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Glite Dictionary
Crotalus mitchellii

Crotalus mitchellii

9.9
A rattlesnake that lives in southwestern Arizona and Baja California with markings that help it blend into the desert
  • noun
  • /ˈkroʊtələs mɪˈtʃɛliˌaɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Crotalus mitchellii
  • The pattern of the Crotalus mitchellii helps it blend into its desert environment.

Examples

  • Researchers found a Crotalus mitchellii near the border of southwestern Arizona.

  • Hikers in Baja California should be cautious of the Crotalus mitchellii that inhabit rocky outcrops.

  • The Crotalus mitchellii is known for its distinctive coloration.

  • Have you ever seen a Crotalus mitchellii in the wild?

  • Hikers in Baja California should be cautious of the Crotalus mitchellii that inhabit rocky outcrops.

  • Researchers found a Crotalus mitchellii near the border of southwestern Arizona.

  • The pattern of the Crotalus mitchellii helps it blend into its desert environment.

Synonyms

speckled rattlesnake
vsCrotalus mitchellii
  • US
8.5

A dangerous snake with a rattle and speckled skin that hides on desert rocks

is the formal scientific name used in technical contexts

Surface Forms

Crotalus mitchellii singular
Crotalus mitchelliis plural

Morphology

Crotalus + mitchellii

This is a Linnaean binomial (genus + specific epithet), so a learner who recognizes 'Crotalus' as a genus of rattlesnakes can infer the phrase names a species of rattlesnake. However, 'mitchellii' is an eponymic/Latinized epithet with no independent lexical meaning that would tell you the species' characteristics, so the full sense is not predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Crotalus mitchellii has two parts: Crotalus comes from an old word for a 'rattle', a clear image of the snake's noisy tail, and mitchellii is 'named after' a person called Mitchell who found or studied these snakes. So the name tells us it is a kind of rattlesnake and remembers the person linked to it.