Mexico is home to a large number of reptile species and has one of the greatest diversities of venomous snakes, among which the rattlesnakes pertaining to the Crotalus genus stand out. Out of more than 40 species in the country, nine are found in Zacatecas: C. aquilus, C. atrox, C. basiliscus, C. lepidus, C. molossus, C. polystictus, C. pricei, C. scutulatus and C. willardi. Although these reptiles are important, due to their relevance in terms of ecology, cultural use and public health, their conservation is impacted by multiple factors, such as habitat fragmentation and indiscriminate killing. Thus, most species within this genus are found in some type of risk category at both the national and international level. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential distribution and diversity of rattlesnakes at the municipal level in the understudied state of Zacatecas. To do this, we analyzed and described the global distribution of nine rattlesnake species by building species distribution models, which determined their potential distribution based on a set of ecological variables and presence records. The resulting models were used to assess the diversity of rattlesnake species potentially present in each municipality within the state. Thirty-nine (67.24 %) out of fifty-eight municipalities registered at least one rattlesnake species. Fresnillo, Sombrerete and Valparaíso were some of the municipalities showing greatest diversity. Moreover, C. atrox, C. lepidus, C. molossus and C. scutulatus were the most widely found species in the state. On the other hand, C. basiliscus, C. polystictus, C. pricei and C. willardi were rarely spotted and so, information on their distribution patterns within Zacatecas is limited. Finally, the areas having the largest potential for the distribution of these species were defined. These findings should make field work much more time- and cost-effective, facilitating the collection of in situ data that are useful for management and conservation plans of these species in Zacatecas.

中文翻译：

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墨西哥萨卡特卡斯的响尾蛇（Crotalus spp。）分布和多样性

墨西哥是众多爬行动物的家园，并且是毒蛇种类最多的物种之一，其中与响尾蛇属有关的响尾蛇最为突出。在该国的40多个物种中，在萨卡特卡斯州发现了9种：天鹰座角藻，阿罗克斯角藻，罗勒斯角藻，鳞翅目角藻，莫洛斯角藻，多角线虫，科氏价格虫，盾片角藻和角藻。威拉迪。尽管这些爬行动物很重要，但由于它们在生态，文化利用和公共卫生方面的相关性，它们的保护受到多种因素的影响，例如栖息地破碎化和滥杀滥杀。因此，该属中的大多数物种在国家和国际一级都处于某种类型的风险类别中。这项研究的目的是确定在萨卡特卡斯州研究不足的市政级响尾蛇的潜在分布和多样性。为此，我们通过建立物种分布模型来分析和描述了九种响尾蛇物种的全球分布，该模型根据一组生态变量和存在记录确定了它们的潜在分布。所得模型用于评估该州每个市镇中潜在存在的响尾蛇物种的多样性。在58个城市中，有39个（67.24％）注册了至少一种响尾蛇物种。Fresnillo，Sombrerete和瓦尔帕莱索是表现最为丰富的城市。此外，C。atrox，C。lepidus，C。molossus和C. scutulatus是该州发现最广泛的物种。另一方面，极少发现斑纹梭菌，多角梭菌，price.c和willardi。，因此，有关它们在萨卡特卡斯州的分布方式的信息有限。最后，确定了这些物种分布潜力最大的地区。这些发现应使实地调查工作更具时间和成本效益，从而有利于收集现场数据，这些数据对于萨卡特卡斯州这些物种的管理和保护计划很有用。