| hematology, plasma biochemistry, and antibodies to select viruses in wild-caught eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (sistrurus catenatus catenatus) from illinois. | during the 2004 field season, blood was collected from eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (sistrurus catenatus catenatus) in the carlyle lake (carlyle, illinois, usa) and allerton park (monticello, illinois, usa) populations to derive baseline complete blood count and plasma biochemistry data and to assess the prevalence of antibodies to west nile virus (wnv) and ophidian paramyxovirus (opmv). massasaugas were located for sampling through visual encounter surveys. body weight, snout-vent length, to ... | 2006 | 16699153 |
| snake venomics of crotalus tigris: the minimalist toxin arsenal of the deadliest neartic rattlesnake venom. evolutionary clues for generating a pan-specific antivenom against crotalid type ii venoms. | we report the proteomic and antivenomic characterization of crotalus tigris venom. this venom exhibits the highest lethality for mice among rattlesnakes and the simplest toxin proteome reported to date. the venom proteome of c. tigris comprises 7-8 gene products from 6 toxin families; the presynaptic β-neurotoxic heterodimeric pla(2), mojave toxin, and two serine proteinases comprise, respectively, 66 and 27% of the c. tigris toxin arsenal, whereas a vegf-like protein, a crisp molecule, a medi ... | 2011 | 22181673 |
| behavioral and life history responses of eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (sistrurus catenatus catenatus) to human disturbance. | parks and nature reserves protect important natural habitats but also provide public opportunities for outdoor recreational activities that may have unintended negative effects on wildlife. we examined the response of eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (sistrurus catenatus catenatus) to inadvertent disturbance by humans in killbear provincial park, ontario, canada. radio telemetry of 25 adult snakes over two active seasons revealed that, as disturbance increased, gravid females were less visible to ... | 2000 | 24595828 |
| measuring agreement and discord among hemagglutination inhibition assays against different ophidian paramyxovirus strains in the eastern massasauga (sistrurus catenatus catenatus). | at present, the hemagglutination inhibition (hi) assay is the sole commercially available serologic method available to detect exposure to ophidian paramyxovirus (opmv) in snakes. during 2006, 26 eastern massasaugas (sistrurus catenatus catenatus) were collected, and blood was sampled to determine their opmv status. samples from each snake were divided into 3 aliquots and tested by using commercially available hi assays against the 4 opmv isolates used in the 3 laboratories that offer the servic ... | 2008 | 18816997 |
| disseminated ophidiomyces ophiodiicola infection in a captive eastern massasauga (sistrurus catenatus catenatus). | an adult, captive-born eastern massasauga (sistrurus catenatus catenatus) was examined for a subcutaneous abscess and fistula cranial to the vent. the wound improved initially with lavage and systemic antibiotic therapy, but multiple, scattered, small subcutaneous nodules later developed over the ventrum and lateral aspects of the body. examination of fine needle aspirates from these nodules revealed granulomatous inflammation and fungal elements morphologically consistent with ophidiomyces ophi ... | 2016 | 27010298 |
| validation of a shed skin corticosterone enzyme immunoassay in the african house snake (lamprophis fuliginosus) and its evaluation in the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (sistrurus catenatus catenatus). | this study investigates the use of an enzyme immunoassay to measure keratin glucocorticoid concentrations in reptilian shed skins. keratin glucocorticoid concentrations were compared to fecal glucocorticoid concentrations during the period of keratin growth in the african house snake (lamprophis fuliginosus) and the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (sistrurus catenatus catenatus). biochemical validation was performed for the shed skin and fecal corticosterone enzyme immunoassays in the african hou ... | 2013 | 23994033 |
| pathologic and hematologic responses to surgically implanted transmitters in eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (sistrurus catenatus catenatus). | the study of secretive snakes, such as rattlesnakes, has benefited from the use of radiotelemetry. however, the principal assumption in telemetry studies is that the transmitter has no significant effect on the study animal. to test the validity of this assumption, the physiologic and pathologic effects of intracoelomic implants were examined in a group of 24 eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (sistrurus catenatus catenatus) in a laboratory setting over a period of 58 wk between march 2005 and apri ... | 2011 | 21270001 |
| identification of single copy nuclear dna markers for north american pit vipers. | we describe 18 single copy nuclear dna loci (10 loci cloned from a sistrurus catenatus catenatus genomic library and eight intron-based loci amplified using conserved primers) that detect sequence variation in species from all genera (sistrurus, agkistrodon and crotalus) of north american pit viper snakes. these loci (mean size in bp ± se: 433 ± 51) show large numbers of phylogenetically informative sites across species (mean + se: 10.2 ± 1.5), but limited variation within subspecies suggesting ... | 2010 | 21565006 |