. Journal of Zoology, 323, 201-212. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13167

García-Vázquez, U. O., & Güizado-Rodríguez, M. A. (2008). Crotalus triseriatus. Herpetological Bulletin, 105, 42–43.

Harvey, D. S., & Weatherhead, P. J. (2011). Thermal ecology of massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus) near their northern range limit. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 89, 60–68. https://doi.org/10.1139/Z10-094

Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). (2010). Tepeyahualco, Puebla. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Consultado el 30 de marzo de 2025.

Jaramillo-Alba, J. L., de la Vega, A. H. D., Bucio-Jiménez, L. E., Méndez-De la Cruz, F. R., & Pérez-Mendoza, H. A. (2020). Comparative thermal ecology parameters of the mexican dusky rattlesnake (Crotalus triseriatus). Journal of Thermal Biology, 92, 102695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102695

Klauber, L. M. (1972). Rattlesnakes: Their habitats, life histories, and influences on mankind. University of California Press.

Lemos-Espinal, J. A., Smith, G. R., & Ballinger, R. E. (1997). Observations on the body temperatures and natural history of some Mexican reptiles. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society, 33, 59–164.

McCrystal, H. K., Schwalbe, C. R., & Retes, D. F. (1996). Selected aspects of the ecology of the Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake (Crotalus willardi willardi) and the banded rock rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus klauberi) in Arizona. Report to Arizona Game and Fish Department Heritage Program, Phoenix.

Moniz, H. A., Buck, J. H., Crowell, H. L., Goetz, S. M., Ruiz, T. D., Taylor, E. N., & Boback, S. M. (2024). High thermal quality rookeries facilitate high thermoregulatory accuracy in pregnant female rattlesnakes. Journal of Thermal Biology, 124, 103948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103948

Neri-Castro, E., Bénard-Valle, M., Paniagua, D., Boyer, V. L., Possani, D. L., López-Casillas, F., Olvera, A., Romero, C., Zamudio, F., & Alagón, A. (2020). Neotropical rattlesnake (Crotalus simus) venom pharmacokinetics in lymph and blood using an ovine model. Toxins, 12, 455. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12070455.

Neri-Castro, E., Zarzosa, V., Colis-Torres, A., et al. (2022). Proteomic and toxicological characterization of the venoms of the most enigmatic group of rattlesnakes: The long-tailed rattlesnakes. Biochimie, 202, 226–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biochi.2022.08.015

Pañeda-Ramírez, E. (2019). Ecología térmica de la serpiente de cascabel Crotalus ruber lucasensis [Master’s thesis, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, México, S.C.].

Place, A. J., & Abramson, C. I. (2004). A quantitative analysis of the ancestral area of rattlesnakes. Journal of Herpetology, 38(1), 151–156. https://doi.org/10.1670/103-03N

Plummer, M. V. (1993). Thermal ecology of arboreal green snakes (Opheodrys aestivus). Journal of Herpetology, 27, 254. https://doi.org/10.2307/1565144

Pringle, R. M., Webb, J. K., & Shine, R. (2003). Canopy structure, microclimate, and habitat selection by a nocturnal snake, Hoplocephalus bungaroides. Ecology, 84, 2668–2679. https://doi.org/10.1890/02-0482

Prival, D. B., Goode, M., Swann, D. E., & Schwable, C. R. (2002). Ecology of the twin-spotted rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei). Journal of Herpetology, 36(4), 598–607.

Rubalcaba, J. G., Gouveia, S. F., & Olalla-Tárraga, M. A. (2019). Upscaling microclimatic conditions into body temperature distributions of ectotherms. American Naturalist, 193, 677–687. https://doi.org/10.1086/702717

Signore, E., Clark, R. W., & Schraft, H. A. (2020). Temperature-based ambush site selection in sidewinder rattlesnakes (Crotalus cerastes). The Southwestern Naturalist, 65, 282-287. https://doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-65.3-4.282

Stahlschmidt, Z. R., Shine, R., & De Nardo, D. F. (2012). Temporal and spatial complexity of maternal thermoregulation in tropical pythons. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 85, 219–230. https://doi.org/10.1086/665663

Uetz, P., Freed, P., Aguilar, R., Reyes, F., Kudera, J., & Hošek, J. (2025). The Reptile Database. http://www.reptile-database.org (Consultado el 25 de marzo de 2025).

Whitford, M. D., Freymiller, G. A., Higham, T. E., & Clark, R. W. (2020). The effects of temperature on the defensive strikes of rattlesnakes. Journal of Experimental Biology, 223, jeb223859. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.223859

Published

2026-01-30

How to Cite

García Encarnación, M. del C. ., Guizado Rodríguez, M. A., Suárez Hernández, H. de J., & López Salgado, E. (2026). RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY TEMPERATURE AND THE MICROENVIRONMENT IN Crotalus molossus AND Crotalus ravus IN TEPEYAHUALCO, PUEBLA, MEXICO. Revista Latinoamericana De Herpetología, 9(1), e1345 (58 – 64). https://doi.org/10.22201/fc.25942158e.2026.1.1345